Great Britain / England

If you live in the United States, you've been affected by British culture. The English language most of us speak is only one example of the many ways American culture has grown out of British culture—the original 13 Colonies were largely settled by English immigrants, and they left their mark on the conventions, social structure, and ideals of the New World. Even something as "American" as apple pie has its roots in Olde England, where it has been made and eaten since the Middle Ages.

It's not just white Americans who owe so much to the British. Because the English largely determined the culture of the country in its early stages, all subsequent citizens have consequently inherited a shared heritage. There is certainly more diversity in the 21st century than there was 100 or even 50 years ago, and American culture is in a constant state of flux due to its ever-changing demographic, but it remains true that we've all beenAnglicizedto some degree or other.

This has led many to become Anglophiles. It would be a lie to say there are none at Exodus Books (though not all the employees share the same enthusiasm), and this has to some extent determined the nature of our selection, particularly in history and literature. Anglophiles are simply those with an excessive interest in all things English, or those whose view of history sees the West as represented by Great Britain as the starting and focal point for all study of history. The latter view is obviously flawed, but the former usually manifests itself in mostly harmless ways.

Like U.S. history, British history isn't entirely of a piece. The British Isles include five distinct regions (England, Scotland and Wales on the Eastern island; Ireland and Northern Ireland on the Western), and each has its own history, people groups, and languages. In recent years these areas have become slightly more united in theory, though high levels of regional pride still exist. Also like Americans, the British people are a mix of indigenous races and foreigners, many of them invaders in the ancient and early Medieval periods.

England in particular has always enjoyed a prominent role in world culture and affairs. Though their range of influence has lessened in the last few decades, the hand of the English can still be seen in the remnants of Empire: in India, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and all the other Commonwealth nations around the world. Historical epochs like the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment have always found a strong foothold in the Isles, and the British have frequently been at the forefront of social and humanitarian reform, particularly in the case of slavery.

At the same time, the British have always been distinct in their own identity and culture, recognizable the world over for their careful scholarship, incredible works of art, awesome sense of humor, and stiff-upper-lippedness. Despite having been attacked and settled by Romans, Germans, Vikings, and Franks, the Isles' Celtic heritage remains (though to be fair, the Celts were also interlopers). British history is both essential for understanding our own (U.S.) history, and for the shape of the whole modern world. It's also fascinating to study in its own right, not least for its frequently bizarre moments.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.Read more of his reviews here.

