Highly original and magnificent in scope, Albion discovers the roots of English cultural history in the Anglo-Saxon period, and traces it through the centuries. What does it mean to be English? This dazzling work demonstrates that a quintessentially English quality can be discovered in all forms of English culture, not only in literature but also in painting, music, architecture, philosophy and science.

Just as London: The Biography guided the reader through the great city with a mixture of narrative and theme, so Albion , employing the same techniques, engages the reader with stories and surprises -- from Beowulf to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, via Chaucer and Shakespeare, to the Brontë sisters, Alice Through the Looking Glass and Lord of the Rings . Witty, provocative and anecdotal, this is Peter Ackroyd at his most brilliant and exuberant.