What do you think?
Rate this book
Great Tales from English History: The Truth About King Arthur, Lady Godiva, Richard the Lionheart, and More
With insight, humor and fascinating detail, Lacey brings brilliantly to life the stories that made England--from Ethelred the Unready to Richard the Lionheart, the Venerable Bede to Piers the Ploughman.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 8, 2007
210 people are currently reading
1586 people want to read
About the author
Robert Lacey
83 books327 followersRobert Lacey is a British historian noted for his original research, which gets him close to - and often living alongside - his subjects. He is the author of numerous international bestsellers.
After writing his first works of historical biography, Robert, Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Ralegh, Robert wrote Majesty, his pioneering biography of Queen Elizabeth II. Published in 1977, Majesty remains
acknowledged as the definitive study of British monarchy - a subject on which the author continues to write and lecture around the world, appearing regularly on ABC's Good Morning America and on CNN's Larry King Live.
The Kingdom, a study of Saudi Arabia published in 1981, is similarly acknowledged as required reading for businessmen, diplomats and students all over the world. To research The Kingdom, Robert and his wife Sandi took their family to live for eighteen months beside the Red Sea in Jeddah. Going out into the desert, this was when Robert earned his title as the "method actor" of contemporary biographers.
In March 1984 Robert Lacey took his family to live in Detroit, Michigan, to write Ford: the Men and the Machine, a best seller on both sides of the Atlantic which formed the basis for the TV mini-series of the same title, starring Cliff Robertson.
Robert's other books include biographies of the gangster Meyer Lansky, Princess Grace of Monaco and a study of Sotheby's auction house. He co- authored The Year 1000 - An Englishman's World, a description of life at the turn of the last millennium. In 2002, the Golden Jubilee Year of Queen Elizabeth II, he published Royal (Monarch in America), hailed by Andrew Roberts in London's Sunday Telegraph as "compulsively readable", and by Martin Amis in The New Yorker as "definitive".
With the publication of his Great Tales Robert Lacey returns to his first love - history. Robert Lacey is currently the historical consultant to the award-winning Netflix series "The Crown".
After writing his first works of historical biography, Robert, Earl of Essex and Sir Walter Ralegh, Robert wrote Majesty, his pioneering biography of Queen Elizabeth II. Published in 1977, Majesty remains
acknowledged as the definitive study of British monarchy - a subject on which the author continues to write and lecture around the world, appearing regularly on ABC's Good Morning America and on CNN's Larry King Live.
The Kingdom, a study of Saudi Arabia published in 1981, is similarly acknowledged as required reading for businessmen, diplomats and students all over the world. To research The Kingdom, Robert and his wife Sandi took their family to live for eighteen months beside the Red Sea in Jeddah. Going out into the desert, this was when Robert earned his title as the "method actor" of contemporary biographers.
In March 1984 Robert Lacey took his family to live in Detroit, Michigan, to write Ford: the Men and the Machine, a best seller on both sides of the Atlantic which formed the basis for the TV mini-series of the same title, starring Cliff Robertson.
Robert's other books include biographies of the gangster Meyer Lansky, Princess Grace of Monaco and a study of Sotheby's auction house. He co- authored The Year 1000 - An Englishman's World, a description of life at the turn of the last millennium. In 2002, the Golden Jubilee Year of Queen Elizabeth II, he published Royal (Monarch in America), hailed by Andrew Roberts in London's Sunday Telegraph as "compulsively readable", and by Martin Amis in The New Yorker as "definitive".
With the publication of his Great Tales Robert Lacey returns to his first love - history. Robert Lacey is currently the historical consultant to the award-winning Netflix series "The Crown".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 160 reviews
April 25, 2012
Some highlights:
* Why do so few post-ice-age ancient human remains survive? Some archaeologists say it’s because relatives ate them.
* The Greek navigator Pytheas “almost certainly sailed around the [British] islands and was the first to describe the shape of Britain as a wonky triangle.”
* Early feminist hero: King Alfred’s daughter Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, who built ten walled communities and captured Derby and Leicester from the Vikings. Maybe celebrities will start naming their girl babies Aelthelflaed?
* King Ethelred, commonly known today as “the Unready,” was actually nicknamed “the Ill-Advised.” Both descriptions fit.
* Elmer the Flying Monk? How have I lived this long without ever before finding out about Elmer the Flying Monk? http://www.robertlacey.com/sample-cha...
* Folk hero Hereward the Wake had a sword nicknamed Brainbiter.
* The White Ship “was the Titanic of the Middle Ages.” England’s crown prince and his half-brother and half-sister died after the ship hit a rock on its maiden voyage. Only one person survived the wreck.
* Henry I founded England’s first zoo. Its inhabitants included lions, leopards, and Henry’s favorite--a porcupine.
* “If Thomas Becket had been wearing silk underwear when he died, he might never have become a martyr.”
* Richard the Lionheart spoke no English. His native language was French.
* Henry II nicknamed his youngest son John Lackland because there were no properties for him to inherit. Eventually John became king, and his military record was so poor that his subjects nicknamed him Softsword.
* John was also “England’s first king to be recorded as owning a dressing-gown” [bathrobe].
* Edward II’s hobbies included swimming, rowing, thatching, building walls, and hammering away at an anvil like a blacksmith. People thought this was weird and inappropriate; after all, a king has people to row for him.
I enjoyed the first volume of this so much that I just bought the three-volume version and sent it to my parents. I’m pretty sure this was intended to be for children or young adults, but the U.S. version seems to be marketed to adults. At first I thought this was because most American adults don’t know that much about English history. Then I realized that it’s because most American parents don’t want their children reading about rape, homosexuality, hemorrhoids, beheadings, anal fistulas, and death by meat skewer up the [ahem]. (My parents will read all that quite cheerfully.)
* Why do so few post-ice-age ancient human remains survive? Some archaeologists say it’s because relatives ate them.
* The Greek navigator Pytheas “almost certainly sailed around the [British] islands and was the first to describe the shape of Britain as a wonky triangle.”
* Early feminist hero: King Alfred’s daughter Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, who built ten walled communities and captured Derby and Leicester from the Vikings. Maybe celebrities will start naming their girl babies Aelthelflaed?
* King Ethelred, commonly known today as “the Unready,” was actually nicknamed “the Ill-Advised.” Both descriptions fit.
* Elmer the Flying Monk? How have I lived this long without ever before finding out about Elmer the Flying Monk? http://www.robertlacey.com/sample-cha...
* Folk hero Hereward the Wake had a sword nicknamed Brainbiter.
* The White Ship “was the Titanic of the Middle Ages.” England’s crown prince and his half-brother and half-sister died after the ship hit a rock on its maiden voyage. Only one person survived the wreck.
* Henry I founded England’s first zoo. Its inhabitants included lions, leopards, and Henry’s favorite--a porcupine.
* “If Thomas Becket had been wearing silk underwear when he died, he might never have become a martyr.”
* Richard the Lionheart spoke no English. His native language was French.
* Henry II nicknamed his youngest son John Lackland because there were no properties for him to inherit. Eventually John became king, and his military record was so poor that his subjects nicknamed him Softsword.
* John was also “England’s first king to be recorded as owning a dressing-gown” [bathrobe].
* Edward II’s hobbies included swimming, rowing, thatching, building walls, and hammering away at an anvil like a blacksmith. People thought this was weird and inappropriate; after all, a king has people to row for him.
I enjoyed the first volume of this so much that I just bought the three-volume version and sent it to my parents. I’m pretty sure this was intended to be for children or young adults, but the U.S. version seems to be marketed to adults. At first I thought this was because most American adults don’t know that much about English history. Then I realized that it’s because most American parents don’t want their children reading about rape, homosexuality, hemorrhoids, beheadings, anal fistulas, and death by meat skewer up the [ahem]. (My parents will read all that quite cheerfully.)
July 29, 2017
Finally! I have finished this book!
I have been slowing making my way through this book for about a year or so and it has been an interesting one. Most of the chapters (really I can only remember one about cricket that wasn't) were really interesting and there are so many subjects and stories that have attracted my attention that I need to look into more. If you are interesting in a very simple book which features some of the highlights of the history of the United Kingdom I can highly recommend this book.
I have been slowing making my way through this book for about a year or so and it has been an interesting one. Most of the chapters (really I can only remember one about cricket that wasn't) were really interesting and there are so many subjects and stories that have attracted my attention that I need to look into more. If you are interesting in a very simple book which features some of the highlights of the history of the United Kingdom I can highly recommend this book.
February 6, 2026
Mission 2026: Binge reviewing (and rereading on occasion) all previous Reads, I was too slothful to review, back when I read them.
This book, a curious admixture of half-fact and half-legend, lying somewhere between Roman mud, Saxon smoke, Norman steel, and the uneasy birth of England, is not merely history but a storytelling mind gently rearranging time into something intimate, almost conversational, as if the past were not dead parchment but a murmuring companion walking beside you. In this book, Lacey does not thunder like a grand historian nor drown the reader in academic solemnity; instead, he whispers, nudges, dramatises, and occasionally smiles, transforming kings, monks, warriors, and rebels into figures who feel oddly contemporary, flawed, anxious, and human, their ambitions trembling beneath the weight of destiny they themselves barely understand, and this humanisation becomes the quiet magic of the book. The early invasions, the fragile formation of kingdoms, Alfred’s stubborn intelligence, the shifting tides of faith and power, and the slow weaving of law and identity—all unfold like episodes in a sprawling origin myth, yet always grounded in anecdote and texture, in weather, rumour, fear, and survival, and while the narrative seems simple on the surface, beneath it runs a subtle postmodern awareness that history is less a fixed record and more a mosaic assembled from memory, bias, and interpretation.
Revising it today, in a world saturated with instant information and collapsing attention, I was struck by the patience of these stories, the way they allow uncertainty to exist, and the way legend and documentation blur without apology, and occasionally I sensed that Lacey is not merely recounting England’s beginnings but gently reminding us that all nations are narrative constructions, fragile stories we keep retelling so we may continue to exist. There is a curious pleasure in watching familiar historical icons before they fossilised into textbook certainty—kings who doubt, battles that hinge on accident, decisions shaped by weather, rumour, and human frailty—and the prose carries a quiet rhythm, almost fireside-like, inviting the reader not to memorise but to listen, to imagine, to inhabit. Personally, this rereading stirred an old classroom sensation, the feeling of history as living theatre rather than dead chronology, and I found myself pausing, not for facts, but for moods—the loneliness of a ruler, the terror of invasion, the strange resilience of communities who believed tomorrow would still arrive. At times the narrative leans toward romantic simplification, and one may wish for deeper critical excavation, yet perhaps that is not its purpose; this is not history dissected under cold light but history remembered, shaped, retold, a narrative bridge between scholarship and story, between archive and imagination.
In the end, this book feels less like a collection of events and more like a meditation on beginnings—of a nation, of identity, of memory itself—where time flows not in straight lines but in layered echoes, and reading it now, years later, I felt as though I was not revisiting the past but listening to it dream itself into being.
Enjoyable and most recommended.
This book, a curious admixture of half-fact and half-legend, lying somewhere between Roman mud, Saxon smoke, Norman steel, and the uneasy birth of England, is not merely history but a storytelling mind gently rearranging time into something intimate, almost conversational, as if the past were not dead parchment but a murmuring companion walking beside you. In this book, Lacey does not thunder like a grand historian nor drown the reader in academic solemnity; instead, he whispers, nudges, dramatises, and occasionally smiles, transforming kings, monks, warriors, and rebels into figures who feel oddly contemporary, flawed, anxious, and human, their ambitions trembling beneath the weight of destiny they themselves barely understand, and this humanisation becomes the quiet magic of the book. The early invasions, the fragile formation of kingdoms, Alfred’s stubborn intelligence, the shifting tides of faith and power, and the slow weaving of law and identity—all unfold like episodes in a sprawling origin myth, yet always grounded in anecdote and texture, in weather, rumour, fear, and survival, and while the narrative seems simple on the surface, beneath it runs a subtle postmodern awareness that history is less a fixed record and more a mosaic assembled from memory, bias, and interpretation.
