The truth about King Arthur, Lady Godiva, Richard the Lionheart, and more.
From ancient times to the present day, the story of England has been laced with drama, intrigue, courage and passion – a rich and vibrant narrative of heroes and villains, kings and rebels, artists and highwaymen, bishops and scientists. Now, in Great Tales from English History, Robert Lacey captures some of the most pivotal moments: the stories and extraordinary characters that helped shape a nation.
This first volume begins in 7150 BC with the intriguing life and death of Cheddar Man and ends in 1381 with Wat Tyler and the Peasants’ Revolt. We meet the Greek navigator Pytheas, whose description of the woad-painting Celts yielded pretanniké (‘the land of the painted people’), which became the Latin word Britannia. We witness the Roman victory celebrations of AD 43, where a squadron of elephants was paraded through Colchester. And we visit the New Forest in 1100, and the mysterious shooting of King William Rufus.
Packed with insight, humour and fascinating detail, Robert Lacey brings the stories that made England brilliantly to life. From Ethelred the Unready to Richard the Lionheart, the Venerable Bede to Piers the Ploughman, this is, quite simply, history as history should be told.
