A.N. Wilson - Our Times: The Age of Elizabeth II (2008)
History – 420 pages – my copy (2008; paperback) from Waterstones for £9.99 in September 2009
- 3 nods out of 5 -
A history of the reign of Elizabeth is perhaps a tad premature, considering that our monarch still sits, living and breathing, upon the British throne. Her longevity is widely noted, with years yet to remain with her face adorned on bank-notes. Yet A.N. Wilson, a man of Second Elizabethan England (being born in 1950), paints a vast portrait of the age, following in the chronology of his previous studies, The Victorians and After the Victorians.
What has happened in the past fifty-five years? Well, quite a lot. From Churchill to Brown, from a world power to that of European partner, Britain has overseen remarkable change. Wilson recounts shifts in society, in morality and in our beliefs, from a 1950s in which homosexuality was outlawed, to today’s supposed multi-cultural land. He charts Ireland, woman’s liberation and the change of the entertainment industry and media. Such wildly different events, yet the book itself is divided into typical chapters more fitting a political history (such as ‘Churchill and Eden’, ‘Macmillan’ and ‘The Lady’). And, ultimately, the primary focus is in the goings-on at Westminster, with the whole book holding a bias towards the South-East of England, the Conservatives, and the higher echelons of society; the clear over-statement of the book coming in praise for Prince Charles: ‘Were we to write down the virtues of Prince Charles, and his achievements, he would undoubtedly emerge as a, if not the, hero of this book’ (p.319).
Wilson is at his best in his vivid and colourful descriptions, such as the one on Ian Paisley:
‘With his tall, bulky gait, his brilliantined hair, his thick lips which seemed in their liquid sibilance positively to savour the anti-papalist insults which fell from them, with his strong Ulster brogue and his alarmingly powerfully lungs, larynx and vocal chords….’ (p.170).
Whilst his scathing comments on the ills of society are full of humour, such as the many on benefits in 2008:
[Eating] ‘the consoling junk food beloved by American proles, they came to resemble them, waddling from Iceland to Burger King or Dunkin’ Donuts in their huge blue jeans, pushing their obese tots in groaning strollers’ (p.415).
All of which shows a true novelist’s touch – Wilson himself being the writer of much fiction (as well as biographies on notables such as Tolstoy). One of the chief problems, however, is in the sheer scale of material – the picture credits alone show an eclectic range, from Churchill to the Krays, from Dad’s Army to Jeffery Archer, from Lady Diana to Tom Baker. Of course, such a collection says much for the past half a century and our country, yet my primary concern is Wilson’s construction within the text of piecing such contrasting people and issues together. At many times in the book he abruptly stops typing on one matter, cutting straight to another. Was this a question of time or of space? Either way, it leaves accusations of a lack of sight of the overview flow of the pages.
Wilson stresses the changing morals of Britain in this period. He believes there is no modern equivalent of the artists, the writers and the greats of the past. ‘Then, Great Britain was the greatest power in the world. Compare it with the Britain of 2008 and the language of decline and fall becomes inevitable’ (p.413). Is this a strict lamentation? Not exactly. Wilson strikes out the merry past, stating that the ‘Britain which saw Elizabeth II’s Coronation, and the Britain which will see her funeral are in reality two different, equally awful, places’ (p.413). Despite the many improvements we benefit from today – of a more tolerant, plentiful, cared for land – Wilson believes it has come at a cost to the death of a coherent society. Britain, he concludes, ceased to exist: ‘She had become a missing person’ (p.422).
The book would have benefited enormously if Wilson had spent more energy enquiring as to when this happened. Yet, such a job is perhaps for a future historian, and not for a contemporary. Our Times, it certainly is, and is interest for anyone in our recent past.
History – 420 pages – my copy (2008; paperback) from Waterstones for £9.99 in September 2009
- 3 nods out of 5 -
A history of the reign of Elizabeth is perhaps a tad premature, considering that our monarch still sits, living and breathing, upon the British throne. Her longevity is widely noted, with years yet to remain with her face adorned on bank-notes. Yet A.N. Wilson, a man of Second Elizabethan England (being born in 1950), paints a vast portrait of the age, following in the chronology of his previous studies, The Victorians and After the Victorians.
What has happened in the past fifty-five years? Well, quite a lot. From Churchill to Brown, from a world power to that of European partner, Britain has overseen remarkable change. Wilson recounts shifts in society, in morality and in our beliefs, from a 1950s in which homosexuality was outlawed, to today’s supposed multi-cultural land. He charts Ireland, woman’s liberation and the change of the entertainment industry and media. Such wildly different events, yet the book itself is divided into typical chapters more fitting a political history (such as ‘Churchill and Eden’, ‘Macmillan’ and ‘The Lady’). And, ultimately, the primary focus is in the goings-on at Westminster, with the whole book holding a bias towards the South-East of England, the Conservatives, and the higher echelons of society; the clear over-statement of the book coming in praise for Prince Charles: ‘Were we to write down the virtues of Prince Charles, and his achievements, he would undoubtedly emerge as a, if not the, hero of this book’ (p.319).
Wilson is at his best in his vivid and colourful descriptions, such as the one on Ian Paisley:
‘With his tall, bulky gait, his brilliantined hair, his thick lips which seemed in their liquid sibilance positively to savour the anti-papalist insults which fell from them, with his strong Ulster brogue and his alarmingly powerfully lungs, larynx and vocal chords….’ (p.170).
Whilst his scathing comments on the ills of society are full of humour, such as the many on benefits in 2008:
[Eating] ‘the consoling junk food beloved by American proles, they came to resemble them, waddling from Iceland to Burger King or Dunkin’ Donuts in their huge blue jeans, pushing their obese tots in groaning strollers’ (p.415).
All of which shows a true novelist’s touch – Wilson himself being the writer of much fiction (as well as biographies on notables such as Tolstoy). One of the chief problems, however, is in the sheer scale of material – the picture credits alone show an eclectic range, from Churchill to the Krays, from Dad’s Army to Jeffery Archer, from Lady Diana to Tom Baker. Of course, such a collection says much for the past half a century and our country, yet my primary concern is Wilson’s construction within the text of piecing such contrasting people and issues together. At many times in the book he abruptly stops typing on one matter, cutting straight to another. Was this a question of time or of space? Either way, it leaves accusations of a lack of sight of the overview flow of the pages.
Wilson stresses the changing morals of Britain in this period. He believes there is no modern equivalent of the artists, the writers and the greats of the past. ‘Then, Great Britain was the greatest power in the world. Compare it with the Britain of 2008 and the language of decline and fall becomes inevitable’ (p.413). Is this a strict lamentation? Not exactly. Wilson strikes out the merry past, stating that the ‘Britain which saw Elizabeth II’s Coronation, and the Britain which will see her funeral are in reality two different, equally awful, places’ (p.413). Despite the many improvements we benefit from today – of a more tolerant, plentiful, cared for land – Wilson believes it has come at a cost to the death of a coherent society. Britain, he concludes, ceased to exist: ‘She had become a missing person’ (p.422).
The book would have benefited enormously if Wilson had spent more energy enquiring as to when this happened. Yet, such a job is perhaps for a future historian, and not for a contemporary. Our Times, it certainly is, and is interest for anyone in our recent past.
