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

INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A rollicking history of Englands 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 Times Think you know the kings and queens of England? Think again. In Unruly, David Mitchell explores how early Englands 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 didnt exist), Mitchell tells the founding story of post-Roman England up to the reign of Elizabeth I (spoiler: she dies). Its 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 historyand wont let it off the hook for the mess its made. A funny book that takes history seriously, Unruly is for anyone who has ever wondered how the British monarchy came to beand who is to blame.