While David Mitchell’s Unruly remains on my ‘to read’ list, this one jumped ahead as my first real foray into English history.

It was delightful and insightful. English history is full of interesting, uncomfortable, and, at times, ridiculous stories. How England (and, by extension, the Western World) got to where it is today seems like a very pleasant accident. Our modern expectations of democratic societies with representational government really arose through a somewhat surprising series of missteps and overreaches by various English monarchs along the way.

This book provides a great overview of England’s history, chiefly through tracing the line through the monarchy, and the various implications for the nation (and sometimes beyond) through the centuries.

Who wrote it

Smith was a historian who specialised in 16th century England.

Why I read it

I’ve been slowly but surely keen to read more history, with particular interest in Roman, Greek and English history. The title of this book grabbed me. For what could be a rather dull presentation of stories, people, and dates, a strong hint that this would not be the case was enough for me to give it a go.

What I liked

This felt like a great introduction to English history. Brief, irreverent and pleasurable it was. It’s a book that feels like it gives you a good general ‘vibe’ of what happens over the centuries. Adequate preparation for going on to explore various time periods in further detail.

What I didn’t

At times the book moves at such a pace that it can feel hard to keep up. There’s no real way around that when you’ve covering such a lengthy period of history. So it’s only a minor gripe. Perhaps a written copy (I listened to this one) would solve my issue. But, until you try, you never know.

Major Takeaway

English royalty has been, for the most part, littered with less than favourable characters.

In many ways, our modern conception of English royalty is a surprising aberration, and a very welcome one indeed.

Who should read it

If a sweeping overview of English history sounds like something you’d enjoy, you’ll do a lot worse than this.