"Penultimate Adventures with Britannia" is the sixth volume in Wm. Roger Louis' "Adventures with Britannia" series and, as in the earlier volumes, this is not a sedate guided tour but an exciting journey by a range of distinguished writers and academics through British cultural, intellectual, literary and political life, in its contact with other cultures and with international politics; and the tour is conducted by one of our greatest historians of empire. War and empire dominated the twentieth century and beyond. They continue to shape international history, both politically and culturally. Bernard Porter shows the importance of culture on British imperial history, Priaya Satia's writes on the cultural foundation of British power in Iraq and Geoffrey Wheatcroft deals with the perennial problems of partition, here as experienced in India and Ireland.Dane Kennedy's "The New American Empire" covers the dominating theme in modern international relations. International politics remain centre stage but there are illuminating literary and artistic glances behind the scenes.
These include Susan Pedersen's portrait of Frances Stevenson and her influence on Lloyd George even at the height of the First World War, Martin Gilbert on Tolkien and English culture and Hilary Spurling's "Reassessing Paul Scott" - vital for students of modern Indian history. There are fascinating vignettes of the art of Larry Carver on Felix Topolski and Martin Francis on Cecil Beaton. Felipe Fernandez Armesto's "An Accidental Criminal" rounds off a remarkable and rewarding volume and maintains the delightful tradition of Wm. Roger Louis' "Adventures" series.