History

Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

  • Downloads：2118
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2023-11-02 13:21:54
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：David Mitchell
  • ISBN：B0C4Z8RGW4
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

Discover who we are and how we got here in comedian， star of Peep Show and student of history David Mitchell's A History of England's Kings and Queens - a thoughtful， funny exploration of the founding fathers and mothers of England， and subsequently Britain。

Think you know your kings and queens？ Think again。

In UNRULY ， David Mitchell explores how England's monarchs， while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects' destinies， were in reality a bunch of lucky sods who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits。

Taking us right back to King Arthur （ he didn't exist）， David tells the founding story of post-Roman England right up to the reign of Elizabeth I （ she dies）。 It's a tale of narcissists， inadequate self-control， excessive beheadings， middle-management insurrection， uncivil wars， and at least one total Cnut， as the population evolved from having their crops nicked by the thug with the largest armed gang to bowing and paying taxes to a divinely anointed king。

How this happened， who it happened to and why it matters in modern Britain are all questions David answers with brilliance， wit and the full erudition of a man who once studied history - and won't let it off the hook for the mess it's made。

A funny book about a serious subject， UNRULY is for anyone who has ever wondered how we got here - and who is to blame。

Download

Reviews

Hamid ，

Good， fun， accessible pop history， filled with wit。 This doesn't quite cover the history of England's Kings and Queens but runs up to 1603。 Mitchell explains this at the end of the book - after 1603， they're Kings and Queens of *Britain* and become less rulers and more figureheads。 Not sure I buy the rationale for the next couple of hundred years but what is included is thoroughly fun， even if it brings nothing new to the table beyond wit and humour。 Good， fun， accessible pop history， filled with wit。 This doesn't quite cover the history of England's Kings and Queens but runs up to 1603。 Mitchell explains this at the end of the book - after 1603， they're Kings and Queens of *Britain* and become less rulers and more figureheads。 Not sure I buy the rationale for the next couple of hundred years but what is included is thoroughly fun， even if it brings nothing new to the table beyond wit and humour。 。。。more

Jack Head ，

Poor old lady Jane grey

Jennifer ，

Minus one star for all the James Bond spoilers

Wendy ，

Comedian David Mitchell takes erudite， somewhat ranty style and directs it at the history of England's kings and queens from 1066 to 1603。 While the narrative lags at times， it is a good read， and his final thoughts in the last chapter are worth considering。 Comedian David Mitchell takes erudite， somewhat ranty style and directs it at the history of England's kings and queens from 1066 to 1603。 While the narrative lags at times， it is a good read， and his final thoughts in the last chapter are worth considering。 。。。more

Magnus Halsnes ，

Ei tilgjengeleg， underhaldande og morosam innføring i dei ulike engelske kongane fram til 1600-talet。 Første halvdel， der han tar føre seg dei mindre kjende kongane， saman med ulike personlege innfalla til Mitchell og ymse «rants» om historikarar， dei beste bitane av boka。 Det er ikkje noko perfekt bok， men fungerer godt som ei interessevekkande bok for temaet som har med gode og vittige påpeikningar om historiefaget og vinklingar av temaa boka tar opp。Eg høyrde boka på lydbok， der det er forfat Ei tilgjengeleg， underhaldande og morosam innføring i dei ulike engelske kongane fram til 1600-talet。 Første halvdel， der han tar føre seg dei mindre kjende kongane， saman med ulike personlege innfalla til Mitchell og ymse «rants» om historikarar， dei beste bitane av boka。 Det er ikkje noko perfekt bok， men fungerer godt som ei interessevekkande bok for temaet som har med gode og vittige påpeikningar om historiefaget og vinklingar av temaa boka tar opp。Eg høyrde boka på lydbok， der det er forfattaren sjølv som les， noko som styrkar bokopplevinga。 Om eg hadde lese den， trur eg ikkje den hadde vore like morosam。 Om ein likar David Mitchell， vil eg strekt tilråde å høyre boka。 。。。more

Debs Longman ，

I listened to this on the audiobook， and it was great hearing David Mitchell read it。 I did find it hard to follow at times。 Word of caution to anyone offended with very strong bad language as he uses a lot of it。 I don’t mind， but I know others may。

cp ，

Highly entertaining canter through the royal line up to Liz One。 A wry observation on every page。 History has rarely been so much fun。

