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Unruly

A History of England's Kings and Queens

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Unruly

By: David Mitchell
Narrated by: David Mitchell
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover who we are and how we got here by listening to comedian and student of history David Mitchell's UNRULY: A History of England's Kings and Queens - a thoughtful, funny exploration of the founding fathers and mothers of England, and subsequently Britain.

Think you know your kings and queens? Think again.

In UNRULY, David Mitchell explores how England's monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects' destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky sods who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits.

Taking us right back to King Arthur (spoiler: he didn't exist), David tells the founding story of post-Roman England right up to the reign of Elizabeth I (spoiler: she dies). It's a tale of narcissists, inadequate self-control, excessive beheadings, middle-management insurrection, uncivil wars, and at least one total Cnut, as the population evolved from having their crops nicked by the thug with the largest armed gang to bowing and paying taxes to a divinely anointed king.

How this happened, who it happened to and why it matters in modern Britain are all questions David answers with brilliance, wit and the full erudition of a man who once studied history - and won't let it off the hook for the mess it's made.

A funny book about a serious subject, UNRULY is for anyone who has ever wondered how we got here - and who is to blame.

Read by David Mitchell.

©2023 David Mitchell (P)2023 Penguin Audio Europe Great Britain Historical Politics & Activism Royalty England Funny Thought-Provoking Witty Comedy Feel-Good Arthurian Tudor War

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All stars
Most relevant  
David Mitchell has been my funny, easy going, bookish mate for the last week. I have often wished we were down the pub together, getting geekily excited about idiot monarchs and hilarious royal fails over a pint or two (I wish). That is the tone: divulging serious stuff, yet ineffably friendly, effortlessly pinpointing the most ridiculous/inexplicable/farcical aspects of each anecdote, and often detouring into amusing tangents (eg having a favourite eye; a rant about killing off James Bond).

This is English history written accessibly, so much so that I plan to play it to my kids aged 15, 13 and 10 (with a massive trigger warning about all the uses of “fucked” and “cunt” or shd I say Cnut throughout). Other than the bad language it’s easily appropriate for any child reared on Horrible Histories and a good dose of the British school primary school history curriculum, and Mitchell does an excellent job of filling in all the gaps and making history FUNNY. I realised as I listened that this is the book I’ve always wanted – it doesn’t zoom in on one particular dynasty or era, but explains how they’re all linked up: which king usurped which, who was waiting in the wings to have a go next. Plus, he underlines nearly every preposterous and fanciful scenario with a vivid and compelling simile which serves to make the story even more readable.

He is master of the comic metaphor — one theme that comes up a couple of times is the idea of history as a long-running television soap opera, with dramatic changes in personnel at the top level reimagined as a big story-line to kill off a bunch of the soap’s characters, hastily organised to satisfy a new advertising contract.

I was gutted to realise that it did not go beyond the Tudors however and fervently hope that he is planning another instalment about the next 400 years. I’d love to hear his analysis of the four Georges and Queen Victoria — so ripe for comedic treatment and David Mitchell is the perfect man to take them on.

Bah. Now what do I listen to?

Feeling bereft without my warm, ribald, centrist companion

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What a great book this was. Great to have David Mitchell reading it. For those just looking for a funny history book, you’ll love it. But there’s also a thesis running through it, best summed up in its final chapter.

Hilarious, erudite, thoughtful

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I like David Mitchell, so I thought this might be good, I had no interest in the subject matter,( having long considered the British royal family the overhyped descendants of a bunch of opportunistic gangsters,) but David made them interesting.

Fascinating interpretation

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Would love David to do more history books! I found this unable to stop listening too due to his delivery and also his clear use of a time line helped keep me focused. I have ADHD but love history and sometimes it’s hard to keep me engaged but this was really fun for me. Thank you DM!

Engagingly Moorish

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What’s not to like about the writings of David Mitchell. Having overcome the setback in his education of ending up at Oxford where he studied History, he has gone on to become one of the better writers of our time. In this book his passion for all things historical shines through. Always a pleasure to hear his work.

Clever, witty, refreshing look at the earlier history of our monarchy.

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Couldn’t stop listening to this book. Regardless of having the print copy, nothing beats hearing the author read their own work.

Binged

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I hope someone in the ‘royal family’ reads / listens to this but I doubt they will as critical self- awareness doesn’t seem to be one of their key characteristics.

Brilliant conclusion.

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This is a very entertaining and knowledgeable book. It is really funny too. Well done. David Mitchell I loved it. Recommend it if you’re a history buff.

Brilliant and funny

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Thoroughly enjoyed this- some great insights well told with wonderful comedic timing

Imagine AJP Taylor in the style of Peep Show

Ridiculously Funny

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I can't recommend this audio book highly enough. David Mitchel manages to get across his enthusiasm for his subject while both educating you and, most importantly, keeping you amused. If history had been this good at school, I might have been more interested.

Brilliant

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