Our Island Story, Volume 1

Volume One of a five part series telling The Story of Great Britain from its earliest beginnings to World War I. Our Island Story, originally published in 1905 and later updated, details the history of Britain up to World War I (including some myths and legends associated with British history). Author H. E. Marshall based the book on her answers to her children's questions about the history of their ""home island"" (Great Britain).

Early History of Great Britain
1. The Stories of Albion and Brutus
2. The Coming of the Romans
3. The Romans Come Again
4. How Caligula Conquered Britain, and how Caractacus Refused to be Conquered
5. The Story of a Warrior Queen
6. The Last of the Romans
7. The Story of St. Alban
8. Vortigern and King Constans
9. The Story of the Coming of Hengist and Horsa
10. Hengist's Treachery
11. The Story of How The Giant's Dancer was Brought to Britain
12. The Coming of Arthur
13. The Founding of the Round Table
14. The Story of Gregory and the Pretty Children
15. How King Alfred Learned to Read
16. Kind Alfred in the Cowherd's Cottage
17. More About Alfred the Great
18. Ethelred the Unready
19. How Edmund Ironside Fought for the Crown
20. Canute and the Waves
21. Edward the Confessor

AUTHOR
Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall (1867 - 1941) was a British author, most famous for her works of history for children.

For decades, Marshall's books were ubiquitous in schools and home libraries. Much of the popularity of her works stems from her talent for making history read like good storytelling.

COMMENTARY
Reviews for Alcazar AudioWorks' production of Our Island Story, Volume 1
We've been reading from Ambleside Online's wonderful reading list for years now, and I've already worked my way through Our Island Story with our eldest. The younger two missed it; one was a baby, and the other had not yet joined the family! Now that we're coming back to this book again, I'm glad to find that I have a little help - Alcarzar AudioWorks has put the entire unabridged book on CD with their usual style.

Whether or not you are using Ambleside Online as a resource, you will find Our Island Story a fascinating retelling of the early history of Great Britain, from the earliest of myths lost in the mists of history through the time of Edward the Confessor. There are many familiar tales here, including a couple of chapters about King Arthur and his Round Table, and several about King Alfred - the King who had to go into hiding, and while living with an old couple, allowed the cakes to burn! These were our favorite chapters, which is why they stand out. As a matter of fact, our youngest listened with rather a mulish expression, until she heard the name ""Uther Pendragon"" - and realized that her beloved King Arthur was a part of the history we're studying!

I learned a lot, too. Yes, we've been through this book before, and so the stories are familiar. Still, it was a little like revisiting old friends, to hear how Caligula ""conquered"" the Britons, for one example. It is helping me to keep my own understanding of history straight, how the history of Great Britain was molded through wave after wave of invasion and conquest - the Britons, the Romans, the Saxons, the Danes... And having someone else reading meant that I could listen along with my students.

The book, written in 1905, is from a Christian perspective. The stories are well-told, the language vivid, though not too graphic when it comes to the inevitable violence that accompanies invasion and battle. Two different readers alternate the reading, and chapters are easy to locate on the CDs.

If you happen to be using Ambleside Online, you'll want to know that Our Island Story, Volume 1 corresponds to Ambleside's Year 1 reading schedule.
Reviewed By: Jean Hall - EHO Eclectic Homeschool Online
"