Bloody Scotland

Horrible Histories Specials #6

by Terry Deary, Walter Dean Myers, Christopher Myers (Illustrations)

Bloody Scotland tells you all about the battling, bravehearted Scots, from the desperate days of the Dark Ages to the terrible 20th century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Scotland, Historical, Childrens, Humor, Middle Grade

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1997

About the author

A 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

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the horrible histories I hadn't already read when I was younger. I enjoyed this, in a rather abstract I-don't-know-much Scottish history kind of way. Which is appalling seeing as my grandfather was Scottish.

This gave a good overall look into the very vast history of Scotland. I liked the bits on Stuart monarchs the most, I don think I realised just quite how bloody a history a Scotland has. I would have preferred a bit more information on the Jacobite risings, the battle of Culloden and the disbandment of the clans, seeing as it had such a profound effect on Scotland even up until this day.

[Jemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Scottish history, because of course, my ancestors come from there.

A leetle bit gory, but it is Horrible Histories

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think these were the only history books I read until I was 20 years old. It sufficed!

Obviously it's not good for your only exposure to history to be the 100 most dramatic moments, the 100 most elite and unrepresentative people. (For each page of a regular history book I should imagine the lives of a thousand peasants.) But very few people have any grasp of history beyond this superficial roll call, so it didn't hurt me much to delay it.

Our need for "people's history" is great: it at least has a chance of being an accurate picture of the past. (Many particular instances of people's history are fatally false or misleading though, because the contrarianism and ideological heat of the topic draws parasites and shills.)

[Anna Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but I'm clearly not the target audience for this.

[Ifigenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Siempre viene bien leer a Terry Deary para averiguar los hechos más raros de la historia.

Ha habido tramos que se me han hecho un poco pesados, y este libro me ha costado más que otros de Terry.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this was one of the Horrible Histories books that I never actually got around to reading when I was the right demographic for them, but I’m kind of leaning in to the “nostalgia reads” theme that I’ve started so we’re just going to go with it, my lovelies.

So, this is a good introduction to Scottish history and in particular the relationship between Scotland and England and how that has impacted the two countries over the centuries. Ranging from the Picts and the Roman invasion attempts up to the more modern side of history, it covers everything in enough detail that you come away having learned something but not so much detail that you get bogged down and don’t enjoy it.

It’s a great starting point for some of the more intense books that focus on Scottish history and figures of historical interest for Scotland and can be a great potential springboard for a more in depth look at the history.

I’ve always thought that the Horrible Histories books are a great way of getting kids in to reading and getting them in to history at the same time, and this just keeps proving my point.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this for my 13-yr olds while on vacation in Scotland, touring the Western Highlands and the Isle of Skye; and I ended up reading the whole thing my first day there! It really worked to reinforce the history I was taking in on my 4-day Rabbie's Tour, which I super highly recommend to anyone interested in seeing beautiful sights, while also learning history.

The gruesome, gory, ghastly schtick, the awful puns and vacuous insults may all appeal to the immature, but I have to say it does actually foster memorization!

[Adéla Badošková · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed it. The history of Scotland is here put in a funny way. I think that Horrible Histories in general is a really good way to show kids a history of several eras and places....not all places, as far as I am concerned they are focused on the UK, of course, little bit of France, and then ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece. And it doesn't really matter if you watch it or read it. In the books will be probably more informations, but when you watch it, you're mabye going to rememer more stuff, because of funny songs, funny rat etc XD

[robynluckystars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brings back memories of reading the terrible Tudors at primary school! Enjoyed the first half of the book better, as the older history is more interesting and shocking! 2 different Hawick stories - made me so chuffed!!

[Amaris]

great!

[Juan Nalerio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo leí para practicar inglés.
Resumen de los hechos sangrientos de Escocia con un toque de humor.

[R.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Κριτική στα Ελληνικά πιο κάτω...

Decent overview of Scottish history, I read the book in one afternoon and found it interesting. The illustrations were fine too.

Stimultaneously it was a bit too superficial and while this is written for a younger audience, I found the humor a bit meh and I think my teenage self would have find it meh too. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

I'm always interested on history, so if another book of the series comes my way I'll read it for sure, but I don't think I'll actively go seeking for one.

