Cymbeline (Version 2)-William Shakespeare

A one-volume survey of the history of England from Celtic and Roman times through the end of the nineteenth century. Muscular prose makes an exciting narrative emphasizing the political, military, and religious history of the kingdom. Oman dwells heavily on the role of moral probity, intellectual caliber, and energy, or failings in any of those areas, on the part of monarchs and other men or women of power in driving the course of events. Most chapters begin, and some end as well, with a discourse on the character of the monarch or leading politicians of the period under consideration, and similar assessments are adduced as needed in the course of the narrative. The author maintains sobriety in his accolades for leaders he admires, but those he considers villainous or incompetent, lazy, and purely self-interested come in for colorful denunciations such as the description of one king as “a selfish, hard-hearted, unamiable, and uninteresting man” and the characterization of corrupt politicians in the reign of another monarch as “disgraceful personalities…squalid intriguers…a crew of sharpers and hypocrites.” Often, however, he finds a very human mixture of virtues and vices, strengths and weaknesses, and discerns benefits to the nation from the governance even of some flawed but intelligent and energetic leaders. Summary by Pattymarie