Unruly

A History of England's Kings and Queens

By: David Mitchell

Narrated by: David Mitchell

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

Read by David Mitchell.

A funny book about a serious subject, Unruly is for anyone who has ever wondered how we got here - and who is to blame.

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*

'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

‘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

©2023 David Mitchell (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Unruly is part Horrible Histories part jolly romp guided by Alan Bennett. Perhaps this is how history should be done: not by patient scholars, but by free-swearing actor-comedians cramming more ideas and jokes into their pages than many professionals have committed to print in their careers.

Full of jokes and canny insights, 100 per cent sparkier and more revernt than your school textbooks

An enjoyable, rollicking read, definitely not a conventional history book

I don’t think anyone other than David Mitchell could have written this book. It’s clever, funny and makes you think quite differently about history we thought we knew

By turns fascinating and funny - there is a jewel of an insight or a refreshing blast of clarifying wit on every page. David brings a delightfully contrary and hilariously cantankerous eye to the history of the English Monarchy. Informative, illuminating and very very funny

Mitchell clearly knows his history, with a book that owes as much to Monty Python as it does to Simon Schama

A Peep Show history of England

Clever, amusing, gloriously bizarre and razor sharp. Mitchell - a funny man and a skilled historian - tells stories that are interesting and fun. His rants alone are worth the price of the book. And amid all the jokes and delightful nonsense, Mitchell sneaks in a serious message about English identity. Here is Horrible Histories for grownups - stripped of their finery, devoid of reverence, UNRULY's monarchs emerge as mortals with ordinary flaws. I learnt a lot and laughed a lot, and people who have never before picked up a history book will read and enjoy this one. That's an accomplishment

Chatty, irreverent and liberally sprinkled with gags and opinions. Horrible Histories with added swearing.

I can’t recommend this book enough. Very funny and interesting, it is above all a proper work of history

Got through that quite quickly

IDavid Mitchell's humor and phrasing are reliably satisfying. I haven't read/listening to a book on the kings of queens of England and my knowledge of English history is quite weak. The book was really enjoyable

Funny and insightful

Well written and well read. DM gives a great modern interpretation of English Royal history up to and including the rule of Elisabeth the first.

Excellent, as always

David is in fine form, although I’m not sure his ultimate conclusion at the end of the book can be universally applied to all of his subjects. An excellent listen.

Conversational, Informative and Hilarious

I loved this. I have learned so many new things and found myself laughing out loud at points. David is informative yet conversational and as the daughter of an Australian sailor I particularly enjoyed the vulgar language he used at points.
My partner and I enjoyed listening to this together; he is English and I am very interested in the History of England anyway.
10/10, please continue to write history books!!

Funny, interesting and educative

Being a fan of David Mitchell, I thought this would be good. A sort of funny, easy listening confection. But it’s much more than that. I wonder what he’s working on next.