Eighteen: A history of Britain in 18 young lives

Eighteen stories about the lives of a selection of eighteen young people which compare their lives at eighteen with their later achievements. The chronologically arranged stories also provide an overview of the history of Britain from the seventh century until modern times.

Some of the individuals from history who appear in this book include The Venerable Bede, Empress Matilda, Geoffrey Chaucer, Jacques Francis, Queen Elizabeth I, Fionnghal (Flora MacDonald) Nic Dhomhnaill, Horatio Nelson, Mary Anning, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Vita Sackville-West, C S Lewis, Rosalind Franklin, Richard Burton and Vivienne Westwood.

For many of the young people in this book life held many challenges, particularly in their younger years, and for some it took many years to decide the path they wanted to follow. Some, of course, knew from an early age, what they hoped to do. 

In Eighteen by Alice Loxton, the author stresses that in order to achieve individuals need a mentor, someone who can offer encouragement and point the young person in the right direction to eventually find what they really want from life. This is a readable book encompassing both history and stories of how individuals achieved success. Another excellent book of history by Alice Loxton.