Eighteen

Biggest books to look out for in 2024 – The Guardian

'Loxton is the next big thing in history' – Dan Snow

At eighteen, your life is full of possibility. You have everything to look forward to – unless you’ve got the plague.

In this unconventional and witty history, award-winning writer and broadcaster Alice Loxton delves into Britain’s past, exploring the country though eighteen notable figures at that most formative of ages - eighteen years old.

From a young Empress Matilda, the orphan already changing the fate of nations, to teenage Richard Burton, the rugby-obsessed lad who grew up in a Welsh mining town, each journey unveils a different era of Britain. Irreverent and full of fascinating tidbits (did you know Chaucer spent his teenage years as a scantily clad pageboy?), Loxton reveals what we can learn from the way a society treats its young – about its values and its foibles.

Filled with fascinating stories of royalty, explorers, writers and entertainers, Eighteen asks what lessons we can learn for modern Britain.

'A whirlwind of historical energy . . . one of the brightest new stars of popular history' – Dan Jones