Hey Blog! This week is another book review – of a history book, which is not quite like other history books. It also has a very good name, which describes me quite well – this is HEIAS’s review of Unruly.
Unruly was a birthday present, and evidently the person who sent it knows me very well – I love it! It is the perfect blend of history and hilarity, with fantastic annecdotes and analagies and it actually tells you the history of the period too. Spanning from the Dark Ages after the Roman retreat to the end of the Elizabethen era and the start of the Stuart period, it covers some of the biggest changes in British history: the Anglo-Danish-Norman transition, Battle of Hastings, Wars of the Roses, Hundred Years’ War, and closes on Shakespeare. This is the period where power changed from an Empire, to an anarchy, kingdom, absolute monarchy, and finally to a monarchy tied down by a ruling class – if only there was a sequel, it would cover the fall of the absolute monarchy, imperial power, and finally rise of the constitutional democracy with a monarchy alongside. Gosh, what a lot of changes we’ve seen in a thousand years and a bit more, now you look back on it.
It’s convenient too – two of the units in my GCSE history cover the ‘long second millennium’ and the Norman period, the latter of which is within the timescale covered by this book. While I might not need information such as the fact that two out of the three lions that represent England actually represent parts of France (the Duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine); or the method of murder of Edward II (don’t ask…); they are more likely to stick in your head if you associate them with a funny quip or comparison to a modern occurrence.
The closest thing to it I have read is 1066 And All That – but that is a deliberate spoof, with the focus being the comedy factor not the history factor. This is more subtle – it uses hilarious modern comparisons and amazingly funny details to convey the actual perception of the historical narrative. I was almost incapacitated by laughter at several points! Yet all the way through, it continually tells the (hi)story – and it is always the story which sticks! Perhaps because it focuses on a short time period – relatively speaking – it has the chance to be more in-depth than broad, general histories, which succeed in linking great events but don’t tell you all the fascinating facts. That’s why I love this book!
To conclude, I think the style of the book is impressively clever with the comedic and historical elements. I hope there is a sequel, as I’d definitely get it. Or perhaps I should write one myself… maybe?