An Utterly Impartial History of Britain

Nov 13, 2024 6:10 AM

Author:John O'Farrell

Many of us were put off history by the dry and dreary way it was taught at school. Back then 'The Origins of the Industrial Revolution' somehow seemed less compelling than the chance to test the bold claim on Timothy Johnson's 'Shatterproof' ruler.But here at last is a chance to have a good laugh and learn all that stuff you feel you really ought to know by now...

In this 'Horrible History for Grown Ups' you can read how Anglo-Saxon liberals struggled to be positive about immigration; 'Look I think we have to try and respect the religious customs of our new Viking friends - oi, he's nicked my bloody ox!'Discover how England's peculiar class system was established by some snobby French nobles whose posh descendents still have wine cellars and second homes in the Dordogne today. And explore the complex socio-economic reasons why Britain's kings were the first in Europe to be brought to heel; (because the Stuarts were such a useless bunch of untalented, incompetent, arrogant, upper-class thickoes that Parliament didn't have much choice.)

A book about then that is also incisive and illuminating about now, '2000 Years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge', is an hilarious, informative and cantankerous journey through Britain' fascinating and bizarre history.As entertaining as a witch burning, and a lot more laughs.

Reviews

Intelligent, well-written, informative and funny…A book to chew on, dip into, quote from and exploit in arguments

—— Andrew Marr , Observer

Bursting with good things

—— Daily Telegraph

The scope of his book, and the skill with which he handles generally unreliable sources, is impressive...The accounts of the circumnavigation, the attack on Cadiz and the defeat of the Armada are a comprehensive, and as readable, as any that have yet appeared

—— Brendan King , Literary Review

A great little book about the British obsession with the climate, it's full of fruitful parcels of meteorological lore.

—— Conde Nast Traveller

... The writing possesses an affable charm and Fort has an appealing layman's enthusiasm for the subject.

—— Financial Times Magazine

An entertaining but rigorous antidote to the fast-and-loose-with-the-truth approach.

—— Radio Times

Wonderfully engaging...Tinniswood has brought the Verneys to life in robustly vivid style

—— Guardian

A wonderful group portrait of an eccentric and ill-starred dynasty. Expertly handling the humorous words and unwise deeds of several generations of Verneys, Adrian Tinniswood breathes life into the turbulent history of an entire century

—— Ross King, author of Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling and Brunelleschi's Dome

Adrian Tinniswood's The Verneys takes us on a fascinating grand tour through a world turned upside down. It is an intimate, engaging, and richly rewarding book, showing the seventeenth century in all its splendor and brutality

—— David King, author of When the World Came to Town and Finding Atlantis

How eloquently Mak rails against the alliance of consumerism and bureaucracy! ... He has a great eye for telling detail... Only a powerful, humane and serious mind could give coherence to mass detail which, however arresting piece by piece, would otherwise soon become wearying... as much a journey around Geert Mak's head as it is a journey around Europe

—— Guardian

Fascinating

—— David V Barrett , Independent

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