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A review by nathanjhunt
Unruly: A History of England's Kings and Queens by David Mitchell
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This was my 19th book finished in 2024.
This book is excellent and exactly the history book I've been asking for for years! Being a long-time fan of David Mitchell, it's clearly evident he is a massive nerd, which makes me like him even more. I too am really into the monarchy, and history in general, but I've found the vast expanse of Plantagenet monarchs so hard to tackle.
Firstly I want to say how much I appreciate the fact that the words inside match the description on the cover! How many books am I going to read claiming "English monarchy", but start with William I and going to Elizabeth II? David absolutely knows what he is doing here: yes, this history ends with Elizabeth I because after that, the crown of England was held in a personal union with Scotland, and then became British a century later. That is BRITISH history, not English.
But more importantly, David starts during the post-classical era: what happened when the Romans left, and what exactly were the origins of kingship? This is a period of time I know virtually nothing about, and he is so good at explaining it. I found it really inspiring and interesting, and I want to read more in-depth about it one day.
Plantagenet history is a blur to me. I've read a few short biographies in the past, but I really struggled to understand them. David has a very engaging and clear way of explaining complex stories, and I rarely struggled to follow. I did on a couple occasions where the names of people were the same, and so I wasn't 100% sure which person he was referring to. So it wasn't perfect.
The pacing of the book was a little strange in places. I was absolutely hooked for the first 100 pages, but then at about a third into the book, he goes off on quite a few long tangents that didn't seem too relevant. The middle seemed a lot more cohesive, but the last quarter seemed a little rushed.
I really hope David decides to write more history books, because I would absolutely buy them. A book about the Scottish or Welsh monarchy, perhaps? Now that is something I would love to read about.
It's interesting to read reviews for this book seeing people complain about the swearing. I guess you people aren't familiar with David Mitchell, then?
This book is excellent and exactly the history book I've been asking for for years! Being a long-time fan of David Mitchell, it's clearly evident he is a massive nerd, which makes me like him even more. I too am really into the monarchy, and history in general, but I've found the vast expanse of Plantagenet monarchs so hard to tackle.
Firstly I want to say how much I appreciate the fact that the words inside match the description on the cover! How many books am I going to read claiming "English monarchy", but start with William I and going to Elizabeth II? David absolutely knows what he is doing here: yes, this history ends with Elizabeth I because after that, the crown of England was held in a personal union with Scotland, and then became British a century later. That is BRITISH history, not English.
But more importantly, David starts during the post-classical era: what happened when the Romans left, and what exactly were the origins of kingship? This is a period of time I know virtually nothing about, and he is so good at explaining it. I found it really inspiring and interesting, and I want to read more in-depth about it one day.
Plantagenet history is a blur to me. I've read a few short biographies in the past, but I really struggled to understand them. David has a very engaging and clear way of explaining complex stories, and I rarely struggled to follow. I did on a couple occasions where the names of people were the same, and so I wasn't 100% sure which person he was referring to. So it wasn't perfect.
The pacing of the book was a little strange in places. I was absolutely hooked for the first 100 pages, but then at about a third into the book, he goes off on quite a few long tangents that didn't seem too relevant. The middle seemed a lot more cohesive, but the last quarter seemed a little rushed.
I really hope David decides to write more history books, because I would absolutely buy them. A book about the Scottish or Welsh monarchy, perhaps? Now that is something I would love to read about.
It's interesting to read reviews for this book seeing people complain about the swearing. I guess you people aren't familiar with David Mitchell, then?