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A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK

‘Simon Jenkins, as ever, writes with clarity and insight’ Times

‘One of the liveliest commentators in Britain, always worth reading and pleasingly contrarian’ Jeremy Paxman, Guardian

Who were the Celts? Were they a people, a civilisation, an empire, or a fiction of historical imagination? They flit as ghosts through Europe’s ancient past, purported ancestors of the Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Cornish and Bretons.
Yet they have never been identified with any one land, or with any one history or language.

Simon Jenkins argues compellingly that the ‘Celts’ is a misleading concept, bundling together quite distinct peoples. The word keltoi first appears in Greek, applied generally to aliens or ‘barbarians’ – and theories of Celticism continue to fuel many of the prejudices and misconceptions that divide the British Isles to this day.

Fascinating and increasingly relevant, who the Celts were – or weren’t – goes to the heart of the ongoing argument over the future of a dis-United Kingdom.

Publisher 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 * Comprehensive and informative -- Alastair Mabbott * Herald * Particularly good ... The old familiar identities of English, Scots, Welsh and Irish are not what they used to be -- Allan Massie * Scotsman * 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 * 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 *