The Discovery of Britain
An Accidental History
Published on 28. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-1-0350-2613-5 (ISBN)
Description
A Spectator Book of the Year.
Taking you on a time-travelling adventure around the 'spindly, sea-wracked islands' we call home, The Discovery of Britain is history that's panoramic and intimate, poignant and shocking, seriously funny, and enlightening in the most surprising way.
'Robb has found a new format for writing history just as Craig Brown found a fresh way to write biography' - Alan Johnson
'Rarely does history feel so beguiling' - The Observer
In the hands of the prize-winning author of The Discovery of France, and often from the unique vantage point of his bicycle, we encounter an entertaining cast of characters foreign and homegrown, drop in on places and events, and dwell on the successes and catastrophes across British history.
From ancient settlements swallowed up by the sea and the creation of Stonehenge to the advent of multiculturalism and recent political earthquakes, all is seen as it's never been seen before.
With intriguing maps and illustrations throughout, The Discovery of Britain can be devoured whole or each chapter read in the time it takes to change a bicycle tyre or drink a cup of coffee. The wonderful choice of how to enjoy this original and sweeping history of Britain is yours.
'A treasure house of a book' - The Spectator
'Entertaining . . . offers a fresh way of seeing the nation's past' - The i
Taking you on a time-travelling adventure around the 'spindly, sea-wracked islands' we call home, The Discovery of Britain is history that's panoramic and intimate, poignant and shocking, seriously funny, and enlightening in the most surprising way.
'Robb has found a new format for writing history just as Craig Brown found a fresh way to write biography' - Alan Johnson
'Rarely does history feel so beguiling' - The Observer
In the hands of the prize-winning author of The Discovery of France, and often from the unique vantage point of his bicycle, we encounter an entertaining cast of characters foreign and homegrown, drop in on places and events, and dwell on the successes and catastrophes across British history.
From ancient settlements swallowed up by the sea and the creation of Stonehenge to the advent of multiculturalism and recent political earthquakes, all is seen as it's never been seen before.
With intriguing maps and illustrations throughout, The Discovery of Britain can be devoured whole or each chapter read in the time it takes to change a bicycle tyre or drink a cup of coffee. The wonderful choice of how to enjoy this original and sweeping history of Britain is yours.
'A treasure house of a book' - The Spectator
'Entertaining . . . offers a fresh way of seeing the nation's past' - The i
Reviews / Votes
Rarely does history feel so beguiling * The Observer * Filled with curiosities . . . Ambitious, with a tinge of eccentricity and perfectly grown-up enough to sustain the occasional disagreement, this is a rich pleasure of a book. -- Philip Hensher * The Spectator * Robb tumbles into British history with an infectious enthusiasm . . . immensely entertaining -- Chris Bryant, author of <i>The Glamour Boys<i> Written with a characteristic mix of confidence, self- effacement, intelligence and humour, The Discovery of Britain is as charming as it is informative. * TLS * Remarkable . . . a book as much about the experience of history as history itself . . . Learned and likeable. * The Sunday Times * Meticulous, contrary . . . Robb has the superb ability of taking a single off-kilter subject and widening it out to illuminate something much larger. * Shortlist * A dazzling and dizzyingly wonderful roam through Britain's past. This is history writing as you've never read it before - enchanting and truly exciting.' -- Jack Cornish, author of <i>The Lost Paths</i> Engagingly rediscovers Britain's past in unexpected ways, melding memory and observation with history and geography. -- Brian Groom, author of <i>Made in Manchester</i> A history where everything is somehow still present and all at once, colourful and jostling along, like a tapestry that draws you close. -- Garrett Carr, author of <i>The Boy from the Sea</i> A master geographer of the oldest and newest forms of life on a 'sodden, self-aggrandizing island outpost'. * The Washington Post *More details
Edition
Main Market Ed
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
402 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0350-2613-5 (9781035026135)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2025
Picador
€18.49
Available for download
Person
Graham Robb was born in Manchester in 1958 and is a former fellow of Exeter College, Oxford. He has published widely on French literature and history. His book The Discovery of France won both the Duff Cooper and Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prizes. For Parisians the City of Paris awarded him the Grande Medaille de la Ville de Paris. He lives on the English-Scottish border. The Discovery of Britain is his tenth book.