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Unruly
Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens | David Mitchell
6 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 6 to read
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 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.
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AvidReader25
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Pickpick

If Bill Bryson used cuss words and wrote a book about the British monarchy, this would be it. Funny, irreverent, and I afraid of finding the hilarity in a whole system that claims a gold hat makes you a ruler. The book flits between the facts of each monarch but doesn‘t go too deep with any of them. Come for the history, stay for the humor.

BkClubCare David Mitchell of Cloud Atlas Mitchell? 2mo
AvidReader25 @BkClubCare It‘s not, but I‘d be lying if I said I didn‘t pick up the book because I thought it was him. 🤣 2mo
27 likes3 comments
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Emma_PK
Pickpick

I found this witty and irreverent commentary on the history of the British monarchy really refreshing and fun. I enjoyed the healthy mix of well researched and interesting historical fact mixed with Mitchell's clever, cutting humour. Being an Irish person I took particular pleasure in the absolute buffonery of it all! 😆

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kellock
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Next up . . . Not sure why this Scottish person wants to read this but I'm looking forward to it

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DGRachel
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There‘s an unexpected amount of honest-to-goodness history in this book written by an English comedian. I expected more of a “royals behaving badly” with rude jokes and sarcastic asides. There‘s some of that, but there‘s also real scholarship. Some of the snark felt out of place and Mitchell went on random rants about modern science deniers and governments, but overall, I enjoyed this brief history of English monarchs.

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