By Terry Deary
Published by Pen and Sword History
I love the Horrible Histories books; back in the day I bought them all for Becky, my youngest sister. Terry has a talent for making history both interesting and informative, often by concentrating on the horrible aspects as you’d imagine.
I wish we’d been taught history like that at school!
This fine book is more for older readers than his usual books and I feel it will have a wide audience.
Terry’s great talent is his ability to make history come to life. How many writers would have the genius to quote legendary comedian Ken Dodd: “I have kleptomania. But when it gets bad, I take something for it.” Alongside this he quotes Napoleon: “The Infectiousness of crime is like that of the plague.” Terry is a one-off writer!
The true story of Dick Turpin is a good example of the quality of this book; rather than the folk hero of legend, Turpin was actually an unpleasant and none-too-smart criminal.
Highly accessible and this book would make a fine present.
