The Celts: A Sceptical History

Review Simon Jenkins, as ever, writes with clarity and insight -- Gerard DeGroot ― Times Jenkins has a journalist's ear for the outrageous -- John Carey ― Sunday Times There's much here to interest and stimulate -- Ewen A Cameron ― Literary Review Beautifully written with a firm hand on his facts ... startlingly good -- Sandra Callard ― On Magazine An intelligent and provocative polemic -- Andrew Lynch ― Business Post A compelling, often unsettling argument ... smiting at the roots of cherished myths and subverting notions of patriotic identity. Jenkins gives his version of the past 1,500 years or so with clarity and erudition -- Simon Griffith ― Mail on Sunday Hugely important to the history of the British Isles yet commonly misunderstood and neglected by contemporary audiences, the story of the Celts is finally told in a coherent and engaging fashion by the bestselling author of A Short History of England ― Waterstones Best Books of 2022: History Praise for A Short History of England: 'A lucid and handsomely illustrated narrative ― Times Jenkins is one of the liveliest commentators at work in Britain, always worth reading and pleasingly contrarian -- Jeremy Paxman ― Guardian This is traditional, kings-and-things, great-men history with all its dates and famous quotations in place ... Jenkins has a newspaper columnist's aphoristic verve ― Spectator A characteristically bold, wry, fluent, combative gallop through English history -- Max Hastings Full of good writing and lively anecdotes ... Food for thought ― New Statesman Immediately accessible ― Prospect Where Jenkins excels is in his very journalistic approach ... The historical events are joined up, and work as narrative ― Time Out Product Description 'Simon Jenkins, as ever, writes with clarity and insight' The Times 'Jenkins has a journalist's ear for the outrageous' Sunday Times 'There's much here to interest and stimulate' Literary Review The history of the Celts is the history of a misnomer. There has never been a distinct people, race or tribe claiming the name of Celtic, though remnants of different languages and cultures remain throughout Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall. The word keltoi first appears in Greek as applied generally to aliens or 'barbarians' - and theories of Celticism continue to fuel many of the prejudices and misconceptions that divide the peoples of the British Isles to this day. Often seen as unimportant or irrelevant adjuncts to English history, in The Celts Simon Jenkins offers a compelling counterargument. This is a fascinating and timely debate on who the Celts really were - or weren't - and what their legacy should be in an increasingly dis-United Kingdom. Book Description A short history of one of Ancient Britain's most enigmatic civilisations About the Author Simon Jenkins is the author of the bestselling A Short History of England (Profile), England's Thousand Best Churches and England's Thousand Best Houses, Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations and most recently A Short History of Europe. From 2008 to 2014 he was the chairman of the National Trust, and the former editor of The Times and Evening Standard and a columnist for the Guardian. He lives in London.