'This is how it is with humans: we are defined not by our friends but our enemies.' So says the author who will always be defined by the wonderful children's books Horrible Histories. This book is aimed at adults, however.

If you know anything about our history, it is not difficult to know who the ten enemies are in a broad stroke kind of way. Starting with the Romans and ending with the Germans of the Second World War and stuffed in between is every major country Britain (specifically England) has come into conflict with. Written with the same kind of humour as Horrible Histories, such as puns like 'they got around using dug-out boat carved from tree trunks (canoe you believe it?)' and comparisons to modern day situations. Casually referring to Napoleon as 'Boney' and the Archduke Ferdinand as 'Ferdie' the tone is set so this is a perfect addition to the HH collection.

The introduction explains how nations are formed and the type of threats the folk face, ergo enemies. A brief outline of inhabitants before the Roman invasion, Celts and Beaker People (are they same?), then the enemies are discussed with the expected facts and figures and gems of little known significance. The book tries to answer two questions: are Britons better than other nations and where did they get that idea from? Credit to Terry Deary, he does actually answer the questions.

This is not an academic read but a fun way to find out some fascinating bits of history. Laugh while you learn - at least the history will be memorable. Engaging enough for anyone to read even if not a history buff with some serious concepts to consider. Brilliant stuff.

An enjoyable and diverting alternative overview of Britain's history, in the style of Horrible Histories for grown-ups.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was just like revisting horrible Histories but much more grown up. I found this such an easy read and wanted to not put it down. This was also informative and kept the tone balanced well. I really hope more of these titles come out as I loved this.

It's hard to under state quite how much Terry Deary has done for the love of history in this country - inspiring over 40 years of children with his books, and sparking the Horrible Histories tv show.
A HIstory of Britain in Ten Enemies utilises Deary's grasp for combining history with humour to great effect - educational but insanely entertaining and readable

In this engaging and well-researched account, the author of Horrible Histories explores Britain's complex history through the lens of its many adversaries.
With a sharp eye for detail and a clear, accessible style, this book offers a fresh perspective on the conflicts, rivalries, and shifting alliances that have shaped Britain over the centuries. A fascinating read for anyone interested in understanding the challenges and forces that have influenced British history.

The creator of Horrible Histories writes a history book for adults? If course I'm reading it!

This is a good book to dip in and out of, if you don't want to read it all in one go - lots of jokes interspersed, with many modern cultural references added to the text that I loved (Line of Duty anyone?!).

The book doesn't take itself seriously, but covers serious matters. I really enjoyed it, and now may go back and rediscover Horrible Histories!

This book should not have been published without an extensive rewrite. I noticed factual errors (for example, no the Stone of Destiny wasn’t from Egypt, geologists tested the stone, it’s from the Perthshire area). The countries chosen were bizarre, if you mean the Roman Empire, say that, if you mean the Papacy, say that. Neither of those things are Italy.

I’m not sure why this was a history of Britain when it was clearly based on English history, I mean for most of the Middle Ages when England was fighting France, Scotland sided with the French. We sent two monarchs to France to keep them safe from the English at different points.

Most of my dislike of the book is its grasp of history is up there with your average Brexit supporter’s. But there’s one part of the book that is more serious. And that’s labelling Ireland as an enemy. Now I’m sure the writer will claim it’s in jest. But that’s just it, it’s not funny. Or more accurately it’s not appropriate for anyone British to be making those jokes. You cannot say there’s been peace for 25 years, we can now joke about 800 years of colonialism. Also that joking might have felt a little less inappropriate had the history particularly concerning the troubles not been so bad. It mentions one woman wrongly convicted for terrorism. One person was wrongly convicted?! Did I miss the mention of the Guildford Four, Birmingham Six or Maguire Seven. There’s a mention of Bloody Sunday, but not the Ballymurphy massacre. It’s mentioned that 90% of those arrested during interment were catholics. Operation Demitrius was targeted purely at nationalists/republicans, any non-catholic arrested was still there because of their association with that community. No loyalists were ever interned, that is not clear in the book.

And then it’s a bizarre jump from the mid 70s to the peace process. The peace process makes no sense without an explanation. I thought it was possibly left out because of bias, but honestly I think the author doesn’t understand the politics of Northern Ireland so he doesn’t understand how events influenced the peace process.

This book was a bad way to frame history, badly written and cherry picked history and at its worst just downright offensive

A very interesting book written in a light-hearted humorous way which I loved. The reasoning behind each enemy is well documented and has snippets of current humour written into it. My favourite was probably the reference to a famous line from one of the characters from Line of Duty when the author is describing how the Christian converts in Rome identified each other. when you know, you know.
I think this will appeal to all ages in the same way as Horrible Histories has.

