Compelling narrative of Roman Britain

I listened to the book while hiking Hadrian's Wall in the hopes that it would help bring some of Roman Britain to life for me as I walked. It did just that. I wasn't sure what to expect and was pleased to find that Charlotte Higgins' approach was to take the reader on her own journey around Britain as she explored it's Roman history. Rather than a scholarly writing of facts and dates, she unfolded the Roman timeline through visits to specific sites and the sharing of interesting stories, theories and anecdotes. It was a great way to explore the topic of Roman Britain as an amateur, interested in the broad story rather then focusing too heavily on an academic study of history.

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1 person found this helpful

Simply brilliant

Wonderfully narrated, the enthusiasm of the author for Roman life and legacy in Britain shines through every page.Wherever she happens to be - travelling to work in London, touring the Hadrian and Antonine walls, visiting a museum or ringing the doorbell at a country house to see if the owners will let her have a look - the Romans somehow appear, touching the present with colours of a mysterious past.

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A readable and entertaining guide to Roman Britain

If you could sum up Under Another Sky in three words, what would they be?

How we endured lost and found the Romans in Britain

What other book might you compare Under Another Sky to, and why?

Mary Beard's fabulous book on Pompeii: just as good though the subject matter is less well known and the archaeology is far less complete.

Have you listened to any of Julia Franklin’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No, but I will look out for her.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Richly textured, colourful, poignant stories about the people and the landscape, and the archaeologists who revealed them to us.

Any additional comments?

I know the Lake District pretty well, but mainly from the perspective of a walker or through the eyes of artists like Wordsworth or Ruskin, but I've never really appreciated the Roman dimension to the area. I shall be taking a paperback edition with me when I visit soon, plus another author whom Charlotte Higgins recommends.

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6 people found this helpful

A lot of discussion with some hidden gems

Having listened and read this book during my isolation, I was hoping for a more detailed analysis of the Roman invasion. Though this book does deliver on certain aspects of this, and brings forward many interesting connections of Roman Britain and later historical relevances, I couldn’t help but feel lost in the deliverance.

With some interesting hidden gems, perhaps I was hoping for a more Roman cantered analysis of Roman Britain. My fault over the authors?

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Brilliant

I love this book. It takes us on one persons journey through Roman Britain reamains and fills in the gaps with info about archeologists, scholars and poets all associated with them. Sometimes it delves deep into detail of finds at other times planes off into personal interactions with everyday people at the sites. It wrestles with the most important topic of all - Context

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Utterly delightful

Any additional comments?

Charlotte Higgins has written a book which is part history, part historiography, part travelogue, part personal memoir, and on the face of it that shouldn't work nearly as well as it should. But she conjures up the scenes and the experience of visiting these places so vividly that I found myself listening to this more than once, just for the pleasure of the experience. Hearing her impressions of the places I've not seen made me hungry to go there, while the stories of those I have been to made we want to visit them again.

All complemented very well by Julia Franklin's excellent voice work.

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1 person found this helpful

Under a Roman Britain sky

Didn't really know what to expect when i downloaded this title, but straight away i loved it. The story was interesting and at times had me spell bound, the narrators voice was perfect. I have always loved history but did not know too much about the roman period so this journey around Britain by camper van was just great.

I was so captivated by this audio book that i listened to it on my commute to work and finished it quite quickly. When i wasn't listening to it i was googling the places and people to learn more. I looked at poets artists and the places she spoke about and ended up totally absorbed.

I loved the way the author tied in the Romans to present day and more recent history this added much interest and made it come alive.

This weekend i am bound for waterstones to pick up a copy of the Aenid by Virgil and the Metamorphoses by Ovid.

I have also made a list of places to visit to see more of the places mentioned.

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2 people found this helpful

Brilliant!

A unique, vivid, lyrical and poetic look at various aspects of Roman Britain, so much in contrast to the often 'dry' historical accounts one reads too often. Beautifully written and beautifully narrated - I have already listened to the audio edition twice and will again, I know.

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