I’ve been watching a fair amount of QI (read: obsessively) and it makes me realize how deficient is my knowledge of English history — well, Great Britain as a whole.
I already have a book on European history, but it’s a pretty breezy overview, if you can call 800 pages breezy.
Anybody got any recommendations? 
Simon Schama’s three volume “History of Britain” was described as being more of a series on England than Britain by some, if you yourself mean England the country and not the UK. The TV series was interesting at least but I’ve not had a chance to start on the books.
If you want something a little lighter, there’s the slightly elderly 1066 and all that or the slightly more modern The Very Bloody History of Britain [sub]without the boring bits[/sub].
If you’re looking for something somewhere between Schama and Sellar & Yeatman, I strongly recommned Robert Lacey’s three volume Great Tales from English History. He basically tells a cultural history of England - talking about the people and events that are famous to the English and formed their national identity.
I’m going to go with the Schama, I think: at least the first volume, which is available at a reasonable used price.
Thanks for the help! (I needed something to read on a plane trip.)
I liked what I’ve read of Winston Churchill’s A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.
It may not be the best historically – I thought I detected a bit of a political bias in parts, and more knowledgeable readers would probably see more of that. But the language is magnificent, and it’s really enjoyable to read.
I’m already reading Churchill’s “Memoirs of the Second World War.” He’s quite capable as a writer but, as you say, his biases and his ego are a bit telling. If anybody has earned a little ego, I think Churchill has, though.
I came here to recommend Schama. His books are very readable - I’ve actually read the series twice, just to enjoy his prose.
Bear in mind that the first couple of chapters of Book 1 are a bit slow. Bear with them and you’ll get to the good stuff.
Bill Bryson’s Notes From A Small Island isn’t so much about English History as it is about England and English people; it’s a must read, and extremely funny as well!
Bryant’s Set in a Silver Sea is a classic old-school history. And available for 1 cent from amazon marketplace, even as we speak.
I like when he dismisses his opponents as “those who had hitherto been most slothful and purblind”. You just don’t hear that kind of rhetoric in politics any more!
How about, “The Isles: A History” by Norman Davies. It covers England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, etc.