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Audiobook10 hours
Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain
Written by Charlotte Higgins
Narrated by Julia Franklin
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
Under Another Sky was shortlisted for the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction
What has 'Roman Britain' meant to the British people since the Romans left? And what does Roman Britain mean to us now? How has it been reimagined, in story and song and verse? Charlotte Higgins leads us through the history, and by using some of Britain's most intriguing ancient monuments, Under Another Sky invites us to see the British landscape, and history, in an entirely fresh way.
‘Mesmerising. Sophisticated and passionate. She personalizes the story in a diaristic, almost poetic tone.' GUARDIAN
‘An utterly original history, lyrically alive to the haunting presence of the past and our strange and familiar ancestors.' SUNDAY TIMES
What has 'Roman Britain' meant to the British people since the Romans left? And what does Roman Britain mean to us now? How has it been reimagined, in story and song and verse? Charlotte Higgins leads us through the history, and by using some of Britain's most intriguing ancient monuments, Under Another Sky invites us to see the British landscape, and history, in an entirely fresh way.
‘Mesmerising. Sophisticated and passionate. She personalizes the story in a diaristic, almost poetic tone.' GUARDIAN
‘An utterly original history, lyrically alive to the haunting presence of the past and our strange and familiar ancestors.' SUNDAY TIMES
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Author
Charlotte Higgins
Charlotte Higgins read classics at Balliol College, Oxford. She has worked for the Guardian newspaper for over a decade in various guises, from 2001 as classical music editor and from 2008 as chief arts writer. She began her career in journalism at Vogue. She is also the author of Latin Love Lessons. She lives in London.
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Reviews for Under Another Sky
Rating: 3.933333362222222 out of 5 stars
4/5
45 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Romans short stay in the UK has had a huge and long-term effect on our towns and cities, road and countryside, culture and history. Not only is a lot of their architecture and buildings still visible just under the surface there is an awful lot that is still visible and still standing all around the UK.
On this trip around the UK, Higgins looks for those part still accessible, from the mosaics in museums, to the monument that is Hadrian's wall and the various castles and wall that are still standing 2000 years on. In the narrative she brings the cultural, historical and literary references and most importantly that sense os discovery that you can have by going there your self.
Well worth reading for all things Roman in the UK, Higgins enthusiasm for this part of our history is infectious. It was a shame it wasn't a bit longer, but it does have a huge list of place to visit in the back. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is roughly equal parts travel narrative, history of Roman Britain, and incidental stories touching on the latter (e.g. concerning the various eccentric antiquarians, pro and am, who've been seduced by the subject over the years). Higgins and her boyfriend (whose presence is more felt than seen or heard) roam the land in their camper van, tracing the contours of the Roman province through ruins, texts and artifacts. Of course she walks Hadrian's wall, but impressively also the Antonine wall, stumbling through industrial estates and along benighted towpaths without losing her good cheer.A beautifully-written book - Higgins's prose is clever, clear and natural - which thanks to the perfect structure, part chrono- and part geographic, is more than the sum of its parts. Erudition and enthusiasm on every page.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beginning as a travelogue of what can be seen of Rome's presence in Britain, over the course of the book Higgins engages in a meditation on what, if anything, Britain's Roman past really means in an era when "Little England" nationalism is again becoming a real political force. If nothing else Higgins finds literary relevance in this history, as it's the Romans who created a vision of a Britain that was wild and challenging which remains a lasting goad to the imagination. It can also be read as a love letter by a student of classical studies to those who created her discipline.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I was expecting a geographical and Romano-British historical journey but the first third also included a struggle through British 17th century onward romantic literature based on the Classics. The remaining two thirds of the book improve, reverting to an easier style.