This is a very funny book about what is usually a serious subject. The author is apparently a famous comedian which definitely is obvious in the humor evident in his writing, but he is also a very capable  historian, recounting details about England’s histories and kings u known to many.  He tells the truth about England’s rulers- they fought a lot of wars and led their country through all the eras we read about in the history books but they were a group of strange, violent, plotters constantly worried about holding onto their thrones and staying alive. In most books the Kings are just names with dates- in this book they are narcissists and power mad schemers, leaders of armies that seem more like gangs of thugs. Mitchell starts in post Roman England and ends with Elizabeth I. We learn about the kings before William the Conquerer (who don’t have numbers), the Tudors and the Lancasters, the wars with Scotland, the boys in the tower- all stories told with multiple details and with humorous side stories and often hilarious and appropriate comparisons to issues today.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book- I listened to it and also consulted the book in case i missed any details. We can only hope that Mitchell is working on volume 2 or even better that he writes a book on the Scottish kings. A brilliant book.