Rating: 5 out of 5
As any person can see, I have been a fan of the ‘This Sceptred Isle’ series throughout. Some episodes have been less thorough than others, but overall the coverage of the periods has been exemplary.
In a way, I could be the least happy with this one for certain very relevant topics — such as the Gold Coast and Kenya — were not really covered in detail; and, yet, it is also clear that it was not either of these which made the Empire. That was made by India, and that country is covered in great depth herein.
What I also liked were the great numbers of figures – from Winston Churchill to Jan Smuts to Jawaharlal Nehru – who were included along with their statements, views and thoughts. The coverage of the Second World War was similarly elegant though very brief, as suits the purpose of this work.
Update: I will only add that there was a beautiful quote which went to the heart of how we should relate to people: not ideologically but with reason. “Even if he did support the Axis it does not mean that we should ignore his views.”
Overall then, I think we get a very suitable conclusion to a series which had to cover a lot of difficult topics. This was done stylishly whilst yet not shirking (most of) the difficult topics – but perhaps including some which have been more hushed up than others.