Revising it today, in a world saturated with instant information and collapsing attention, I was struck by the patience of these stories, the way they allow uncertainty to exist, and the way legend and documentation blur without apology, and occasionally I sensed that Lacey is not merely recounting England’s beginnings but gently reminding us that all nations are narrative constructions, fragile stories we keep retelling so we may continue to exist. There is a curious pleasure in watching familiar historical icons before they fossilised into textbook certainty—kings who doubt, battles that hinge on accident, decisions shaped by weather, rumour, and human frailty—and the prose carries a quiet rhythm, almost fireside-like, inviting the reader not to memorise but to listen, to imagine, to inhabit. Personally, this rereading stirred an old classroom sensation, the feeling of history as living theatre rather than dead chronology, and I found myself pausing, not for facts, but for moods—the loneliness of a ruler, the terror of invasion, the strange resilience of communities who believed tomorrow would still arrive. At times the narrative leans toward romantic simplification, and one may wish for deeper critical excavation, yet perhaps that is not its purpose; this is not history dissected under cold light but history remembered, shaped, retold, a narrative bridge between scholarship and story, between archive and imagination.
In the end, this book feels less like a collection of events and more like a meditation on beginnings—of a nation, of identity, of memory itself—where time flows not in straight lines but in layered echoes, and reading it now, years later, I felt as though I was not revisiting the past but listening to it dream itself into being.
Enjoyable and most recommended.
January 1, 2020
I know I should be more critical of stuff like this, since I am a doctor of history and all that, but this was pretty fun. I got it at a used bookstore in London because I wanted some local flavor while I rode the tube. Good stories. Plus, Lacey is diligent about noting which stories are more dubious than others. He mentions several times that a particular tale can only be traced to one source, which was written two hundred years after the fact, so likely not true. But that's part of the fun, anyway...thinking about how legends come together and get passed down as history. I liked the little details in some of these, like the Venerable Bede and his precious peppercorns, or William the Bastard (I think it was him) silently fuming and fiddling with his tunic fasteners upon hearing that Harold Godwinson had been crowned King of England.
February 4, 2026
This was so good and I can’t wait to read volumes 2 & 3. The history progresses chronologically starting from the Paleolithic period into the late 1300s; this gives a nice flow where it could otherwise be random. Brief yet concise, interesting but digestible, I highly recommend!
May 13, 2019
I liked this book. Published in 2003, Lacey mentions in the introduction that he grew up reading and loving H.E. Marshall’s Our Island Story, and for those of us who read OIS to our own children, I believe his fondness for living history stories like Marshall’s is evident. Lacey wants to tell us the full truth, however, and demystifies some of the lore, but retains the fun of the stories. For the most part, I would say he succeeds. And he convinces me of his historicity with plenty of primary source quotes and a good bibliography.
But this is no crusty history book for scholars. It is for Brits especially, I am guessing, who may not have any idea, for instance, why there is a large stone cross at Charing Cross, or why the heir to the British throne is the Prince of Wales, or why the word “sheriff” harkens back to the time of shire-reeves, or why “feudalism” has that name. In fact, Lacey’s tendency to sprinkle in etymology of common words or phrases, giving us the Latin or Anglo-Saxon and historic context, reminds me a bit of Calvert’s “A Child’s History of the World,” which also does a similar thing. Lacey’s book isn’t meant for children, however. Still, it is accessible and living. I would offer it to a high schooler for a good survey of British history from the days of the Romans to the eve of the Hundred Years’ War. Or read it yourself for fun, as I did.
But this is no crusty history book for scholars. It is for Brits especially, I am guessing, who may not have any idea, for instance, why there is a large stone cross at Charing Cross, or why the heir to the British throne is the Prince of Wales, or why the word “sheriff” harkens back to the time of shire-reeves, or why “feudalism” has that name. In fact, Lacey’s tendency to sprinkle in etymology of common words or phrases, giving us the Latin or Anglo-Saxon and historic context, reminds me a bit of Calvert’s “A Child’s History of the World,” which also does a similar thing. Lacey’s book isn’t meant for children, however. Still, it is accessible and living. I would offer it to a high schooler for a good survey of British history from the days of the Romans to the eve of the Hundred Years’ War. Or read it yourself for fun, as I did.
August 20, 2012
This was a very accessible volume. The book is divided into short stories, chronologically for the most part, about the characters that make history. Legend is treated firmly, but sympathetically, and everywhere that primary sources can be quoted they certainly are.
I found this book both entertaining and informative. The bibliography in the back was quite extensive, and I was rather happy to see that it included some of the books that I've been using for reference.
I'd recommend this to anyone with even an inkling of historical curiosity, as I do believe that it would be a good "gateway" book to get people in a scholarly mind. I've the next two books in the series as well, so here's looking to more history.
I found this book both entertaining and informative. The bibliography in the back was quite extensive, and I was rather happy to see that it included some of the books that I've been using for reference.
I'd recommend this to anyone with even an inkling of historical curiosity, as I do believe that it would be a good "gateway" book to get people in a scholarly mind. I've the next two books in the series as well, so here's looking to more history.
June 8, 2019
Wonderfully witty and fascinating vignettes of English history from Æthelred the Unready to Piers the Plowman. The author blithely destroys English myths and replaces them with a greater understanding of the times in which the events occurred and a deeper knowledge of what the myth originally intended to convey.
October 5, 2020
Cracking lock read. Being from Winchester and having just moved to London, I loved the tales about the two cities, and learned a plethora of interesting tales about places I regularly walk past.
This book is going to be next to the toilet for years to come, for guests to treat themselves to a scintillating story on the sh*tter!
This book is going to be next to the toilet for years to come, for guests to treat themselves to a scintillating story on the sh*tter!
April 22, 2014
I cannot recommend these three volumes of work highly enough. History really is about the stories, in the end.
April 9, 2019
These tiny tales are more about entertainment than edification, and on that level they mostly succeed. I hesitate to call it a good "bathroom" book for fear of being unspeakably vulgar, but really, that's what it is.
March 3, 2012
I bought a copy of Great Tales From English History because having been a resident of this fine land for 4.5 years I felt my historical knowledge was lacking. I've walked past Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square countless times but had no real idea what he actually did apart from "something to do with Napoleon". You can't sneeze in this country without hitting a street, building or tree named after Queen Victoria or Prince Albert but again, what were they? And why do the French hate the English after all these years?
No doubt I learned a lot of this in school but back then my brain was full of more pressing information like the cheat codes to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or how to do a fatality in Mortal Kombat.
Thankfully, trying to regain some knowledge, I found this book and read away. I had a to take a break around 1200 AD because all the Williams, Edwards and Henrys were confusing me given that I had no reference point (apart from William I - he's easy to remember. The bastard who became a conquerer). But after my break, I returned and powered through finally learning about the War of the Roses, how the Tudors came to be, how Scotland joined the Kingdom, how to kill a king, how not to react when you're woken up to tell you the city is on fire, how the colony in North America was lost, what the Battle of Trafalgar actually was and all the other fascinating bits of history way up to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. I've lost count the amount of times I said "So THAT's why" while reading this book.
Great Tales From English History is a fascinating and often times hilarious history book showing how England came to develop historically, politically and culturally. It's brilliant and certainly had the effect of all great history books - it merely highlighted just how little I actually know. Must read more!
No doubt I learned a lot of this in school but back then my brain was full of more pressing information like the cheat codes to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or how to do a fatality in Mortal Kombat.
Thankfully, trying to regain some knowledge, I found this book and read away. I had a to take a break around 1200 AD because all the Williams, Edwards and Henrys were confusing me given that I had no reference point (apart from William I - he's easy to remember. The bastard who became a conquerer). But after my break, I returned and powered through finally learning about the War of the Roses, how the Tudors came to be, how Scotland joined the Kingdom, how to kill a king, how not to react when you're woken up to tell you the city is on fire, how the colony in North America was lost, what the Battle of Trafalgar actually was and all the other fascinating bits of history way up to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. I've lost count the amount of times I said "So THAT's why" while reading this book.
Great Tales From English History is a fascinating and often times hilarious history book showing how England came to develop historically, politically and culturally. It's brilliant and certainly had the effect of all great history books - it merely highlighted just how little I actually know. Must read more!
July 26, 2012
History is always more interesting when it's told as a story, and Lacey approaches his topic from exactly that angle. He presents the history of England in a series of short vignettes, each focusing on an individual. Most of these individuals actually existed, but Lacey isn't afraid to tackle legendary personalities as well, with known facts contrasted against the legends and the impact those legends had.
Having so recently emerged from reading the latest two volumes of George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, I couldn't help but realize that I'd been giving GRRM too much credit. Several of his characters could have walked right off the pages of this book, and although I'd already known there was a strong historical inspiration to the series, I didn't realize how verbatim some of it was.
A fascinating read, and I'm looking forward to Lacey's other Great Tales volumes.
Having so recently emerged from reading the latest two volumes of George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, I couldn't help but realize that I'd been giving GRRM too much credit. Several of his characters could have walked right off the pages of this book, and although I'd already known there was a strong historical inspiration to the series, I didn't realize how verbatim some of it was.
A fascinating read, and I'm looking forward to Lacey's other Great Tales volumes.
June 20, 2015
This book has taught be fascinating insights into iconic moments in English history. For example:
A female warrior queen, Boadicea, fought against the Romans when they came to England. She is rumored to be buried under platform 10 at King's Cross station, which is why JK Rowling had the Hogwarts Express depart at platform nine and three-quarters.
Readers can learn the interesting truths behind Lady Godiva, Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart, all written in funny and fluid prose. A great example of accessible history writing.
A female warrior queen, Boadicea, fought against the Romans when they came to England. She is rumored to be buried under platform 10 at King's Cross station, which is why JK Rowling had the Hogwarts Express depart at platform nine and three-quarters.
Readers can learn the interesting truths behind Lady Godiva, Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart, all written in funny and fluid prose. A great example of accessible history writing.
October 9, 2015
Basic, entry level fodder that parrots clichéd, often widely disproved false truths and generally adds nothing to the canon.
If you got this book for free and know nothing about history, feel free to read.
If you know the slightest bit about European/British history and aren't a simpleton, don't waste your time.
If you got this book for free and know nothing about history, feel free to read.
If you know the slightest bit about European/British history and aren't a simpleton, don't waste your time.
put-aside-for-now
February 6, 2017Since it has been 2 years since I have even looked at this book, I am pretty sure that I am done with it! (It must not have been all that interesting!)
September 27, 2010
I enjoyed reading this book. It was light, but entertaining.
November 8, 2013
Enjoyed every moment of this quick little read! The Anglophile in me couldn't put it down. Lots of fascinating historical tidbits in here.
November 23, 2016
That was great! Full review to come.
April 28, 2022
An enjoyable romp through English history, this is the first of three volumes detailing life in England from circa 4000 B.C. to the present day. This volume deals with events such as the first detailed murder in Britain over 6000 years ago right up until the reign of Richard II 700 years ago.
Lacey is a fine storyteller and that's what this book is: good stories. Lacey is wise enough that to cover all of English history in three short volumes, he needs to write briefly and succinctly. What makes this a job so well done is Lacey's great craft at storytelling. Chapters about kings and queens you have never heard of become favourites. Lacey writes with a nod and a cheeky wink, and you can imagine him smirking as he writes of the death of King Edward II courtesy of a red hot poker up the bottom, among other stories. Even with the necessary short length of the chapters/stories, he employs the technique of comparing historical events with events in the modern day. An example of this is his comparison of Richard II's poll tax compared with Margeret Thatcher's poll tax. None of this is dry. The brevity is almost to Lacey's advantage as only the "best" or more salacious bits are thrown in, admittedly this does become easier to mine once written records are introduced into the historical narrative.
Even with brief chapters, Lacey throws in extra nuggets like King John being the first monarch to own a dressing gown, Henry I and the first zoo in England, and Boudica being buried under platform 9 3/4 giving magic to the students of Hogwarts.
Lacey is very conscious when discussing myths and legends woven throughout the English psyche, to say when is a tale is apocryphal and explain why. He argues that this doesn't detract from the richness of the story, but adds another layer to it. Examples of this include King Alfred and his burnt cakes, Jesus' journey to Glastonbury, and Lady Godiva's rather more philosophical than actual naked journey on horseback.
I have bought the following two volumes and will shortly start those. I will use this excellent series as a means to delve further into events which interest me.
Lacey is a fine storyteller and that's what this book is: good stories. Lacey is wise enough that to cover all of English history in three short volumes, he needs to write briefly and succinctly. What makes this a job so well done is Lacey's great craft at storytelling. Chapters about kings and queens you have never heard of become favourites. Lacey writes with a nod and a cheeky wink, and you can imagine him smirking as he writes of the death of King Edward II courtesy of a red hot poker up the bottom, among other stories. Even with the necessary short length of the chapters/stories, he employs the technique of comparing historical events with events in the modern day. An example of this is his comparison of Richard II's poll tax compared with Margeret Thatcher's poll tax. None of this is dry. The brevity is almost to Lacey's advantage as only the "best" or more salacious bits are thrown in, admittedly this does become easier to mine once written records are introduced into the historical narrative.
Even with brief chapters, Lacey throws in extra nuggets like King John being the first monarch to own a dressing gown, Henry I and the first zoo in England, and Boudica being buried under platform 9 3/4 giving magic to the students of Hogwarts.
Lacey is very conscious when discussing myths and legends woven throughout the English psyche, to say when is a tale is apocryphal and explain why. He argues that this doesn't detract from the richness of the story, but adds another layer to it. Examples of this include King Alfred and his burnt cakes, Jesus' journey to Glastonbury, and Lady Godiva's rather more philosophical than actual naked journey on horseback.
I have bought the following two volumes and will shortly start those. I will use this excellent series as a means to delve further into events which interest me.
May 13, 2022
With the emphasis firmly on the second syllable of the word, this is a quick and thoroughly entertaining journey through the history of England.
As always with a history of England, references to the neighbouring nations of what's currently called the United Kingdom and indeed other part of Europe are made but, if i'm remembering correctly, everything tale told happened in what is now England. That first struck me concerning with the chapter on Cheddar Man, surely it can't be the earliest known skeleton found, but then i realised that Paviland where the so-called Red Lady was found is in Wales. That was a good way for the book to start for me.
Luckily or unluckily i've never formally studied history so am perhaps less tied to the idea that history has to be true, and more a sucker for a well-told story. And these are great tales well told.
As well as covering the events that have capital letters, the Claudian Invasion of Britain, the Norman Conquest, the Murder of Thomas Becket, Magna Carta and so forth, also finds time for Lady Godiva, Offa's Dyke, Elmer the Flying Monk and goes into impressive detail on Piers Plowman and its author.
While i had this book on the bedside table or indeed wherever i sat to read for four days, i flew through it in about eight sittings. It reads so well and so lightly that i had to go back as i was sure i'd missed something in reading it so quickly. I don't think i did.
As always with a history of England, references to the neighbouring nations of what's currently called the United Kingdom and indeed other part of Europe are made but, if i'm remembering correctly, everything tale told happened in what is now England. That first struck me concerning with the chapter on Cheddar Man, surely it can't be the earliest known skeleton found, but then i realised that Paviland where the so-called Red Lady was found is in Wales. That was a good way for the book to start for me.
Luckily or unluckily i've never formally studied history so am perhaps less tied to the idea that history has to be true, and more a sucker for a well-told story. And these are great tales well told.
As well as covering the events that have capital letters, the Claudian Invasion of Britain, the Norman Conquest, the Murder of Thomas Becket, Magna Carta and so forth, also finds time for Lady Godiva, Offa's Dyke, Elmer the Flying Monk and goes into impressive detail on Piers Plowman and its author.
While i had this book on the bedside table or indeed wherever i sat to read for four days, i flew through it in about eight sittings. It reads so well and so lightly that i had to go back as i was sure i'd missed something in reading it so quickly. I don't think i did.
March 11, 2025
This was a relatively light and readable history of England. Highlighting its history from prehistory through the end of the 14th century. Uncomplicated, informative and filled with fascinating facts. Much history in a book of only 250 pages, containing an overview of the social, political and religious life of the peoples of this small island called Britannia by the Romans.
The author, Robert Lacey who's good writing skills also contains a light sense of humor has clearly identified England's true history, what likely is history and what is myth. You will likely want to know more about the many interesting kings, barons and other important historical events covered in this volume. Lacey does provide a good bibliography and source notes for deeper reading. English history can seem complicated so a book like this is a good start. I will certainly be reading volume 2 next.
The author, Robert Lacey who's good writing skills also contains a light sense of humor has clearly identified England's true history, what likely is history and what is myth. You will likely want to know more about the many interesting kings, barons and other important historical events covered in this volume. Lacey does provide a good bibliography and source notes for deeper reading. English history can seem complicated so a book like this is a good start. I will certainly be reading volume 2 next.
July 2, 2018
I enjoyed this first volume of of Great Tales from English History. The author has broken out some of the more interesting episodes from English history, beginning with the ancient times and ending with the Peasants Revolt of 1381. Each "tale" is just a few pages, so it easy to put this book down and pick it up again later. While it may be difficult to get an overall view of England during these years, the author does provide some background and connection between some of the tales.
This is probably not a book I would recommend for the serious student of English history, but it covers the basics, and certainly covers most of the common stories of English history. Plus, it's well-written and easy to read, and so I recommend it.
This is probably not a book I would recommend for the serious student of English history, but it covers the basics, and certainly covers most of the common stories of English history. Plus, it's well-written and easy to read, and so I recommend it.
July 26, 2019
Highly recommended reading! Fun, accessible, and light; Robert Lacey's first volume of "Great Tales from English History" is a terrific introduction to a fascinating historical time period.
Lacey presents broad strokes, just scratching the surface, which may not be what one expects when first looking into this book. However, the balance between what we know, what we don't, what is history and what is myth is as educational as it is digestible.
I already put holds on volumes 2 and 3 at my local library.
Lacey presents broad strokes, just scratching the surface, which may not be what one expects when first looking into this book. However, the balance between what we know, what we don't, what is history and what is myth is as educational as it is digestible.
I already put holds on volumes 2 and 3 at my local library.
May 9, 2023
An enjoyable popular history, served up in bite sized portions. There are about 140 2-5 page tales, presented in chronological order and well chosen from an enormous range of possible inclusions. The author is commendably honest in acknowledging where these tales sit on the spectrum between incontestable fact and national mythology. Personally, I found the first third of the book the most interesting section and the useful royal family trees are great in helping you keep track of all those similarly named Kings and Queens..
May 11, 2017
I read this over a couple of months, dipping in every now and then for little nuggets of enjoyment. This is not a serious history book in the sense that the facts of a period of time or historical event is explored in great depth, these are as the title says 'tales', which includes fact and fiction. It's not just the history that makes up the a nation's consciousness, but also the myths and tall tales that are interwoven in with the facts.
Good fun!
Good fun!
August 4, 2017
A brief compendium, 'Great Tales from English History: Cheddar Man to the Peasant's Revolt' covers smithers of events from post ice age man to King Richard II. Robert Lacey's easy, and at times humorous style, written in short chapters, could be ideal for junior readers.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure this broad sweep of English history is covered in the national curriculum these days on account of something called political correctness.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure this broad sweep of English history is covered in the national curriculum these days on account of something called political correctness.
July 12, 2025
This book journeys from 7150 BCE to 1381CE. This starts with the Cheddar Man of the Cheddar Gorge and ends with the Peasant's Revolt that happened due the The Black Death. It goes from the original inhabitants, to the Celts, to the Anglo-Saxons, Romans and the monarchy before and after William the Conqueror. Each chapter ties to the previous one, and can easily be picked up and put down. This was easy to read.
February 13, 2021
This is like a bunch of short stories about British History, it's like a plate of really good, funny stories as appetizers for your own research projects. Reminds me of the feeling I'd get whenever I'd read just short stories like fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. They each have little nuggets of lessons to learn, they are clever and fun to read.
August 4, 2023
I love history but have to admit that many times it can be tedious and dry. This book was neither of those things. Filled with short descriptions of important event with lots of humor it really kept my interest. I have to admit to reading it slowly as a bedtime sedative but found myself unable to fall asleep until I read just one more entry. Thanks, Mr. Lacey, for 4 sleepless nights.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 160 reviews