Unruly

The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens

By: David Mitchell

Narrated by: David Mitchell

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

INSTANT #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER • 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

“Clever, amusing, gloriously bizarre and razor sharp. Mitchell [is] a funny man and a skilled historian.”―The Times

Think you know the kings and queens of England? Think again.

In Unruly, 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.

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.

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.

A funny book that takes history seriously, Unruly is for anyone who has ever wondered how the British monarchy came to be—and who is to blame.

©2023 David Mitchell (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Clever and amusing . . . gloriously bizarre . . . razor sharp . . . People who have never before picked up a history book will read and enjoy this one.” —The Times

“David Mitchell brings a delightfully contrary and hilariously cantankerous eye to the history of the English monarchy, offering a jewel of an insight or a refreshing blast of clarifying wit on every page. Unruly is informative, illuminating, and very, very funny.” —Jesse Armstrong, writer and creator of Succession

“A sardonic, endlessly funny update to the classic 1066 and All That.” —Kirkus Reviews

Hugely Entertaining (If You Like English History)

Brilliantly funny, but only if you’re actually interested in English history. What I mean is, it’s a real history book, You could use it to teach history if it wasn’t for the occasional swear word. So if you’re not truly interested in English history, you might get a bit bored after a while. If you DO like history, though, this is a highly enjoyable take on the subject.

Learning and laughter

I have never laughed so much listening to a nonfiction history book. David Mitchell did a great job summing up a very long era, not only saying what happened, but why and how, and creating links that explain it all so well.

Someone please make David tell us more history!

I listened to David's book while on my morning walks, and had to stop a number of times because I'm not in good enough shape to laugh AND climb a hill. This was a 100% enjoyable experience.

It Seems We Just Don’t Change

While integrating our sordid past with our even more sordidy present, David makes us smile about it. Or at least distracted for a bit. I really loved the experience.

Fascinating!

This book is both entertaining and informative, David Mitchell is an excellent narrator. I thoroughly enjoyed it although I did find the many dates included spinning in my head some days!

Astute, Hilarious, Profound

Comedian David Mitchell put his Cambridge history degree to good use during the pandemic. Knowing his work, I expected this book to be astute, cranky and often hilarious. I did not expect to be in tears at the end.

Mitchell’s analysis of medieval kingship is a fine meditation on leadership and how to think about its impacts on society and ourselves. He demonstrates that colossal moments we ascribe to leaders (good and bad) are as often born of happenstance as the result of brilliance, incompetence or evil. And in this randomness, it is crucial to know and hold on to what is important. In his final chapter, Mitchell powerfully demonstrates what this means.

In the end, it actually meant something

A thoroughly entertaining roller-coaster ride through the history of English monarchs that had a surprisingly potent conclusion, weaving the long list of dizzying names and deeds into a tapestry that reflected meaningfully on human and kingly nature.

Mostly brilliant, but he does ramble on at times..

The vast majority of the contents of this book, and the author's presentation, is fantastic. Yeah, there's not a lot new covered here, true enough. But Mitchell gives his own style to the histories, and it's well worth the listen. That being stated, there are times when may have benefitted from a strongish editor. For me, Mitchell is one of the few British comedians who can skillfully fuse sarcasm with wit (sorry, but lesser humorists watching a video of Nigel Farage blather on, and commenting that "he seems nice" may be sarcasm, but it certainly isn't wit). But Mitchell is a brilliant wordsmith able to rise above that kind of ordinary comedy. I just think he might consider more closely when the gag has run its course ('the bit' and 'King Cnut' being examples).

I really loved this.

well written and well read. very informative and entertaining. keeps a good pace-its never slow!

I don't even like history

I'm an American whose worst subject is history (I can't keep track of names and dates), but I've listened to this book twice already because it is in equal parts entertaining and educational. David Mitchell makes history interesting with his wit and cutting insight. I came away from this book not only entertained, but with a much deeper understanding of governance and the human condition than ever before, even if a lot of the names and dates were lost on me.