000			01739nam a22002537a 4500
005			20241212144858.0
008			240404b2023 |||||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9781405953184
082			_a942.02 MIT-D
100			_aMitchell, David
245			_aUnruly : _ba history of England's kings and queens / _cDavid Mitchell
260			_aUnited Kingdom _bMichael Joseph _c2023
300			_a431 p.
365			_aINR _b899.00
500			_aThink 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.
650			_aEuropean history
650			_aCourts and courtiers
650			_aEngland
650			_aGreat Britain History
650			_aKings and rulers
650			_aRoyal houses England
650			_aKings and rulers
650			_aQueens England
999			_c92262 _d92262