Through this series of fascinating and highly informative essays, Stephan Smith brings Britain's past to life in this unique glimpse into the world's first industrial society and its enormous social and political influence on the western world. From the foundations of early aristocratic rule forged during Tudor times, to the social and economic challenges presented by the Industrial Revolution on Britain's ruling class, this book examines several of the key figures and events from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries. The interwoven essays explore the influence these monumentally important people and events have had on the economic, political, and domestic landscape of modern Britain and the wider world rendering them startlingly relevant today. One is left to wonder how different the world might have been were it not for the innovative genius of the British people whose enterprising spirit and abundant energy paved the way toward much of the modern world.