''The Isles: A History'' is a 1999 narrative history book by Norman Davies.

Content

As in his earlier '' Europe: A History'' (1996), Davies is not trying to present any new history, but does want to tackle what he sees as historiographical biases in the treatment of the history of Britain and Ireland. Ten chapters span the past of the archipelago from

prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

till the present day. The chapters each begin with a specific story to illustrate each period, which is described as a 'snapshot'. In the introduction, Davies describes the difficulties of even defining what is being described by the words people use for the history of the area, and even their definition today. This includes the term 'British'; the idea that 'Britain is an island'; the position of Ireland in the picture; the problem of the United Kingdom not appearing to have a history where everything is treated as 'Great Britain'. In the title of the book he wanted to avoid the term

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

but also the various clumsy alternatives that had arisen in recent years (see also

British Isles naming dispute The toponym "British Isles" refers to a European archipelago consisting of Great Britain, Ireland, and adjacent islands. The word "British" is also an adjective and demonym referring to the United Kingdom and more historically associate ...

). Also, he wanted to avoid anachronistic terms in the work, such as using names from other times to describe cultures or geography. So for example, instead of using the term '

Wessex culture The Wessex culture is the predominant prehistoric culture of central and southern Britain during the early Bronze Age, originally defined by the British archaeologist Stuart Piggott in 1938.British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

in the prehistory section he uses 'Midnight Isles'. These terms are explained separately in the appendices and notes. Davies notes in his introduction that the book is a personal view and that his work is "the view of one pair of eyes".

Reception

Stefan Berger has approached ''The Isles'' as a major reinterpretation of British history. He states that Davies, "seeks to liberate the national histories of Ireland, Scotland and Wales from the fading grip of Britishness....Davies is about destroying the old national master narrative for Britain in order to liberate national master narratives for the four constituent parts of the Isles.Stefan Berger, "Rising Like a Phoenix… The Renaissance of National History Writing in Germany and Britain Since the 1980s." in ''Nationalizing the Past'' (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2010) pp. 426-451
online
on p. 429.

References

1999 non-fiction books Books by Norman Davies English-language books History books about the United Kingdom {{Ireland-hist-stub