Horrible Histories Special: England

Horrible Histories Specials #11

by Terry Deary

History with the nasty bits left in! This hideous Horrible History reveals the awful truth behind the rebellions, riots and rumpuses that have made England what it is today (whatever that is). From the cruel Celts right up to the terrible 20th century, it's a tale to make you quake. Want to know: which monk tried to pinch the devil's nose with a pair of tongs? Why some people in the Middle Ages ate dove droppings? Which English king was accused of being a werewolf? Mull over the miseries of Middle Ages monarchs, discover ten ways to die down a Victorian mine, and find out which dreadful days in history we celebrate as holidays. Whether it's plague, fire and civil war, or roast beef, fish and chips and a cup of tea, if it's anything to do with England, you'll find it in this book!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Humor, Historical, British Literature, European History

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 18, 2004

About the author

A former actor, theatre-director and drama teacher, Deary says he began writing when he was 29. Most famously, he is one of the authors of the Horrible Histories series of books popular among children for their disgusting details, gory information and humorous pictures and among adults for getting children interested in history. Books in the series have been widely translated into other languages and imitated.

A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CiTV for a period in 2002.

The first series of a live-action comedy sketch show of the same name was shown on CBBC in 2009 and a second series is due.

Terry is also known widely throughout children and adult reading groups alike for his True Stories series (see below for series list).

He received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Sunderland in 2000. His numerous accolades also include the Blue Peter "Best Nonfiction Author of the Century" Award in the U.K.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an enjoyable read, like all other Horrible Histories.

[Marz Hare]

Me: I want to learn more about my new country!

Also me: (picks up a book about heinous historical happenings that doesn't skimp on the gory details despite being technically also for younger readers)

What can I say, I'm sure this will come in handy come the citizenship test ✨

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun read! I learned a lot!

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5: There's so much interesting content here which makes it overwhelming for this veteran history teacher, so kudos to anyone else who can plow through it. As with most in the series, it's interactive, strives for relevance, and has lots of attempts at humor. this one more than others felt to have humor inserted at what seemed to me inappropriate times. I'm not trying to be a downer, as I appreciate the attempt at drawing in future historians by making it entertain, but I'm not sure that should be at the expense of promoting empathy and understanding that history is full of real people who are impacted by real events. That said, again I appreciate the vast amount of British history all in one spot and through a unique manner. Worthwhile!

[Ava · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has the best puns yet.

[Victoire Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only way an engineering student can stay cultured I guess.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This makes a breezy but interesting read between the heavier tomes.
And it is so informative.
I especially like the fact that he mentions people who generally NEVER make it into the pages of the majority of history books AND facts too!
eg.Agnes Ellyot of Sussex who went to a water pit at 4am on a winter morning and fell in.Young girls drowned in wells and ponds while fetching water, making death by drowning the largest cause of death for women of the Elizabethan era and into the 1700's.In the Middle Ages it was fire that killed women until better fireplaces made women safer.

And though I've read several books about Elizabeth I, I did not know that needing to build up her supply of skilful sailors and ships, she passed a cunning law: that no meat was to be consumed in England on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.Because of this law people ate fish instead which created a demand for fisherman and boat builders - a ready source of recruits for the slave trade, wars etc.
Clever Lizzie!!!

Only drawback is the pretty constant Horrible Stuff!!!

This book is rather subversive too...not too reverential about the royals, businessmen, employers and the wealthy. And very Pro- children, women, the working class, animals and anti-war.
I grew fonder and fonder of Terry Deary and his horrible books!

[Dominika Stará · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very funny indeed (its written for kids) however I felt like I read some wow facts about England instead of some real facts (at least if it was chronologically listed but the author jumps from one century to another). I was sometimes laughing inside with these really fun pictures matching the text, but I trully feel like the author only scratched the surface (I mean the book has only 200p or so, so one cannot expect anything profound, but still…).
Anyway I am looking forward to read more about the Scottish/English history right how, this seems quite interesting.

[Lilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a fun book with many interesting facts about England, although it is aimed at children, I enjoyed it a lot.

Es un libro divertido con muchos datos interesantes acerca de Inglaterra, aunque esta enfocado para niños, lo disfrute bastante.

[Liselotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like most about Terry Deary books is that he doesn't hold back. The English did some stupid things? He will tell you. Did they do absolutely despicable things? He will tell you. He doesn't shy away from the gruesome bits that most history books leave out, and that's why I love the horrible history books! I mean, what's in a name? But how many books have you read where they will tell you what they did with small aboriginal children in Australia? Yeah, I thought so.

This one is just like the others. Funny, interesting, and really accessible. Whenever children ask me about history books, I recommend this series! There's nothing wrong with them, this one does feel a bit too short, but you have to cram A L O T of history in only 200 pages, so it makes sense.
I totally recommend these! :)

[Jana P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nepředpokládám, že by tituly ze série Děsivé dějiny někdo bral jako seriózní zdroj informací, z nichž čerpat. Osobně to spíš vnímám jako zábavné čtení o historii, kde bych však ta fakta možná brala spíš s rezervou. Už jsem takhle četla titul o Egypťanech a přišlo mi to docela zábavné.
Tady mi to bohužel úplně nesedlo. Zpočátku mi to přišlo skutečně jako humorně napsané povídání, ale nějak mi přišlo, že s přibývajícími stránkami se ten humor začínal dost opotřebovávat a spíš mne to začínalo nudit. Navíc mi úplně nevyhovovalo to, že tu autor čas od času přeskakuje v časech, takže jsem se občas ztrácela.
Nevím, jako dítě by mne to možná bavilo víc - přeci jen to je určeno hlavně dětskému čtenáři. Ale jako dospělé se mi to do vkusu úplně nestrefilo. Nakonec tedy za dvě hvězdy, no...

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this is another one of the HH “specials” that’s focuses in depth on one country through the entirety of its history and this time it’s England’s turn. Although, the history of England is so vast and convoluted that it can’t really be contained within one small book like this so there are large swathes of it that has been left out.

In fact; this is almost more of a recap of what has come in previous HH books rather than looking at anything else that may be different to what has been seen before. It is a little more in depth but if you’d already gone through the preceding books then you wouldn’t really come across anything new.

[Lara (Atlas Of Stories) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nostalgic read from my husband's childhood.

Horrible Histories is a collection of children's books that, in a funny and slightly chaotic way, dive into the horrible and weird parts of history. This one focuses on England.

I enjoyed the weird facts, the funny remarks, and the comics scattered throughout. Even though it felt a bit too chaotic for me at times, I totally get why kids would love reading something like this.

It’s a nostalgic read for us adults, but definitely a fun and entertaining one for the target audience.

[Jorge Rosas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this Horrible Histories books and this one is not the exception, aimed to school children who find history class boring this book bring the funny and gruesome part to the light it also includes some question and answer test, it goes from ancient pre roman inhabitants to the WWII and many chapters have the title of a related horrible history books. It’s a funny way to know English and UK history.

[Glen Pettifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

First read from Horrible Histories series

This was my first read and and as an adult it’s obviously for children.
I did learn a few mildly interesting things but to be honest didn’t particularly enjoy it out of the books I’m reading at the minute(I’m reading several books).
For children, and if I was still a child these would be more interesting but I think for myself I’ll stick to adult books now.

[Peter Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much enjoy Horrible histories TV shows and this book is very much in the same spirit coming out with lots of interesting details and facts on the history of England.

However it does seem strange that the first (unofficial) king of England Athelstan is not mentioned and neither is Alfred's daughter Athelfleda the Lady of the Mercians who was very significant in driving the Vikings out.

Still worth a read though!

[Lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

i had a friend tell me once that she thinks it's ignorant for someone to live somewhere and not know its history. she was a history fanatic, but i do think there is some truth to it, so as a non-history fan, this is my tribute to her. surely there are more thorough books on general english history, but a cousin bestowed me a whole set of horrible histories when i was younger, so what better occasion to reach for this one?

[Tammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read- July 2o2o for The Reading Rush (Read a book in a genre you've always wanted to read more of)
- This wasn't my favourite book that I've read in this series so far, mainly because of the casual racism against Asian (specifically Korean) people.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and interesting.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Great horrible histories!

[Heather Bridson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little book! Funny and simple. But really a good refresher on English history..sort of. Anyway, I had fun reading it!

[Cathleen Sarti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, short interlude to reading academic histories :)

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love a good bit of Horrible Histories

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

51 - 2021

[Candy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still hilarious

[George Foord · Rating 5 out of 5]

More social history which I enjoyed rather than royalty.

[May Sun Aung · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

The mining accidents were quite tragic. No wonder those old mines are filled with ghost stories.

[Xanthi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of the content in this book appears in other volumes but it’s meshed together here well. And as usual, the illustrations really add to the reader’s experience.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, there were quite a few things that I learnt, in some points the vibes were a bit off though

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, very informative