English History: Strange but True

by Richard Smyth

Hundreds of incredible true facts and anecdotes from England's amazing history Did you know that Mary Queen of Scots was a mighty 5' 11" tall? Her cousin Elizabeth I, by contrast, was a miniscule 5' 4". Even with the heaviest bows, an English archer could fire six arrows a minute—or up to 54,000 arrows a minute at Agincourt. Charles I was once dug up by George III’s doctor; the medical man kept a piece of Charles's spine and beard as a souvenir. This book contains hundreds of "strange but true" facts and anecdotes about English history. Arranged into a miniature history of England, and with bizarre and hilarious true tales for every era, it will interest, surprise, and delight readers everywhere.

Genres: History

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2014

About the author

Richard Smyth is a writer, researcher and editor based in Bradford. He is a regular contributor to Bird Watching magazine, and reached the final of Mastermind with a specialist subject of British birds. He writes and reviews for The Times, Guardian, Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review, New Statesman, BBC Wildlife, New Humanist, Illustration and New Scientist. He also writes novels and short fiction, and has written several books on English history.

Reviews

[Chooi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting trivia that turns out to be so entirely trivial that it is, ultimately, utterly useless. Only to be expected of a trivia compendium.

[Joyce Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book an easy but informative if slightly quirky read. It was thoroughly enjoyable and for those who like to discover the less well known facts in our history, this would be a good book to start with .

[Jayne Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. I’m pleased it was a library copies and not one I had spent money on. The facts may have been strange and true but were definitely not that interesting.