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Kings and Things First Stories from English History
Takes us through the highs and lows of British History.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionSchool
337 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1938
6 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
H.E. Marshall
60 books37 followersHenrietta Elizabeth Marshall (usually credited as H.E. Marshall) was a Scottish author, particularly well known for her works of popular national history for children.
H.E. Marshall is famous for her 1905 children's history of England, Our Island Story: A History of England for Boys and Girls, illustrated by A. S. Forrest. In the USA the book was entitled An Island Story. The book was a bestseller, was printed in numerous editions, and for fifty years was the standard and much-loved book by which children learned the history of England. However a lot of this book is historically inaccurate and much of it uses Shakespeare's plays for historical sources; for example, the section of Richard III is really a summary of the play. The book is still to be found in schools and homes, but the last printing was in 1953 and it went out of print in the 1960s. In 2005, an alliance of the Civitas think-tank and various national newspapers brought the book back into print, with the aim of sending a free copy to each of the UK's primary schools. Readers of The Daily Telegraph contributed £25,000 to the cost of the reprint.
She was educated at a girls' boarding school called Laurel Bank, in Melrose. Between 1901 and 1904 she was the superintendent of a hall of residence for female students at the University of Glasgow, but, otherwise, she appears to have made her living throughout her life by writing. She never married.
As is made clear by the Prefaces of her books from time to time, she travelled extensively after 1904, including to Melbourne, California and China, although her obituary in The Times stated that she spent most of her life in Oxford and in London, where she died.
H.E. Marshall is famous for her 1905 children's history of England, Our Island Story: A History of England for Boys and Girls, illustrated by A. S. Forrest. In the USA the book was entitled An Island Story. The book was a bestseller, was printed in numerous editions, and for fifty years was the standard and much-loved book by which children learned the history of England. However a lot of this book is historically inaccurate and much of it uses Shakespeare's plays for historical sources; for example, the section of Richard III is really a summary of the play. The book is still to be found in schools and homes, but the last printing was in 1953 and it went out of print in the 1960s. In 2005, an alliance of the Civitas think-tank and various national newspapers brought the book back into print, with the aim of sending a free copy to each of the UK's primary schools. Readers of The Daily Telegraph contributed £25,000 to the cost of the reprint.
She was educated at a girls' boarding school called Laurel Bank, in Melrose. Between 1901 and 1904 she was the superintendent of a hall of residence for female students at the University of Glasgow, but, otherwise, she appears to have made her living throughout her life by writing. She never married.
As is made clear by the Prefaces of her books from time to time, she travelled extensively after 1904, including to Melbourne, California and China, although her obituary in The Times stated that she spent most of her life in Oxford and in London, where she died.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 3, 2015
As a child born in England but growing up in Australia, I loved this book. It provided me with the history of my birthplace in a droll and witty way, and I was captivated by its eccentric punctuation which showed me that, done with skill, punctuation did not necessarily have to follow the rules I had learned at school. Marshall used it to emphasise matters of interest to children, as in Vortimer was a Very Good King, or Richard III did an Evil Thing), and her style was simple yet conveyed more than just the facts.
Yes, her style... As an adult, I was abashed to discover that H.E. Marshall was a woman, born Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall in 1867. (See http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/he...)
I know that this book and H.V.Marshall's other famous children's history Our Island Story, A History of England for Boys and Girls (1905) were very popular with older generations and I would be interested to know if today's children, British or otherwise, enjoy it too.
Obviously, since it was written in 1937, Kings and Things is an imperialist history which predates post-colonialism, and it has a somewhat jaundiced view of the French, yet to become Britain's ally against Germany in WW2. But rather than 'throw the baby out with the bathwater', I think parents and educators could use this book as a gentle introduction to the idea that history tends to be written by the victors, and that it can never tell the whole story.
Yes, her style... As an adult, I was abashed to discover that H.E. Marshall was a woman, born Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall in 1867. (See http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/he...)
I know that this book and H.V.Marshall's other famous children's history Our Island Story, A History of England for Boys and Girls (1905) were very popular with older generations and I would be interested to know if today's children, British or otherwise, enjoy it too.
Obviously, since it was written in 1937, Kings and Things is an imperialist history which predates post-colonialism, and it has a somewhat jaundiced view of the French, yet to become Britain's ally against Germany in WW2. But rather than 'throw the baby out with the bathwater', I think parents and educators could use this book as a gentle introduction to the idea that history tends to be written by the victors, and that it can never tell the whole story.
September 23, 2024
It was entertaining but it was also hella racist. It was very "Great Britain is great" and particularly the last few chapters about colonialism were Bad. Wouldn't read this to a kid, but I found the whole overview of which monarch came when and what was the war of the roses etc very helpful. I also now understand better why the English and the French dislike each other so much
December 28, 2014
Really enjoyable potted history of Britain and its monarchs etc.
April 25, 2018
Awww, my dad had a copy of this beat -up book in our library... I remember reading it, over and over again. My dad said his grandma and granddad sent it over here from England, where they lived, for him when he was a kid. Dad has since passed away, the book is long gone, so I just bought a used copy. I'm going to enjoy a walk down Memory Lane with this one!
September 10, 2025
It’s a very fun history of England - but it lacks a lot of detail and is written in a pretty quirky fashion. It seems like a great add-on to an existing understanding.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews