Notorious: History’s Villains and Why They Matter

by Otto English

History loves a villain.

Across the entire span of human civilisation, certain people and groups have been identified as being responsible for the ills of the world, and have remained hated for it. In his continuing desire to separate out the facts from the fiction of history, Otto English looks at how these legacies were constructed and who told us that they were evil.

From how Bloody Mary became the figurehead of uppity women and how Judas's betrayal became a template for religious tensions for centuries to what the Peasants Revolt and the Illuminati shows us about power struggles throughout the ages, English exposes the agendas behind the 'truths' we've been told to believe. And in looking at how xenophobia was weaponised during the 'Spanish' Flu, he reveals how our past sometimes bleeds into the present day.

Fascinating and fearless, Notorious will re-examine some of the history's biggest villains and change the way you see the world forever.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime, Audiobook

482 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 22, 2025

About the author

Otto English is the pen name of writer and journalist Andrew Scott.

Reviews

[Jess]

A good account but I noticed a lot of spelling/grammar errors? I am by no means the grammar police but it seems like this wasn’t fully proof read? Great book though.

[Anthony Ryan]

Otto English brings his peerless eye for a good story, and customary wit, to this highly entertaining delve into humanity’s greatest baddies. However, there’s a lot more going on here than just a run down of history’s worst scumbags. English employs a broad cast of murderers, gangsters, traitors, and tyrants to explore our relationship with those we cast in the role of villain. Some we get right, others not so much, but, ultimately, it becomes clear that the line between hero and villain is rarely a straight one, and always drawn by the beholder.

[Stuart Malcolm]

There are some interesting bits in here but overall I felt it was a bit of an unsatisfying read. It needs better editing because there are too many tangents and too much unnecessary padding at times. It was too full of “look how much research I’ve done” to allow the bits of genuinely good writing to shine through.

[Trish]

As usual plenty to think about in Otto English’s third book. I couldn’t tackle it all in one gulp but that doesn’t mean it was boring. Had to let it marinate in my brain and switch to something safe to get to sleep.

[Lucy]

This felt too inconsistent to score higher than a 3. When the chapters were good they were great, really interesting and informative. When they were bad though they were dull, uninspired and painful to get through.

[Ella Beales]

4.5*

[Gem Oliver]

Its too all over the place. Too many tangents and a bit difficult to keep track of.

[Poppy Staker]

Hard to follow and too many tangents. A shame as there we so many good little pieces of writing that were padded out. The back and forth between tangents makes this a difficult read to keep up with