When Queen Victoria opened the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, it was the high water mark of English achievement. The nation was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, with a queen who would reign for another 50 years over a burgeoning Empire. In the following 150 years, the nation has faced turmoil and transformation. Has Great Britain sacrificed its identity in order to stay part of the present world order? Here Jeremy Black offers a brilliant, insightful examination of how present day Britain was formed.