Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens -- David Mitchell

<b><b>INSTANT #1 <i>SUNDAY TIMES</i> BESTSELLER - </b>A rollicking history of England's kings and queens from Arthur to Elizabeth I, a tale of power, glory, and excessive beheadings by award-winning British actor and comedian David Mitchell</b><br><b> </b><br><b>"Clever, amusing, gloriously bizarre and razor sharp. Mitchell [is] a funny man and a skilled historian."&#8213;<i>The Times</i></b> <p/>Think you know the kings and queens of England? Think again. <p/>In <i>Unruly, </i> David Mitchell explores how early England's monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects' destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky bastards who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits. <p/>Taking us back to King Arthur (spoiler: he didn't exist), Mitchell tells the founding story of post-Roman England up to the reign of Elizabeth I (spoiler: she dies). It's a tale of narcissists, inadequate self-control, middle-management insurrection, uncivil wars, and a few Cnuts, as the English evolved from having their crops stolen by the thug with the largest armed gang to bowing and paying taxes to a divinely anointed king. <p/>How this happened, who it happened to, and why the hell it matters are all questions that Mitchell 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. <p/>A funny book that takes history seriously, <i>Unruly</i> is for anyone wh