Αξιοπρεπής περίληψη/εισαγωγή στην Ιστορία της Σκωτίας. Το διάβασα μέσα σε ένα απόγευμα και το βρήκα ενδιαφέρον και εκπαιδευτικό. Τα σκίτσα ήταν επίσης αξιοπρεπή και ταιριαστά στο πνεύμα του βιβλίου.

Ταυτόχρονα είναι -όπως είναι φυσικό- αρκετά επιφανειακό και δεν μπαίνει σε πολλές λεπτομέρειες και αναλύσεις. Απευθύνεται σε έφηβους και βρήκα το χιούμορ κάπως παιδιάστικό και ατυχές, νομίζω ούτε ο έφηβος εαυτός μου θα το εκτιμούσε ιδιαίτερα, αλλά υποθέτω ότι γούστα είναι αυτά...

Γενικά με ενδιαφέρει η Ιστορία, οπότε σίγουρα θα διάβαζα όποιο βιβλίο της σειράς τύχει να βρεθεί στο δρόμο μου, αλλά δεν νομίζω ότι θα αναζητήσω κάποιο ενεργά.

[Chris Orme · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s more a 5Star for the target age group. I loved these as a kid but even as an adult they are still enjoyable & filled with some interesting facts. But lacking in the things you’d expect from an adult text like references etc. But then when I would have read this at the target age would not have cared. So if you are an adult looking for some nostalgia or the target age then these are still lots of fun. (Well providing you are not especially adverse to NF books or History)

[Liselotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Horrible Histories series can't do anything wrong in my eyes, not really. This one, has to be one of my favourites! It was a lot of fun, with a lot of great information. I zone out quite quickly when reading non-fiction, yes, even children's!, but this one kept my interest the entire way through.

I really recommend this one!

[Ângela Maresch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very clear and entertaining history of Scotland for those of us who would like to learn something (quite a bit, to be honest!) about the Scots and their culture. A balanced mix of really bloody tales, historic facts and light hearted jokes. There is no better humour than the British humour, but it gets even better when Scottish history is involved (for obvious reasons).

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it may seem quite tough to read as it is pure History, it is written in a close manner using slang and jokes. I really liked the fun facts, the quizzes (and answers), the fact that covers many important pillars od Scotland, and personally the way it presents the cruel battle of Culloden. I would recommend it to Scotland fans and English teachers.

[Charlotte Fiehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, amazing

Horrible Histories is amazing. Gory, Grisly and A LOT of death!
I’d recommend for 7 and up. Maybe some schools will even decide to use them in lessons! (Personally though, I’d rather read them at home).
GREAT BOOKS, DON’T STOP WRITING THEM!!!!!!😍😜

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book on a trip to Scotland almost 10yr ago, and for that it has obvious meaning to me.
Loved Scotland, but not so much this book.
I thought it would be funnier than what it actually was.

Even so it was ok to learn some new things about Scotland.

[Dominika Stará · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun but yeah its a book for kids so I did not learn that much new. But to be fair, it made me smile several times :) if you are as interested as me in the Scottish history of 18th century, look somewhere else.

[Lucie Králová]

Návrat do mládí, kdy jsem sérii Děsivých dějin hltala.
Ani nevím, jak jsem si na ty knihy před dovolenou ve Skotsku vzpomněla.

Nicméně to bylo příjemné připomenutí dějin a kultury Skotska ideální odpočinkovou formou.

[Iria Monreal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book because I’m in love with scotish culture and I wanted to know more about it. I know that this country has a lot more to show but if you don’t know anything about Scotland’s history is a good way to start.
It’s written for kids but it’s perfect if you are learning english too.

[Charlotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's fun to read, but I forget everything I learn almost immediately. Hmph

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terry Deary never fails to entertain. #sarcasmislife :)

[Vinh Bui · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's bloody brilliant, ya hear?

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. This is a fun introduction to Scottish history, with emphasis on bloodshed and scandal.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of fun Scottish and bloody history

[Stasiu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zabawy co nie miara, osobiście mam bias wobec całej serii, więc moja ocena może nie być obiektywna XDD

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blast from the past - no pun intended! My mum got me this for my birthday and it took me back to when I used to go to Borders and pick out the ones I wanted for 🎄

[Alexandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read for those young and old! An interesting way to learn about history!

[Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its criminal that i know so much english history from school and all of my Scottish history is what i have to actively teach myself with books like this smh