A World by Itself

The British Museum Press has rushed out a small illustrated book on The Staffordshire Hoard. Written by Kevin Leahy, a National Finds Adviser for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, and Roger Bland, Head of the BM’s Department of Portable Antiquities and Treasure, it’s a brief, authoritative account of the story so far. It costs just £4.99, a pound of which goes to the appeal fund set up to raise money for a permanent home for the hoard. Go to the British Museum's website for further details.

Anglo-Saxon Britain has been much in my thoughts after reading the opening section of A World by Itself, the new history of the British Isles edited by Jonathan Clark to be published by Heinemann in the New Year. The section written by James Campbell is as good an introduction to the period from the Roman invasion to the Conquest as I have read and bodes well for the rest of the volume. History Today staff will be naming their favourite books, TV and radio programmes, films and exhibitions of 2009 starting next week. A World by Itself may well be mentioned in the 2010 dispatches. Jonathan Clark will be sharing his thoughts on national history in the January 2010 edition of History Today.