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Gruesome Great Houses
Discover all the foul facts about fifty gruesome great houses in this brand new Horrible Histories book. From Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh to Buckingham Palace in London, HORRIBLE GRUESOME GREAT HOUSES covers the history of Britain and Ireland from the time of the savage Stone Age right up until the present day. Full of dark mysteries, gruesome ghost stories and terrible tales of betrayal and revenge, it's a seriously horrible read with all the gore and more.
169 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2017
18 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Terry Deary
823 books823 followersA 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 8, 2018
I absolutely LOVED it! I really liked the stories of the houses, especially when they had ghosts in. From the moment I started reading it, I was absolutely hooked! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
May 16, 2024
I do love a good Horrible Histories book! They just never seem long enough and some of the things I find most interesting I want more information on. But that's the nature of a children's book and I can remember absolutely adoring these books growing up, and still loving them on my rereads over the last few years.
What I liked about this one on Gruesome Great Houses is that it goes through houses by period, through the Normans, the Tudors, the Stuarts, Georgians, and Victorians. Some houses survive and some have been lost over the years. The interspersing of the cartoons with the text works really well and some of the houses I had never heard of which was interesting and lots of them have ghost stories as well as gory histories.
It's a lovely light and funny read, brilliantly illustrated by Martin Brown with comic strips and jokes throughout. I prefer the original covers rather than these redesigned ones though, they had more of a vintage feel. But I love that it still has an index! A history book isn't a history book without an index frankly, even if it is a funny children's book.
What I liked about this one on Gruesome Great Houses is that it goes through houses by period, through the Normans, the Tudors, the Stuarts, Georgians, and Victorians. Some houses survive and some have been lost over the years. The interspersing of the cartoons with the text works really well and some of the houses I had never heard of which was interesting and lots of them have ghost stories as well as gory histories.
It's a lovely light and funny read, brilliantly illustrated by Martin Brown with comic strips and jokes throughout. I prefer the original covers rather than these redesigned ones though, they had more of a vintage feel. But I love that it still has an index! A history book isn't a history book without an index frankly, even if it is a funny children's book.
November 8, 2019
Funny and interesting book about stately homes and castles. Found out some things I didn't know when if I am not the age range that this book should appeal to.
September 20, 2022
So, this is quite an interesting style of Horrible History book, in that it actually focuses on the buildings that a lot of these events took place in instead of a country or city, and for some reason that makes it more accessible than some of the other books.
It was also a nice touch to put in the status of the buildings now, whether you can go and visit or whether the building is closed to the public or no longer there at all. I could almost imagine some precocious young kid using this as a list of holiday places for their parents. It’s definitely something I would have done.
It was also a nice touch to put in the status of the buildings now, whether you can go and visit or whether the building is closed to the public or no longer there at all. I could almost imagine some precocious young kid using this as a list of holiday places for their parents. It’s definitely something I would have done.
June 5, 2021
An interesting read. I am obviously past the ‘target’ audience now but it was still enjoyable and informative. There are definitely some ‘great houses’ that I would love to visit that were mentioned.
One quote that really stood out was the following. ‘In fact most great houses were built by rich people from the harsh work the poor suffered. So you could look at great houses and say… Every brick in this miserable house was cemented with the blood of the poor.’ Interesting outlook.
One quote that really stood out was the following. ‘In fact most great houses were built by rich people from the harsh work the poor suffered. So you could look at great houses and say… Every brick in this miserable house was cemented with the blood of the poor.’ Interesting outlook.
February 17, 2018
This book covers the histories of several great houses in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Lots of illustrations, some humour and a few terrible but fun puns. Deary knows how to present history to a younger readership without boring them to tears, and his books are even appealing to adults if treated as ‘brief introductions’ for the curious.
May 19, 2021
My Son and I love Horrible Histories. We’ve watched the show, we listen to the podcasts and read the books, so we were delighted to find one we hadn’t read yet. We love to read them together before bed.
October 7, 2017
Okay.
November 14, 2019
A fun tour of famous country houses in England although each house is only given two pages
August 18, 2020
Wonderful collection of stories for 50 Great Houses, some interesting, some really horrifying :)
April 28, 2024
I think this one might be my favourite, some of the jokes had me laughing out loud. Some great ghost stories and historical stories too.
April 30, 2025
I’m currently reading this book and I’m so hooked to it.
March 29, 2021
Horrible histories was a staple of my childhood. I remember taking every single one out from the library and devouring them. I think my favourite was the Egyptian one, which lead me to read a lot of books about Ancient Egypt. I did miss a few though/I don't know when certain volumes were even released back then. Because of childhood nostalgia, adult me began collecting them from charity shops. I saw this in Pembroke Castle shop, I knew I didn't have it in my collection so I bought it.
It was an enjoyable edition to the series. I know they are children's books, but they always leave me wanting to know more and for things to go into more depth. Alas, I see why that would never be the case, but still.
It was an enjoyable edition to the series. I know they are children's books, but they always leave me wanting to know more and for things to go into more depth. Alas, I see why that would never be the case, but still.
November 4, 2020
These books go back quite a few years, but they are still as informative as ever with Terry Deary giving readers a new and comical perspective on history, which makes it easier to take in and remember. Why shouldn't history be fun?
Featuring 50 houses from different periods in history, a fun Anne Boleyn ghost is our Ghostess with the mostest drawn by the iconic Martin Brown who's cover and interior art has been synonymous with Horrible Histories as much as Terry's writing.
The introduction is a pun on what happens in most horror stories where its a dark and stormy night and our victim's need a place to stay, which turns out to be a haunted house full of strange noises and even stranger people.
This book has information on 50 houses with really horrible histories; Dreadful Dark Ages, Miserable Middle Ages, Terrifying Tudors, Slimy Stuarts, Gory Georgians, Vile Victorian's and Woeful Wars. Here readers find out about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's inspiration for The Hound of the Baskervilles, the Earl of Carnarvon's strange and creepy death after unearthing the tomb of boy king Tutankhamun, the truth of what happened to Anne Boleyn and the ghostly goings on at Glamis Castle.
History is gruesome and this book is as fun as the rest in the series, no wonder they have been made into a TV series, and now a movie.
Featuring 50 houses from different periods in history, a fun Anne Boleyn ghost is our Ghostess with the mostest drawn by the iconic Martin Brown who's cover and interior art has been synonymous with Horrible Histories as much as Terry's writing.
The introduction is a pun on what happens in most horror stories where its a dark and stormy night and our victim's need a place to stay, which turns out to be a haunted house full of strange noises and even stranger people.
This book has information on 50 houses with really horrible histories; Dreadful Dark Ages, Miserable Middle Ages, Terrifying Tudors, Slimy Stuarts, Gory Georgians, Vile Victorian's and Woeful Wars. Here readers find out about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's inspiration for The Hound of the Baskervilles, the Earl of Carnarvon's strange and creepy death after unearthing the tomb of boy king Tutankhamun, the truth of what happened to Anne Boleyn and the ghostly goings on at Glamis Castle.
History is gruesome and this book is as fun as the rest in the series, no wonder they have been made into a TV series, and now a movie.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews