London's Strangest Tales: Historic Royal Palaces: Extraordinary but True Stories

by Iain Spragg

London's Royal Palaces are still some of the most visited places in England. A great deal of their official histories are well known. But London's Strangest Historic Royal Palaces reveals the bizarre, funny and surreal events and episodes that have occurred over the centuries on the grounds of these beautiful buildings. It gives an alternative from the wandering inebriated zebras at the Tower of London, the cricket ball that probably killed a king, and the mystery of Kew's disappearing mosque.

This is a wonderful collection for anyone with an interest in the history and heritage of our palaces and in London life generally.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, London, British Literature

170 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 22, 2014

Reviews

[Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum · Rating 2 out of 5]

London's Strangest Tales, Historic Palaces - Extraordinary But True Stories by Iain Spragg is just that, a collection of short but true stories from history. Told in chronological order, the tales come from London's five historic palaces: the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kew Palace and Kensington Palace.

Commencing in 1078, the tales take us through history up until 2013, but in my opinion didn't really live up to the title claiming they were 'extraordinary'. Don't get me wrong, some of the stories were interesting - cardinal spiders at Hampton Court Palace - however many I'd read before (or learned about in documentaries) and others were clearly hyped up for inclusion in this collection.

I'd recommend London's Strangest Tales - Historic Palaces by Iain Spragg for younger readers as an easy introduction to history in London, and to perhaps ignite a desire to learn more.

For devotees of documentaries, and readers of history and historical fiction, you may want to give this one a miss.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok, but pretty light on content and had several noticeable spelling mistakes and some historical errors.
On the good side, it was entertaining, with a few stories that you may not have heard of, though some were clearly steered in the direction the author wanted them to go. Very few though were stories that general reading elsewhere could not turn up.
I enjoyed it overall, but did feel the author struggled to find enough content to fill out the book. He has a light, amusing style of writing that the casual reader will definitely enjoy.

[Elspeth G. Perkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have a little fun with history

Take it as it is a small collection of some of the strangest tales you will read about the Tower of London, Hampton Court, Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace and a few other locations. In these tales history, modern pop culture references, myth and legend blend into a quick read about the aforementioned locations between 1078 and 2013. In this concise book the reader will encounter amusing tales about: a disappearing bear, bold escapes from the tower, deadly jams and preserves, a misplaced scepter, a wild child, legendary spiders, the embarrassing complications of lady's fashion, and a reattached head for a long overdue commemorative portrait. Of course there is much more to explore and these are indeed some of the strangest tales you will read about London's historic palaces.

In the end I just decided to take this small book as it was-a quick and entertaining read. Finishing this read in one sitting I enjoyed the time spent and learned some new tidbits of trivia (and phrases). I was however looking for a more comprehensive read but then again it is nice to let my curious mind to just relax with a light collection of facts. Overall this book is a nice collection of fascinating trivia and opens many new windows of study for the reader, so have a little fun with history with London's Strangest Tales: The Royal Palaces: Extraordinary but True Stories.

*I would like to thank NetGalley and Pavilion Books for the opportunity to read and enjoy London's Strangest Tales: The Royal Palaces: Extraordinary but True Stories

[Jolene · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Thank you Pavilion Books and Netgalley for providing this in exchange for an honest review**


This will be a very short review for a very short book. If you're a fan of trivia books, you tend to see certain stories pop up over and over again. While this book did have a few I've come across before, most of these were new to me. Spragg has a very enjoyable writing style and I could see myself reading more titles by him. While these stories were very interesting, I wouldn't necessarily consider most of them to be strange. They're really all over the place. You have your strange ones(Hampton's Eight-Legged Epidemic), heartbreaking ones (An Undignified Exit for Anne), infuriating ones (The Feral Youth from Hanover), and spooky ones (The Ghostly Grey Lady). I plan on reading more of the Strangest series

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of interesting facts about London's royal palaces that is not common knowledge. This was a well written book. In this book you will read about some of the strangest things that have occurred: drunk zebras, legendary spiders and a disappearing bear. This was a fun read but I also learned some history of London that I would had never knew. This has made me much more interested in the royal palaces than I have ever been. Enjoy the book--I did.

Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable, light-hearted and witty collection of stories about the royal palaces. Read about Cardinal Wolsey's fear of spiders at Hampton Court, King Charles I's betrayal by his dog and the first escapee from the Tower of London. This is a great book to while away the time, especially for royalty lovers!

I recommend this if you want to learn more about English history and royalty in an easy way, or as a book to read on your travels in 'the Old Country'.

[Amanda Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun to read! I love history, and I loved reading about the royal palaces. I liked how the stories were set up chronologically. Another thing I really liked about the book was the shortness of the stories, each individual tale was only three or four pages long, which is easy to read a few on break or at lunch. Loved it! Already recommended to my dad and my husband.

I received this complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[TK]

Took me a bit to read but I absolutely loved it. So many fun and interesting fact and stories. This is a great book for those with a love of British history and especially if they're looking for something different. Features approximately 5 or 6 different palaces, each with its own exotic and fascinating tales. Great to either just pick at or read from start to finish.
arc from NetGalley

[Nicholas Aune · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short fast moving collection of anecdotes about the bizarre, funny, and grim events that occurred in England's royal estates, from the inception of the Tower of London up to Buckingham Palace. This is a fun book for those who are obsessed with the British Royal Family or for those that lave historical curiosities. Be careful though. The author's sources aren't always reliable.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some interesting stories, but I expected the stories to be a bit more strange and mysterious. It would probably be a fun read if you were going to London to sightsee because it gives some interesting background info.

Received from NetGalley.

[Katarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting collection of unusual and little known facts about the most well known royal palaces. Fun to read, will leave you laughing at times, and raising an eyebrow at other times.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a good book for children .
Simple and concise .