Serendipitous Adventures with Britannia is the latest addition to Wm Roger Louis's stimulating and acclaimed series, Adventures with Britannia. It draws upon a distinguished array of writers and scholars - historians, political scientists, journalists, novelists, biographers and English literature specialists - to guide the reader through a fascinating labyrinth of British culture, history and politics. Together, they provide a unique insight into the pivotal themes - political, literary and cultural - which have shaped British state and society. The subjects covered include a new analysis of Arthur Conan Doyle by David Leal, a new account of Evelyn Waugh and Randolph Churchill, and in literature, Nigel Newton writes on Harry Potter and Bloomsbury. Collectively, the chapters combine a rich mix of original ideas, historical and literary allusion, personality and anecdote, to provide an intellectual adventure into the mainsprings of modern British and international society.

Topics covered include the Harry Potter phenomenon, the social history of the Raj, Britain after Brexit and major historical figures from Winston Churchill and Evelyn Waugh to Alan Turing

Introduction Wm. Roger Louis, The University of Texas at Austin1. How Churchill's Mind Worked, Paul Addison, Oxford University2. Éamon de Valera, Kevin Kenny, New York University3. Calouste Gulbenkian: Mr. Five Percent, Richard Davenport-Hines, Oxford University4. Lord Beaverbrook, Jane Ridley, University of Buckingham5. Evelyn Waugh and Randolph Churchill, Jeffrey Meyers, Biographer and literary, art and film critic6. Alan Turing: Genius, Patriot, Victim, Robert King, University of Texas7. Louis George Martin: Champion Weightlifter, John Fair, University of Texas8. Benjamin Disraeli and Oscar Wilde, Sandra Mayer, University of Vienna and Oxford University9. William Morris: Artist, Businessman, and Radical, Peter Stansky, Stanford University10. Ida John: Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Rosemary Hill, Quondam Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford University11. Arthur Conan Doyle and Spiritualism, David Leal, University of Texas12. P. G. Wodehouse, Joseph Epstein, Author of more than 25 books including The Ideal of Culture (2018)13. Samuel Beckett and Surrealism, Alan Friedman, University of Texas14. Harry Potter and Bloomsbury, Nigel Newton, Bloomsbury Publishing15. A Battle for the Soul of Classics at Oxford, Paul Woodruff, University of Texas16. Obedience by the Book, Al Martinich, University of Texas17. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Elizabeth Baigent, Oxford University18. The Problem with Monuments: A View from All Souls, Edward Mortimer, Oxford University19. The Social History of the Raj, Max Hastings, Journalist and author of Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975 (2018)20. Warnings from Versailles, 1919, Margaret Macmillan, Oxford University21. The British Defense of Cyprus, 1941, George Kelling, Civilian Historian with the U.S Air Force22. How the British Left Palestine, Bernard Wasserstein, Author of several books including The British in Palestine (1978)23. America Confronts the British Superpower, 1945-1957, Derek Leebaert, Author and a founder of the National Museum of the U.S. Army24. Brexit: An Historical Romance, Geoffrey Wheatcroft, Journalist and Historian25. Light Reading for Intellectual Heavyweights, Philip Waller, Oxford University