Our Island Story: A Child's History of England, published abroad as An Island Story: A Child's History of England, is a book by the British author Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall, first published in 1905 in London by T. C. & E. C. Jack.
Content
It covers the history of England from the time of the Roman occupation until Queen Victoria's death, using a mixture of traditional history and mythology to explain the story of British history in a way accessible to younger readers.
The book depicts the union of England and Scotland as a desirable and inevitable event, and praises rebels and the collective will of the common people in opposing tyrants, including kings like John and Charles I.
Influence and impact
The book inspired the parody 1066 and All That.
Prime Minister David Cameron chose Our Island Story when asked to select his favourite childhood book in October 2010:
References
External links
- Full text e-book of An Island Story (1920 U.S. edition) (note that the 1953 edition continued to the First World War).
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall