One Fine Day

A Book of the Year in The Times, Sunday Times, Spectator, Irish Times and History TodayThe story of the British Empire at its maximum territorial extent On Saturday 29 September 1923, the Palestine Mandate became law and the British Empire reached what would prove to be its maximum territorial extent, covering a scarcely credible quarter of the world's land mass, containing 460 million people. But it was beset with debt and doubts. This book is a new way of looking at the British Empire. It immerses the reader in the contemporary moment, focusing on particular people and stories from that day, gleaned from newspapers, letters, diaries, official documents, magazines, films and novels: from a remote Pacific Island facing the removal of its entire soil, across Australia, Burma, India and Kenya to London and the West Indies.'Marvellous . . . escapes the inane, balance-sheet view of Empire and see it in its full complexity' Sathnam Sanghera'Brilliant . . . Extraordinary . . . It is a book for serious people who can handle difficult moral contradictions and will undoubtedly annoy zealots of all stripes' Daily Telegraph'Breathtaking, extraordinarily rich and beautifully written. One Fine Day is a vital and important history that is truly global in scope and ambition. A wonderful read' Peter Frankopanmatthewparker.co.uk