The Reign - Life in Elizabeth's Britain: Part I: The Way It WasHardcover, 6 January 2023

The first part of Matthew Engel's sweeping social history of modern Britain during the reign of Elizabeth II.

She came to the throne in 1952 when Britain had a far-flung empire, sweets were rationed, mums stayed home and kids played on bombsites.

Seventy years on, everything has changed utterly - except the Queen herself, ageing far more gracefully than the fractious nation over which she so lightly presides.

How did we get from there to here in a single reign? To cancel culture, anti-vaxxers and Twitter feeds?

Matthew Engel tells the story - starting with the years from Churchill to Thatcher - with his own light touch and a wealth of fascinating, forgotten, often funny detail.