Synopses & Reviews
This cheerful poem has been writtenTo tell the history of Britain;
For People puzzled by the Past
If this means YOU, heres help at last!
From Celts to Churchill, it relates
(With all the most Important Dates)
Our countrys convoluted course . . .
Why Richard hollered for a horse;
Why Eleanor was such a catch;
Why no one liked the Spanish Match;
The pros and cons of Laissez Faire;
Smart Georgian ladies underwear;
Why Charles the Second went to plays;
Why Queen Jane reigned for just nine days;
The causes of the Irish trouble;
The bursting of the South Sea Bubble;
That giant glasshouse in Hyde Park;
The First World Wars igniting spark . . .
Brought up with the iambic pentameters of Hilaire Bellocs Cautionary Verses ringing in his ears, James Muirden has written his rhyming history of Britain in an equally simple and entertaining form. Charmingly irreverent, magically humorous yet rigorously accurate, and delightfully illustrated by David Eccles, this is the perfect gift for any Anglophile. James Muirden has written some thirty books on astronomy and space, and in addition has been a film reviewer and telescope maker. He is currently studying the astronomical orientation of English medieval churches. Married with two children, he lives in Devon, England. Brought up with the iambic pentameters of Hilaire Bellocs Cautionary Verses ringing in his ears, James Muirden has written his rhyming history of Britain in an equally simple and entertaining form. Irreverent, humorous yet rigorously accurate, A Rhyming History of Britain is illustrated by David Eccles.
Synopsis
This cheerful poem has been writtenTo tell the history of Britain;
For People puzzled by the Past
If this means YOU, heres help at last!
From Celts to Churchill, it relates
(With all the most Important Dates)
Our countrys convoluted course . . .
Why Richard hollered for a horse;
Why Eleanor was such a catch;
Why no one liked the Spanish Match;
The pros and cons of Laissez Faire;
Smart Georgian ladies underwear;
Why Charles the Second went to plays;
Why Queen Jane reigned for just nine days;
The causes of the Irish trouble;
The bursting of the South Sea Bubble;
That giant glasshouse in Hyde Park;
The First World Wars igniting spark . . .
Brought up with the iambic pentameters of Hilaire Bellocs Cautionary Verses ringing in his ears, James Muirden has written his rhyming history of Britain in an equally simple and entertaining form. Charmingly irreverent, magically humorous yet rigorously accurate, and delightfully illustrated by David Eccles, this is the perfect gift for any Anglophile.
Table of Contents
Introduction Celts and Saxons 55 B.C.A.D. 927 Houses of Cerdic and Denmark 9271066 House of Normandy 10661154 House of Anjou (The Plantagenets) 11541399 House of Lancaster 13991471 House of York 147185 House of Tudor 14851603 House of Stuart 16031714 House of Hanover 17141901 House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha 190110 House of Windsor 1910Present Postscript The Kings and Queens of England The Kings and Queens of Scotland