Unruly

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 Times Think 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.