Italy
Saxony
Scandinavia
France
Spain
Dutch empire
United States
Russia
Ireland
Germany

These are Britains enemies in Terry Deary's new adult book. First off, let's just say I'm SO bias against this man. When I was little I spent a lot of time in a bookshop called Magpie Books and they had a small but magical children's room and it was there when I saw a purple spine and found Groovy Greeks. It would ignite a love of history in me, so much so that very book was mentioned in my personal statement to get into university to study history. My eldest kid even learnt to clap along to a horrible histories song. It's just a world I love!

So, does an adult book hold up? 100%. This is horrible histories 2.0. Split into ten parts, we look at British history, starting with the Roman invasion and ending in Ww2 against the Nazis. It's short and concise. It has a lot of the bigger and better known points in history but also lesser known battles or disputes. Now, to be honest, did I learn much new? No. That's because I consider myself quite well read in the history of Britain. Partly because of this man and his books and the show. I think this would be such a great place for people to go who did like the books or TV show but feel a bit scared of history nonfiction. It's fun. He thinks Britain is dumb and he is right. We've done bad things, and he doesn't shy away from criticising or showing the hypocricies of the leaders over the centuries. So I had a great time and I hope he releases some more adult nonfic for the fangirls like me.

Kindly gifted by publishers and netgalley and it comes out tomorrow!

Achieved 10% but just wasn't enjoying the fairly dry content interspersed with occasional jokes. Felt there were also a few proofreading errors that either didn't read well or didn't make sense in the introduction and chapter 1.

I liked this idea of this, but it just wasn't for me.

Having just finished a history degree, and been a fan of Horrible Histories when I was younger, I was so excited to read this. It did not disappoint.

Each chapter was deeply informative, going into the relationship Britain has had with ten historic enemies in a way that was both brimming with information and accessible. Deary's signature humourous style was definitely a factor in this, but so way the breaking down of wider conflicts into smaller historical anecdotes.

The epilogue was just brilliant. The way in which this book examined British notions of the other other as enemy, and the impact of that on British nationalism/patriotism was expertly tied up into a point on how Britain has committed all the same evils, and how we need a new perspective on our history. We were shaped by these 'enemies' who often became part of us, or became allies. We are not some lone wolf under threat by the other, but just another place with people and a past filled with rights and wrongs. Just, this was such an engaging and informative read with a strong conclusive argument and some beautiful writing (both in terms of humour, but also in terms of earnest ideals on future perspectives).

I've seen the television series based on Horrible Histories and know my (now adult) children have enjoyed the books. This adult offering is presented in a similar manner but with detail more mature than in the children's series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it provided a good coverage of history as seen through the ten enemies of Britain. It was done with a sense of humor. but it doesn't take itself too seriously and it acknowledges that Britain could be just as villainous as its enemies. This was a nice alternative to some of the dryer histories out there and might draw readers by its humor. I rate this four stars and would like to thank Netgalley and Transworld/Bantam Publishers for giving me an advance reader copy. I have provided this review under no obligation.

This was one of my first dabbles into Terry Dreary’s adult books -I am no stranger to his children’s novels as I’m a teacher by trade. I must say that I was by no means disappointed!

This book not only makes history accessible, but also makes it comedic in nature, but without taking away what it is at its core -history. It explains ten different enemies that Britain has had over the past 2000+ years and how as a nation, united or otherwise, it has overcome or (sometimes begrudgingly) welcomed these enemies to become the multilayered, culturally diverse country that it is today.

Some of the quotes had me cackling with laughter, one particular one (allegedly) by the British conductor Thomas Beecham comes to mind with regards to one particular activity and folk dancing especially, but don’t worry, I won’t spoil it for anyone!

If you are hesitant to dip your toe into historical non-fiction, then I would definitely recommend a book such as this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the book ahead of publication, this was all my honest opinion and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

A perfect read for those of us who grew up reading Horrible Histories!
A History of Britain in Ten Enemies provides an overview of British history, tracing each people’s thorny relationship with Britain chronologically throughout history and weaving together historical accounts, origins of common sayings and commentary on modern politics.
Deary’s trademark humorous writing style shines through in his recounting of events in a way which is sure to keep the reader entertained. His narrative is interspersed with asides and footnotes usually pertaining to more modern references, as well as common sayings and their origins in and relevance to historical events.
The book serves as a good introduction to Britain and its history, providing an overview of two millennia in just over 200 pages. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a light-hearted take on British history.

Thank you to Transworld and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A History of Britain in Ten Enemies - the new book from Terry Deary, author of the massively popular Horrible Histories children’s books. His new book targets an adult audience and is touted as being perfect for fans of Unruly by David Mitchell (which coincidentally, was marketed as Horrible Histories for grown-ups). As a history graduate that read the series constantly growing up, it’s a genre revival I’m massively on board with.

