Unruly: The Number One Bestseller ‘Horrible Histories for grownups’ Times

A funny book about a serious subject, Unruly is for anyone who has ever wondered how we got here - and who is to blame. THE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Clever, amusing, gloriously bizarre and razor sharp. Mitchell – a funny man and skilled historian – tells stories that are interesting and fun. Here is Horrible Histories for grownups’ GERARD DEGROOT, THE TIMES 'Just fantastic. Delightfully contrary and hilariously cantankerous. Very, very funny’ JESSE ARMSTRONG, CREATOR OF SUCCESSION AND PEEP SHOW 'Clever, funny. Makes you think quite differently about history’ DAN SNOW, HISTORIAN AND BROADCASTER ---- Think you know your kings and queens? Think again. Taking us right back to King Arthur (spoiler: he didn't exist), Unruly tells the founding story of post-Roman England up to the reign of Elizabeth I (spoiler: she dies). It's a tale of narcissists, inadequate self-control, excessive beheadings, middle-management insurrection, uncivil wars, and at least one total Cnut. How this happened, who it happened to and why it matters in modern Britain are all questions David Mitchell 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. *The Times Number One Bestseller October 2023* ---- ‘An enjoyable, rollicking read, definitely not a conventional history book’ THE TIMES ‘Chatty, irreverent and liberally sprinkled with gags and opinions. Horrible Histories with added swearing’ GUARDIAN 'Mitchell clearly knows his history, with a book that owes as much to Monty Python as it does to Simon Schama' ANDREW MARR, BROADCASTER 'Who knew a history of England's rulers could be this hilarious?' i 'I can’t recommend this book enough. Very funny and interesting, it is above all a proper work of history' CHARLIE HIGSON

INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ? A rollicking history of England?s kings and queens from Arthur to Elizabeth I, a tale of power, glory, and excessive beheadings by award-winning British actor and comedian David Mitchell?Clever, amusing, gloriously bizarre and razor sharp. Mitchell [is] a funny man and a skilled historian.??The TimesThink you know the kings and queens of England? Think again.In Unruly, David Mitchell explores how early England?s monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects? destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky bastards who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits.Taking us back to King Arthur (spoiler: he didn?t exist), Mitchell tells the founding story of post-Roman England up to the reign of Elizabeth I (spoiler: she dies). It?s a tale of narcissists, inadequate self-control, middle-management insurrection, uncivil wars, and a few Cnuts, as the English evolved from having their crops stolen 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 the hell it matters are all questions that Mitchell 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 that takes history seriously, Unruly is for anyone who has ever wondered how the British monarchy came to be?and who is to blame.