The Oxford History of Britain tells the story of Britain and its people over two thousand years, from the coming of the Roman legions to the present day. Encompassing political, social, economic, and cultural developments throughout the British Isles, the dramatic narrative is taken up in turn by ten leading historians who offer the fruits of the best modern scholarship to the general reader in an authoritative form. A vivid, sometimes surprising picture emerges of a continuous turmoil of change in every period, and the wider social context of political and economic tension is made clear. But consensus, no less than conflict, is a part of the story: in focusing on elements of continuity down the centuries, the authors bring out that special awareness of identity which has been such a distinctive feature of British society. By relating both these factors in the British experience, and by exploring the many ways in which Britain has shaped and been shaped by contact with Europe and the wider world, this landmark work brings the reader face to face with the past, and the foundations of modern British society. The new edition brings the story into the twenty-first century, covering the changes to British society and culture during the Blair years and the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath.

Kenneth O. Morgan is honorary Fellow of the Queen's and Oriel Colleges, Oxford. From 1966 to 1989 he was Fellow and Praelector of Queen's; from 1989 to 1995 he was Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University, and also Senior Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales, 1993-5. He is the author of many major works on British history including Wales in British Politics, 1868-1922; The Age of Lloyd George; Keir Hardie: Radical and Socialist; Rebirth of a Nation: Wales 1880-1980; Labour in Power, 1945-51; Consensus and Disunity: the Lloyd George Coalition Government, 1918-1922; Labour People: Leaders and Lieutenants, Hardie to Kinnock; The People's Peace: British History, 1945-1990; Modern Wales: Politics, Places and People; Callaghan: A Life; The Twentieth Century (AVery Short Intoduction); and Michael Foot: A Life. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1983, and became a life peer in 2000.