Philip Hensher

A dutiful exercise carried out in a rush

This final volume of Peter Ackroyd’s history of England, disappointingly for such a memorable writer, reads as little more than an abridged summary of what he already knew

Alexander Fleming. Ackroyd makes little mention of scientific breakthroughs in his latest volume of history. Credit: Getty Images

  • Innovation: The History of England, Volume VI

    Peter Ackroyd

    Picador, pp. 512, £30

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