The North Sea

Renowned historian Alistair Moffat traces the windswept story of the North Sea throughout British history and examines how it has shaped who we are and how we see ourselves.

The North Sea, a maritime highway and the edge of a nation of islanders with a proud sea-faring past. Running from Kent and the Rhine estuary to the Norwegian coast and the tip of the Shetland islands, it has been home to warring tribes, foreign invaders, lost civilisations and holidaymakers. Its history spans millennia, since a seismic shift sent land retreating and water rushing in. Today, the North Sea continues to rise, claiming land mass as the east coast crumbles and sinks.

In The North Sea, renowned historian Alistair Moffat spends a year travelling its shores to better understand our relationship to the sea. He takes us on an epic, sweeping history from the Kentish coast to flooded homes, crossing wild fenland and Brexit fault lines, visiting well-worn seaside towns and windswept island monasteries.

The story he tells is one of newcomers and the mark they left, of Roman invasions, the arrival of the Saxons and the Viking raids. But it is also a story of those they met, of Pictish citadels and Orcadian stone circles. It is a story of technological advancement, of submarine engineering and weather forecasting. It is a story of huge industry, from whaling expeditions and fishing trawlers to the boom of North Sea oil and offshore wind farms. This is the story of how the North Sea shaped us and will continue to do so; it is above all a story of insistent, inescapable change.

About the Author

Alistair Moffat MBE was born in Kelso, Scotland in 1950. He is an award-winning writer, historian and former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television. He is the founder of the Borders Book Festival and was awarded the MBE for services to literature and culture in 2025.

Praise for The North Sea

'A rollicking, surprising, often moving personal history of a big part of the British story that has long needed its own narrative. Page-turningly entertaining.'
– Andrew Marr

'The North Sea is a rich and adventurous exploration of one of the great arenas of British history.'
– Michael Palin

'I enjoyed this enormously, the first full account of the North Sea, above the waves and below. It lends itself to the unique storytelling ability of Alistair Moffat.'
– Gordon Brown

'Wonderfully descriptive, knowledgeable and concise … History has become so specialised that we sometimes lose sight of its sweep. This has always been one of the great strengths of Moffat's writing and this book is no different. Sociable polymaths like him are a rare breed, but for books like this, an indispensable one.'
– Scotsman

'Moffat's thesis is that the North Sea made modern Britain, and he ranges widely in arguing for it. We're swept from the earliest migrations to our shores to Thatcher's privatisation of oil; along the way, there's swashbuckling, fish, nostalgic fun and plenty of interesting trivia [ … ] Moffat shows real literary skill.'
– Telegraph