As you’d expect, the book explores the history of Britain, by examining its relationships with its enemies and examining how they divided and united Britain, in its varying forms. Deary does a wonderful job of building a memorable timeline and depicting rival nations in individual detail. This was a fun read that covered a large window of history, with plenty of “wow, I didn’t know that” moments along the way. I particularly enjoyed how Deary didn’t solely focus on Britain itself, but went into detail about the history of each rival nation. This provided fantastic context and really gave a detailed and balanced portrayal of each relationship.

My only criticism would be that in places, Deary’s sarcasm and quips didn’t quite land and felt like a series of bad dad jokes. In others, they just disrupted the flow of an otherwise engaging bit of reading. Whilst I would agree that some of Deary’s politics and opinion shone through, for the most part he clearly made an effort to remain impartial, highlighting both the good and bad moments that can be found throughout British history.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and interesting read, that successfully demonstrated how Britain has been shaped over the centuries by its enemies, creating the Britain that we see today.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK and Terry Deary for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't finished it yet Ive got to the second. Chapter but I'm loving it so much it's witty funny and gives a real insight into the periods in history he's talking about this definitely needs to be in every school library or just libraries in general

I really liked this book. Having grown up on Terry Deary books, I knew from the first moment that the style of writing was one I would enjoy. I didn’t however, realise how much! This was funny,
sarcastic and so educational in all the right places. As a history student, this was one of the first historical reads I’ve picked up since finished for the year and it was perfect to reintroduce me into the world of learning, all ready for another year!

Terry Deary, known for his Horrible Histories series, takes on a more mature but still accessible journey through British history in A History of Britain in Ten Enemies. With his trademark wit and irreverence, Deary presents British history from the perspective of ten nations or figures who were, at one point or another, Britain’s enemies. Instead of the familiar patriotic narratives, the book explores the viewpoints of those who challenged Britain, whether on the battlefield or in diplomacy.

Deary’s enemies range from traditional foes like France and Spain to less expected ones like the American colonies and Ireland. The book is structured around these “enemies,” each section delving into key historical events, conflicts, and misunderstandings that shaped Britain’s relationship with these adversaries. Rather than a conventional history, Deary frames each chapter as a reminder that history is subjective, with the “victors” often controlling the narrative. By highlighting Britain’s mistakes, acts of aggression, and sometimes morally ambiguous decisions, Deary paints a more complex picture of the nation’s past.

The writing is sharp, engaging, and thoroughly researched, though it retains the lightness Deary is known for, with dark humor and snappy commentary. He brings the same energy that made his children’s books popular, though this work feels more grounded in analysis and historical reflection. His tone is playful, but the underlying message—about the fluid nature of power, morality, and historical memory—gives the book a surprising depth.

Some readers might find the non-linear, episodic structure a bit disjointed, as each chapter stands almost as its own mini-book. However, this approach also makes the history digestible and entertaining, allowing readers to dip in and out of the stories at will. Deary excels at cutting through the grandiose myths and nationalistic fervor, making history feel alive and often uncomfortably relevant to today’s world.

Overall, A History of Britain in Ten Enemies is a refreshing, thought-provoking take on British history. It is perfect for readers who enjoy a more cynical or critical perspective on historical narratives, or for those who want a break from the usual hero-centered storytelling. Deary challenges his readers to question the traditional accounts of history, offering a necessary reminder that history is often a battle of perspectives, not just facts

I was a huge fan of Horrible Histories as a child and this book brought me the same joy but in a more grown up package. This book has the similar humorous vibes to Horrible Histories whilst providing all the factual information required. Each chapter focuses on a different enemy and goes through the history associated with that enemy in chronological order. The order of the sections is also done in order of the earliest enemy which really helps paint a full and flowing picture. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this!

As someone who has read so many Terry Deary books, I have a list on my goodreads specifically for them, I knew that, when I saw this book that I would need to give it a read. Deary's humour has always endeared me throughout his books and this book though certainly maturer than it's Horrible Histories counterparts brings that but with a greater depth but still as interesting as the books I read growing up.

Told to us via Britain's various enemies throughout the world be that Italy or Scandinavia, this book travels through time and space about how Britain was invaded but also the invaders and does it with a sense of humour and what I've always found to be quite objectively - I've never really found his books to glorify in Britain's acts during its peak colonialism and this book is no different (and his footnotes are perfect examples of this throughout this book, see the chapter on Spain).

Rigorous but also funny, I'd love to see more books in this series about other countries and see the author go deeper much like here he has on different topics. Where HH can sort of skim the surface, this book really allows for more depth and a greater richness to the subject matter.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc for honest review)