Mark Harrison ，

Exceptional study of English monarchs done with great humour and insight by comedian David Mitchell。 Entirely irreverent but bloody funny and full of facts and tales。 Very clever and the audio adds Mitchell's sarcasm and humour to every story。 Brilliant。 Exceptional study of English monarchs done with great humour and insight by comedian David Mitchell。 Entirely irreverent but bloody funny and full of facts and tales。 Very clever and the audio adds Mitchell's sarcasm and humour to every story。 Brilliant。 。。。more

Sarah ，

3。75This was so funny but should probably be used more as a supplement to a more thorough history of early British monarchs/birth of Britain。 I appreciated his insightful emphasis on the evolving perception of kingship - from divinely appointed/unquestionably in charge because God said so -> primogeniture -> just some guy/anyone could do it。

Sifa Poulton ，

UNRULY is a funny overview of Medieval （and early Early Modern - it includes the Tudors！） England （and also Wales and Scotland and France at times。）What I really appreciated was how honestly the book approached what made a good king in those days， and it's really not what a modern perspective would say。 As Mitchell points out again and again， strategically applied， consistent brutality made for the best kings back then。 This is a book that took the period within its societal context and tried to UNRULY is a funny overview of Medieval （and early Early Modern - it includes the Tudors！） England （and also Wales and Scotland and France at times。）What I really appreciated was how honestly the book approached what made a good king in those days， and it's really not what a modern perspective would say。 As Mitchell points out again and again， strategically applied， consistent brutality made for the best kings back then。 This is a book that took the period within its societal context and tried to explain the mindset in a way that a modern mindset could understand without using that as an excuse to impose modern ways of thinking onto it。Mitchell is also very honest about where his personal opinions on the kings （and rare queens） come into play。 It's quite refreshing to see a book go "here is what happening， but know I'm on team Harold。" There is no attempt to do the typical historian "we're going to be objective about this" and so it feels a lot more like a chat that an a lecture。It's very interesting reading a general history when you know quite a lot about the periods covered。 I haven't read one quite like this in a while - the few general histories of England I've read in the last few years （QUEENS OF THE CONQUEST and its companions） came from less well covered perspectives， in this cases the women。 My reading has tended towards a narrow focus on two centuries at most in one go， but often much less。Because of this， it read like an entertaining， wry summation of all the events in my head。 It's very comforting and easy to read。 There are no surprises， I can read it when I'm tired because I don't need to be paying intense concentration to follow what's happening as I can fill in the blanks if I accidentally skim a paragraph。This is where the fact that the book is written by a comedian whose work I enjoy really comes into its own。 It has all that dry， wry humour that I enjoy。 It also has very interesting analogies （Edward I being bad with spin bowling， anyone？） and reflections on modern politics in the context of medieval kingship。 。。。more

Anna ，

Lots of fun， a nice overview and general pointing out that monarchy is more of a historical accident than a default setting。

Becca ，

if you're the kind of person willing to read/listen to a book about the history of British monarchs， this is unlikely to be your first on the topic， this might become a fast favourite for a quick and dirty overview with enough laughs to help you remember the trivia so you can brighten up a dinner party some day。 This isn't and doesn't try to be an academic text， it's a popular history and （let's be real） you'd be just as valid to store it with comedy books as history ones。 It's a fun romp throug if you're the kind of person willing to read/listen to a book about the history of British monarchs， this is unlikely to be your first on the topic， this might become a fast favourite for a quick and dirty overview with enough laughs to help you remember the trivia so you can brighten up a dinner party some day。 This isn't and doesn't try to be an academic text， it's a popular history and （let's be real） you'd be just as valid to store it with comedy books as history ones。 It's a fun romp through a particularly unfun （though weirdly compelling） aspect of history with just the right level of facetiousness and sarcasm that you won't be put off if you're not a royalist in the way you might be if you were trying to slog your way through fawning biographies written in ivory towers by big shot blue-blooded professors with an agenda somewhere in the 1800s。 It rings with sincerity in 2023， and an aversion to getting too blinded by the bling， with a fair level of contempt for the whole institution as you'd expect from a comedian。 It's also very good as a history text， especially in the popular history genre， presenting a fairly coherent analysis and attempting to contextualise events for a modern audience as they happened without trying to feign an objective or balanced viewpoint （the running gag of what things cost historically relative to modern money is brilliantly done and needs to become standard academic practice; it's much more evocative that sticking a phone number in front of a dollar sign in brackets after an arbitrary number of arbitrary units of currency that don't exist anymore）。 。。。more