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Adam of the Road
Puffin Newbery Library
by Elizabeth Gray
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Adventures of King Arthur - Coloring Book
by Arkady Roytman
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
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$3.99
AIO Imagination Station Book #04
by Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker
from Focus on the Family
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Amazing Grace
by Eric Metaxas
from HarperOne
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$15.99
Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
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$14.95
Book Lover's Bucket List
from British Library
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$24.95
C. S. Lewis: A Life
by Alister McGrath
from Tyndale House
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Children of the New Forest
by Frederick Marryat
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
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Children of the New Forest
by Frederick Marryat
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
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$12.99
Churchill
by Paul Johnson
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Crispin: The End of Time
by Avi
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$7.99
Daughter of Time
by Josephine Tey
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$16.00
Day and a Life
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$13.99
Fair Margaret
by H. Rider Haggard
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$13.99
Florence Nightingale
by Laura E. Richards
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography for 6th-9th grade
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$10.95
Great Empires - CD-ROM
from Home School in the Woods
for 3rd-8th grade
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$12.00
Growth of the British Empire
Story of the World Series #5
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
British History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Growth of the British Empire
Story of the World Series #5
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
British History Reference for 4th-8th grade
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$10.99
Hedge School
by Gloria Whelan
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Henry VIII
by Richard Brassey
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$8.95
Hidden Treasure
Reformation Trail Series #21
by Lucy Ellen Geurnsey
from Inheritance Publications
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History of King Charles II of England
by Jacob Abbott
from Serenity Publishers
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How the Heather Looks
by Joan Bodger
Reprint from Living Book Press
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How the Heather Looks
by Joan Bodger, illustrated by Mark Lang
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Humble Leader
by Julia Cameron
from Christian Focus Publications
for 4th-6th grade
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$8.99
If You Were Me and Lived in... Elizabethan England
An Introduction to Civilizations Throughout Time Volume 3
by Carole P. Roman
from CreateSpace
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$14.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
In the Days of Alfred the Great
by Eva March Tappan
from Yesterday's Classics
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In the Days of Alfred the Great
by Eva March Tappan
from Living Book Press
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In the Days of Queen Elizabeth
by Eva March Tappan
from Yesterday's Classics
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In the Days of Queen Victoria
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from Yesterday's Classics
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In the Days of Queen Victoria
by Eva March Tappan
from Living Book Press
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In the Days of William the Conqueror
by Eva March Tappan
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In the Days of William the Conqueror
by Eva March Tappan
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Island of the Mighty
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from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$9.99
James I
Sacred Fool Quartet Volume 1
by Otto Scott
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
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Katherine Parr
by Brandon G. Withrow
from P&R Publishing
Biography for 10th-Adult
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Kings and Queens of England - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by John Green
from Dover Publications
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$3.99
Last Bookshop in London
by Madeline Martin
from Hanover Square Press
for 10th-Adult
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$16.99
Let's Explore the British Isles
by Caroline Walker, with maps & illustrations by Gloris Smith Young
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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$15.99
Life of John Newton
by American Missionary Fellowship
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$9.50
Life of Sir Thomas More
by William Roper
from CreateSpace
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Lives of Thomas Becket
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from Manchester University Press
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$39.95
Mark of the Horse Lord
by Rosemary Sutcliff
Reprint from Chicago Review Press
for 7th-9th grade
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$12.95
Michael Faraday
by Charles Ludwig
from Herald Press
Biography for 5th-8th grade
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Murder for Her Majesty
by Beth Hilgartner
from Sandpiper Books
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Norman Grubb
by Janet & Geoff Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-8th grade
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One Corpse Too Many
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
Reissue from Mysterious Press
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Our Empire Story
by H. E. Marshall
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$22.95
Our Empire Story - Black & White Edition
by H. E. Marshall
from Living Book Press
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Our Island Story
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
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$22.95
Our Island Story (B&W Edition)
by H. E. Marshall
from Living Book Press
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$15.99
Our Island Story (Color Edition)
by H. E. Marshall
from Living Book Press
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$28.99
Parcel of Patterns
by Jill Paton Walsh
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Place to Hang the Moon
by Kate Albus
from Margaret Ferguson Books
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Player King
by Avi
from Atheneum
for 2nd-6th grade
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$7.99
Real Jane Austen
by Paula Byrne
1st edition from HarperTrophy
for 9th-Adult
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$29.99
Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Robert T. Reilly
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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$14.95
Romance of Tristan and Iseult
by Hilaire Belloc
from Dover Publications
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$6.95
Sir Nigel
by Arthur Conan Doyle
from Dover Publications
for 11th-Adult
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$12.95
Swallows' Flight
by Hilary McKay
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-8th grade
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$17.99
This is London
by Miroslav Sasek
from Universe Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
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Time Sight
by Lynne Jonell
from Henry Holt and Company
Time Travel Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
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$16.99
Tolkien: Man and Myth
by Joseph Pearce
from Ignatius Press
Biography for 11th-Adult
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$14.95
Unknown to History
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 7th-12th grade
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$14.99
Warriors Through the Ages - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
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$4.99
White Horse King
by Benjamin R. Merkle
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 8th-Adult
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$14.99
Who Were the Beatles?
Who Was?...Series
by Geoff Edgers
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
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$6.99
William Booth
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England
by John Allen Giles
from BiblioLife
for 9th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$39.99
William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England
by John Allen Giles
from Legare Street Press
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$32.95