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Unruly
- A History of England's Kings and Queens
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
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Unruly
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Summary
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.
What listeners say about Unruly
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Marcus
- 29-09-23
Some smart history amongst all the jokey rants
I was looking forward to this book. I’m a big fan of history and also David Mitchells on telly, but I was not sure if the book would be more rant or more history. I had not listened to any of David’s books before because I’m not sure I wanted to listen to 9 hours of ranting, however funny. But I think he gets the balance right between history and jokes. Most of the jokes are good and a number made me laugh out loud. The history side is also good and his analysis of certain events can be very informative and perceptive, although overall it was always going to be a dash through the centuries. So top marks for introducing swearing to a history book and let’s hope he does the next batch of monarchs.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Jill ANTHONY-ACKERY
- 28-10-23
Mitchell’s Parody of Himself Obscures Any New Insight
I like David Mitchell on the radio and I’ve never read a book about ‘The Crown’ that’s so extensive, so was keen to listen to this. (It’s useful to consider where our nation has come from to help understand why we’re currently in such a mess.) But for a man of his age why can’t he let go of the public school classroom? It baffles me that he thinks this is a refreshing comedic reference. He sounds like someone parodying a posh-boy trying to be funny, tossing in a few profanities to stay edgy, while he’s completely shaped by ‘Nanny’ and japes in the school dorm! His chapter on Cnut was predictably full of dull obscenities and tortuous mixed metaphors. In fact the sniggering at ‘funny names’ is relentless. Again, the mentality of a 13 year old who has never left Surrey! I persevered until just before 1066 and moved on to something a little less infantile. It’s a shame, but not recommended.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- RichSimpson
- 03-10-23
Fantastic and often hilarious
I was delighted to find that this book is every bit as ‘david Mitchell’ I’d hoped.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- HistoryLover
- 11-10-23
Funny. But with real history!
David Mitchell is a really good historian! I’d always suspected that he was, but this book is full of wise observations on the historical process and on historiography itself. It also made me laugh out loud. There is more good historical sense here than in most academic studies. Learning through laughter. It works. Having Mitchell narrate the book was an added bonus. More of this please DM!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Matt
- 22-10-23
Explicit
There is so much swearing in this book. It’s unnecessary. Doesn’t fit with the genre.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Martin Naylor
- 18-10-23
Great
As long as you know who David Mitchell is and are comfortable with his views on contemporary issues, you are on safe ground. Oh, and you need to be OK with swearing too. It's not every history book that comes with an "explicit lyrics" label or with spoilers about the last James Bond film, but this one does. It also regularly critiques the self-indulgent habit of historians to reframe things with little or no evidence to support them; "maybe Shakespeare didn't write the plays". "maybe Richard III wasn't such a bad king" etc. Meanwhile, he consigns the likes of "killed with a red hot poker to the bum" and "burnt the cakes" to the apocryphal skip. Royal history was a gap in my knowledge that I'd been trying to fill, so I bought this book the second I knew it existed. It did its job admirably. I can't claim to remember everything I've heard, especially not from the 100 Years' War section, but I bet I remember a lot more from this format than I would have done from something less exuberant.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- joseph
- 11-10-23
Hugely entertaining, romp through English royalty
I doubt you would listen to this if you are not a fan of history and David Mitchell, but it did not disappoint. I didn’t learn any new facts, but I laughed an awful lot and he really made me think.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Keith Scott Telford
- 11-10-23
Fabulous
Insightful, lighthearted and a thoroughly interesting listen. Helped to fill gaps in my historical knowledge in an entertaining and humorous way.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-10-23
Absolutely worth the listen!
David Mitchell being David Mitchell is always a selling point for me, so when I saw this, a mixture of my favourite topic and one of my favourite comedians, I knew I had to listen & im very glad I did. Worth every second, it was funny, engaging & very well written. I don’t know about anyone else, I’m glad it started where it did and finished where it did, seems like the perfect chunk of history to analyse. I’d love to see more work like this from David (on any period of history)
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joseph McDowell
- 11-10-23
Excellent, Engaging, Entertaining
David Mitchell excellently takes us on a journey through medieval England. Enlightening the 'Dark Ages' his unique dry style offers a unique take on those names often heard, but rarely understood or saterised.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Thorunn Patricia Sleight
- 19-11-23
The understated humor and everyday similes stood out, as well as the clear explanation of the essence of a complicated subject.
I love anything David Mitchell does - he's just so damned smart! I thought I knew a lot about English monarchs, but I learned much more - effortlessly?
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Silke
- 06-12-23
A bit rushed
I love David Mitchell’s humour and it did shine through magnificently in this book but I felt the narration was a bit of a ramble. I found it hard to follow the successions as it felt quite rushed. Maybe rather a reading book than a listening book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Stephen
- 03-12-23
Very enjoyable!
Funny, informative and engaging. David writes in a way that brings these often baffling stories to life. Well worth listening to .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Glen Saunders
- 04-11-23
Funny, interesting and educative
Being a fan of David Mitchell, I thought this would be good. A sort of funny, easy listening confection. But it’s much more than that. I wonder what he’s working on next.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Elaine E B Brown
- 02-11-23
Informative and very entertaining.
I loved it. All the info I remember from school lessons but so much more entertainingly told.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Earnest
- 21-10-23
A galloping insight into Rulers and the transitory nature of the ordinary humans involved.
A pleasure to laugh and smile along with. Being a lover of History, I have no problems whatsoever with any tale constructed around known or guessed at events. Keeping it all interesting was a bonus.
No doubt the detractors will take exception at the pride of place being taken by Shakespeare in these histories. I’m delighted with that conclusion, and the acceptance that all leadership is an accident. It’s all downhill and more group pretending now. Unique intelligence is rarely spotted and celebrated. Thanks Mr Mitchell.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- William van Rijswijk
- 20-10-23
Enjoyable and fun...
OK he did spoil 007 last movie for me ..lol .. and if you ask how is that possible, well then you will get a sense on the construction and diverse and impromptu jumping aground. I don't think unruly has so much to do with the royals, as what it has to do with his train of thought.
Did I learn anything... no sure... but boy was it fun, and entertaining! Highly recommended
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-10-23
Over 500 years of history encapsulated
Beginning before William the Conqueror David Mitchell takes the reader on a journey through the lives of the Kings (and Queens) of England up to the end of the reign of the Tudors. I enjoyed the trip. The lives of the main cast are taught in school
But David brought them to life with plenty of his own brand of humour. I knew the basic details of history and loved every word of this book.
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