Biav Kittani ，

David Mitchell's writing is full of humor and insight。 He doesn't shy away from the darker side of British history， exploring the violence， greed， and corruption that have often characterized the monarchy。One of the things that makes Unruly so enjoyable is Mitchell's willingness to challenge the traditional hagiography of British monarchs。 He shows that even the most celebrated rulers had their flaws and foibles。Overall， I highly recommend Unruly to anyone interested in British history or simply David Mitchell's writing is full of humor and insight。 He doesn't shy away from the darker side of British history， exploring the violence， greed， and corruption that have often characterized the monarchy。One of the things that makes Unruly so enjoyable is Mitchell's willingness to challenge the traditional hagiography of British monarchs。 He shows that even the most celebrated rulers had their flaws and foibles。Overall， I highly recommend Unruly to anyone interested in British history or simply looking for a fun and informative read。 It is a witty， informative， and entertaining book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it。 。。。more

Eleanor Tonkin ，

A tour of the English monarchy with David Mitchell’s signature humour。 This book doesn’t go into much detail and is more of a summary of the monarch’s reign， while David shares related anecdotes or makes very funny observations。 Definitely recommend for any fans of English history or David Mitchell’s shows！

Chloe ，

Mitchell reveals he wanted to emulate Simon Winder’s Germania in his history of English Kings and Queens， but Mitchell’s is the funnier book， and has more interesting and amusing details。 Maybe it’s because Winder assumes a very low level of knowledge about the Germans and their history， but Mitchell’s survey feels closer， more personable and warmer， even when he’s revealing quite what monsters the monarchs were， in modern terms。 Claiming even Trump wouldn’t dare try certain medieval power grabs Mitchell reveals he wanted to emulate Simon Winder’s Germania in his history of English Kings and Queens， but Mitchell’s is the funnier book， and has more interesting and amusing details。 Maybe it’s because Winder assumes a very low level of knowledge about the Germans and their history， but Mitchell’s survey feels closer， more personable and warmer， even when he’s revealing quite what monsters the monarchs were， in modern terms。 Claiming even Trump wouldn’t dare try certain medieval power grabs is perhaps unwise given Donald may not be finished with mounting challenges to authority， but the comparisons really help step into the shoes （if they had them） of middles ages subjects。 。。。more

Chris ，

Sublime。 Witty， on-the-nose commentary that has true perspective。 A must-read

Phill Wesson ，

Truly excellent。 Insightful and packed full of well reasoned opinion and analysis。 Also， downright hilarious; However beyond all the above， this book contains the most even-handed and considered rebuke of 2021’s conclusion to the James Bond franchise I’ve ever read。 I agree the flock out of it。 Fair play Mitchell， if we don’t have a more parliamentary focused sequel to look forward to， maybe a career in film criticism beckons

Michelle ，

Educational and hilarious

Linda ，

The subtitle was the clincher。 If I’m going to read a book about history， it best be written with humor。This book begins with King Arthur， who of course never existed， and ends with… uh… Shakespeare， who as far as I know was never king of England， but Mitchell makes it all make sense。It took about three hours into an 11。5 hour audibook just to make it to 1066。 That’s a *lot* of ancient kings and consorts。 Do I remember any of them？ Not really。 It doesn’t take many Æthelreds and Ælfgifus to confu The subtitle was the clincher。 If I’m going to read a book about history， it best be written with humor。This book begins with King Arthur， who of course never existed， and ends with… uh… Shakespeare， who as far as I know was never king of England， but Mitchell makes it all make sense。It took about three hours into an 11。5 hour audibook just to make it to 1066。 That’s a *lot* of ancient kings and consorts。 Do I remember any of them？ Not really。 It doesn’t take many Æthelreds and Ælfgifus to confuse me， and you wouldn't believe how many Ælfgifus there were。Mitchell stops after Elizabeth I， because that’s when things got complicated， and there were no longer just Kings of England alone， but of groups of nations。I would definitely read another book of history by this man。 。。。more

