The British Imagination: A History of Ideas from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II - Peter Watson

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 Geniusand The French Mind, this is a lively and deeply researched history of the most influential personalities and ideas that made modern Britain.