British Imagination

The reign of Queen Elizabeth I ushered in an unprecedented age of exploration and discovery. Over 500 years that saw ‘the greatest expansion of ideas and knowledge the world has ever seen’, a small island nation, for centuries a cultural backwater, asserted itself as a world power. Breathtaking in scope, embracing literature, science, art, religion, philosophy and politics, The British Imagination brings to life those centuries between Elizabeth I and II, and asks the provocative question – are we still living in a British `metaphysical empire`? From the acclaimed author of The German Genius and The French Mind, this is a lively and deeply researched history of the most influential personalities and ideas that made modern Britain.