Monika Johnston ，

I listened to this as an audio book read by Mitchell himself。 I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I didn't hear David's wry humour and expression delivering the words。 I have a love of British royal history so his unique， humorous look at the kings and queens was very enjoyable I listened to this as an audio book read by Mitchell himself。 I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I didn't hear David's wry humour and expression delivering the words。 I have a love of British royal history so his unique， humorous look at the kings and queens was very enjoyable 。。。more

Anne ，

I am a big history nerd， but I couldn't get through this audio book。 I found the narrator's voice to be annoying， and his sense of humor was a bit too crass for my taste I am a big history nerd， but I couldn't get through this audio book。 I found the narrator's voice to be annoying， and his sense of humor was a bit too crass for my taste 。。。more

Bip Padrnos ，

Definitely more focused on being fun and entertaining than on education， and it was definitely entertaining。

Ben Covey ，

Brilliantly entertaining and informative

Joanne ，

I'm a big fan of David Mitchell and I think this book is fantastic。 I'm a big fan of David Mitchell and I think this book is fantastic。 。。。more

Hollie ，

Well， it was a bit of fun

Kayce ，

A friend with good taste recommended。 I’m intrigued！

Dave Taylor ，

Comedian and writer David Mitchell offers up a hilarious and irreverent history of the royals from the very beginnings of royalty in England thru Queen Mary， and it's a rollicking ride。 No surprise， he's a terrific writer （and was wonderful in "Upstart Crow"）。 This is how history should be written， candidly and with snark and sarcasm about the wackiness of what transpired。 It is， however， a bit long too， and would have been improved with a tighter edit。 Still， one of my favorite history books fo Comedian and writer David Mitchell offers up a hilarious and irreverent history of the royals from the very beginnings of royalty in England thru Queen Mary， and it's a rollicking ride。 No surprise， he's a terrific writer （and was wonderful in "Upstart Crow"）。 This is how history should be written， candidly and with snark and sarcasm about the wackiness of what transpired。 It is， however， a bit long too， and would have been improved with a tighter edit。 Still， one of my favorite history books for a very long time。 Now， how to get David to write about early USA history？ It'd be dynamite！ 。。。more

James Bender ，

Very entertaining and informative story of the emergence of the British monarchy from the fall of Rome and the mists of time。 What a messy and horrible way to run a country。 Mitchell （the actor from Peep Shop）， clearly a serious history buff， makes it very funny with lots of references to current British culture。 Many were lost on this American but I was able to Google some of them and get a chuckle。

Irene Schneider ，

The ultimate court jester， David Mitchell delivers an irreverent yet respectful tight-five （so to speak） on every sovereign of Britain。As always， the best way to sing Mitchell's praises is to quote him， and his own description of the sweep of "Unruly" cannot be improved upon: "From King Arthur to William Shakespeare- a literary character to a literary genius。 From someone everyone wishes existed to someone that some people， inexplicably， wish didn't。" Between Camelot and the Bard， Mitchell sketc The ultimate court jester， David Mitchell delivers an irreverent yet respectful tight-five （so to speak） on every sovereign of Britain。As always， the best way to sing Mitchell's praises is to quote him， and his own description of the sweep of "Unruly" cannot be improved upon: "From King Arthur to William Shakespeare- a literary character to a literary genius。 From someone everyone wishes existed to someone that some people， inexplicably， wish didn't。" Between Camelot and the Bard， Mitchell sketches every king and queen starting with Alfred in 871-- some of them good， most bad， many ruthless， all flawed。"Unruly" reads like a conversation with someone you don't want to interrupt。 With clarity and vigor， Mitchell's ultimate achievement is a plausible， even welcome judgment on the very idea of kings and queens: why monarchs came into existence in the first place， and why the urge to have them persists， albeit reduced to cult-of-personality level since equality was declared in 1776。 。。。more

Louise ，

I listened to this on audiobook read by Mitchell himself。I loved it， Mitchell’s humour is just perfection and I loved listening to him tell the stories of these rulers。 Even my husband who isn’t really a history person has been enjoying listening to it himself。 I hope to hear some more history books from Mitchell。 Hopefully the siege of Stalingrad 😉

Tag

    unruly the ridiculous history of england's kings and queens unruly the ridiculous history of england's kings and queens david mitchell borrow unruly the ridiculous history of england's kings and queens

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0