This fourth and final volume in the wonderfully concise Brief HIstory of Britain series begins with Queen Victoria opening the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. This was high-water mark of British achievement - the nation at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, at the heart of a burgeoning Empire, with a queen who would reign for another fifty years.

During the ensuing 150 years, Britain has faced turmoil and transformation. But it is too simple to talk of decline.

In the concluding volume of this landmark four-volume series, Jeremy Black explores issues such as whether Great Britain has sacrificed its identity in order to stay part of the present world order. This is an insightful examination of how present-day Britain was formed.