1066 and All That: A memorable history of England [Paperback]

W.C. Sellar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 1993

A comic satire upon textbook history squeezing in all the history you can remember from the Olden Days and dashing Queen Woadicea to the reigns of the Eggkings (Eggberd, Eggbreth and Eggforth, and their mysterious Eggdeath), from the dreadful story of Stephen and his aunt Matilda to the Magna Charter, from the six burglars of Calais to the disillusion of the monasteries and the life of Broody Mary, from William and Mary, when England was ruled by an orange, to the Boston Tea-Party and the annoying confusion between Napoleon and Nelson, to the Peace to end all Peace. This light-hearted look at England and history provides a colorful commentary for all those with a curiosity for the past.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Sutton Publishing (September 25, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750917164
• ISBN-13: 978-0750917162
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #939,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very Good Thing! and Memorable!, October 1, 1999

By 

Louise Mowder - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1066 and All That: A memorable history of England (Paperback)

I read this first in high school, and in many ways it taught me a philosophy of history that subsequent decades have only confirmed. History is not what you thought - it is what you can remember. What's so marvelous about this work of historical humor is its skewed accuracy, and the uncanny way in which it captures the circularity of misinformation and facts that we use as cultural narrative. While it has a distinctly England-Between-the-Wars sensibility, the tone actually works in its favor. Passages like the discussion of Gaul's division into three parts (weeny, weedy, and weaky) illustrate the ways in which we all attempt to make sense of information which we cannot truly understand because we have no accurate context for it. And when the authors state that this history is the result of "years of research in golf-clubs, gun-rooms, green-rooms, etc.", they are making a very trenchant comment on how ideological history is created, taught, and made into a dominant belief system. This would make a great foundation for a course on history. I'm only sorry that it ends when America became top nation.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Typical "schoolboy's view" of English History and humor., May 25, 1999

By 

[e-mail]. (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 1066 and All That: A memorable history of England (Paperback)

Sellars and Yeatman were two English scoolmasters in the 30's who set out to write a history book for Schoolboys and adults who should know better, for entertainment and fun which has become a minor classic. A basically accurate romp through English history, it also pokes fun at some venerable "English" historical stereotypes and misconceptions as well as satirising( very gently) the English exam system of the inter-war years.

" How big was the bosum of the Pope"- candidates may use protractors,- " England was now "top nation "-discuss", are typical extracts from the mock test questions that follow every chapter.

Typically eclectic , charming and witty, the book actually manages to teach a lot of History whilst correcting many a misunderstanding and shedding light on a number of quite unusual topics.

Read the bit about the Scots, Picts and finally, Irish ( once Scots but now Irish) and the Picts living in Scotland but really Irish, and the Scots, formerly Irish but now living in Scotland ( or living in brackets!). Great fun -charming book!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's all that and more!, May 15, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: 1066 and All That: A memorable history of England (Paperback)

Most everyone on the internet (which makes most of you, as you're reading this review via the internet) has encountered, either in a website or a mass emailing, various humourous and hilarious historical satires, usually presented (alas, urban legend alert!) as inaccuracies found in actual student papers. Mistakes such as:

Egypt is in a desert, and watered by irritation.

Handel was half-German, half-Italian, and half-English.

Lincoln lived at the Gettysburg Address.

And so on.

Well, in the days before email and websites (and photocopiers, to pass such gems around the office), these things did exist, and were, because of the difficulty in finding it by other means, published.

Much to our pleasure, one such collection can still be found. `1066 and All That' is a humourous if fractured look at British history. As an aid for the newly historically literate, this text tells you when something that happened is a Good Thing.

Here we find that Julius Caesar conquered Britain on the first date in British history (a very fortuitous coincidence, that) but failed to overrun the country, and left the natives, who were after all only natives, and completely lacking in the skill of making properly constructed Latin sentences such as Veni, Vidi, Vici (a quality absolutely required for gaining the appellation of 'civilised').

`Important Note
The Scots (originally Irish, but by now Scotch) were at this time inhabiting Ireland, having driven the Irish (Picts) out of Scotland; while the Picts (originally Scots) were now Irish (living in brackets) and vice versa. It is essential to keep these distinctions clearly in mind (and vice versa).'

We are introduced to the conversion of the Angles (no, not Angels, but Angles, hence, Anglicans), helped of course by the Venomous Bead. Shortly thereafter, we had the Egg-Kings (Eggberd, Eggbreth, Eggfroth, etc.), `none of them, however, succeeded in becoming memorable, except in so far as it is difficult to forget such names as Eggbirth, Eggbred, Eggbeard, Eggfilth, etc. Nor is it even remembered by what kind of Eggdeath they perished.'

Of course, you've probably never read the Magna Carta, being as it is in a foreign tongue (funny how English tends to do that). So, this book provides a summary:

`1. That no one was to be put to death, save for some reason (except the Common People).
2. That everyone should be free (except the Common People).
3. That everything should be of the same weight and measure throughout the Realm (except the Common People).
4. That the Courts should be stationary, instead of following a very tiresome medieval official known as the King's Person all over the country.
5. That no person should be fined to his utter ruin (except the King's Person).
6. That the Barons should not be tried except by a special jury of other Barons who would understand.

Magna Charter was therefore the chief cause of Democracy in England, and thus a very Good Thing for everyone (except the Common People).'

Skipping a bit (you will of course have to read the book for yourself; I can hardly be expected to do all the work for you, now, can I. What am I, a typist?) we come upon the death of good King William IV, at which time, `Queen Victoria, though asleep at the time and thus in her nightdress, showed great devotion to duty by immediately ascending the throne. In this bold act she was assisted by Lord Melbourne and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who were both properly dressed.'

Each section ends with a term paper covering the historical period in question, with questions such as:

+ Which do you consider were more alike, Caesar or Pompey, or vice versa? (Be brief.)

+ Why do you picture John of Gaunt as a rather emaciated grandee?

+ Ruminate fearlessly on (I) Lord Cardigan, (2) Clapham.

We discover the truth of the Magna Garter (a very great garter indeed--as distinct from that Great Charter mentioned above); that Victoria died in fact of a surfeit of Jamborees; and that when America became the top dog nation, history came to an end.

Hence, as history is at an end, this is the only history book which can claim to be complete.

Enjoy with your tea (not of course to be confused with the compulsory tea-party demanded by George III of all American colonists, who started pouring the tea into Boston Harbour `until they were quite Independent, thus causing the United States'), biscuits, and a good dose of humour!