Unruly

The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

De: David Mitchell

Narrado por: David Mitchell

Duración: 11 h y 39 m

Resumen del Editor

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.

©2023 David Mitchell (P)2023 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Clever and amusing . . . gloriously bizarre . . . razor sharp . . . People who have never before picked up a history book will read and enjoy this one.” —The Times

“David Mitchell brings a delightfully contrary and hilariously cantankerous eye to the history of the English monarchy, offering a jewel of an insight or a refreshing blast of clarifying wit on every page. Unruly is informative, illuminating, and very, very funny.” —Jesse Armstrong, writer and creator of Succession

“A sardonic, endlessly funny update to the classic 1066 and All That.” —Kirkus Reviews

Brilliant

The writing and performance of this book are Entertaining, educational, thoughtful, and funny!! Well worth it!

David Mitchell

Deliciously narrated with the same precise kind of humor that David Mitchell seems to excel at

Outstanding history of the medieval kings (and a few queens)

David Mitchell’s astute observations and humor shed a light on the medieval kings and queens of England. It is entertaining and informative. Finally a history book that doesn’t take everything so seriously. Outstanding read/listen. Highly recommended.

Mitchell perfectly blends wit and Centuries of violence

David Mitchell writes and reads this at times absurd and frequently violent historic tome of England’s Kings and Queens, from Alfred of Wessex to James Stuart. A fantastic book. Finished it within a week. So entertaining.

Another great from the Upstart Crow

I love his humor, and this book is a wonderful commentary on the early English Monarchy!

Wonderful

As we know, David is quite a clever boy. If you ever wondered if a history book could be funny, here you go. Well worth one credit. Hope for more.

Learned and laughed

Excellent history, the big picture, many colorful details and occasional laugh out
loud humor. Highly recommended!

So darn clever

Loved the book, learned lots, but mostly just enjoyed David Mitchell being David Mitchell. Smart ,maybe brilliant, sarcastic, and oh so funny. He can stitch together ideas, explanations with words and phrases that made me go back and listen again. And I was that person who did not know who won Battle of Hastings. More of this please

Funny and Informative

The thing I like most about this book is that it’s written by a comedian rather than a historian. The way he’s able to look at things and sum them up with a bit of wit made me look at things in history in a new light.

Excellent

David Mitchell reading David Mitchell is about as entertaining as a survey of English monarchs up to the 17th century can get (for my American ear at least.) If you’re interested in these figures as individuals and/ or how they influenced, and were products of, an ever evolving society it’s worth the credit and time. You’ll laugh and maybe even learn something about the society in which we live today.