I was drawn to this book as a fan of "Horrible Histories", which I loved. The book is interesting, and the liberal sprinklings of humour made me laugh out loud a few times. Plenty of historical facts, plus "side notes", made it an enjoyable read. If history had been as entertainingly portrayed during my own school days, I would undoubtedly have paid it more attention.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I am a bit too old to have grown up with horrible histories, but aware of Terry Deary and his work, I thought I would give this book a read.
I found it to have plenty of facts but also riven with the authors own politics, points of view and anything that disparages Britain and its history.
As a trained history teacher, I was hoping I might have been able to recommend this to some of my older students but I am unable too.
Very disappointed and I think it might be time to put the quill down Mr Deary.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

It was enjoyable, I particularly enjoyed the chapter about the romans because it gave me some facts I didn’t know. Overall, a good introductory history for light readers. I wouldn’t say it was an essential volume for history buffs and it’s not as funny as horrible histories, but I’m sure the aging fans will reach for this anyway.

This book will be perfect for anyone who grew up with Horrible Histories or who wants a light read with plenty of historical facts.
I liked the structure and found it all really interesting.

As a life long Terry Deary fan who had an almost unhealthy obsession with his childrens books I absolutely had to read this.

It did not disappoint, working through ten examples of enemies of Britain - starting from more ancient examples through to modern history.

The book builds a thorough picture as to why the United Kingdom is why it is today. It makes some thought provoking points as to the attitude of modern britons and our relationship with the rest of the world whilst maintaining the satiric nature in Terry Deary's writing style which many people (including myself) know and love.

I throughly recommend this to both History Buffs and people with a lighter interest in history. The light hearted way this book is written allows it to be throughly appealing to both audiences.

Thank you to Random House UK and Transworld Publishing for my advance reader copy.

I know this author for his children’s books, but this is written for adults in his same unique style! The book tells us all about Britain’s 10 most known enemies. It starts in Italy with the Romans and then takes us through Saxony, Scandinavia, France, Spain, The Dutch Empire, United States, Russia, Ireland and finally Germany. It’s perfect for anyone who loves a bit of history, and whilst the chapters are fairly short for each “enemy”, it’s still packed full of information, told in an interesting and funny way. I thought I knew a good amount of history, but this book definitely taught me things I didn’t know along the way! Easy to read, light-hearted and giving a new spin on our country’s history! Would recommend.

Delivered in Terry Deary’s dependable humorous style, with liberal sprinklings of interesting asides, the book charts the history of the island of Britain and the emergence of its nation(s) and will be enjoyed by anyone wanting to gain a better breadth of knowledge of British history, with sources provided at the end to encourage further in-depth exploration.

Overall, an enjoyable and interesting read.

Whilst Deary’s work is always a pleasure to read, and has a clear social focus which adds richness to his histories, the narrative was a little confused between trying to deal with matters thematically (each chapter covers a different ‘enemy’) and chronologically (there was quite a bit of jumping back and forth, and cross-references between chapters). Additionally, some chapters felt a little lopsided. Italy and Saxony in particular were very short chapters and the Russia chapter was longer but without saying very much about Britain - at times it felt like a chapter was more focused on giving a potted history of the country itself rather than its connection to Britain.

4.5 stars
Historical facts and enemies made fun with witty remarks, pure jokes and a humorous presentation.

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I most definitely would be! As someone who is a teacher with a history degree, has a genuine interest in history, AND is a lifelong fan of Terry Deary, I was beyond excited to be allowed to read an ARC of this book.
Aside from one inspiring teacher at primary school, Terry Deary was my main reason for developing my passion of history, as I grew up reading and re-reading the Horrible Histories books, enchanted by the way the information was presented thanks to Deary’s sense of humour. This is still true in ‘A History of Britain’; the satirical humour and comedic comments were making me laugh out loud even when reading about some truly low and gruesome points in British History.
And what I loved the most? Everything that I learned as I read this! Now I never claimed to know everything about any period of history, but I was still so engrossed in each chapter, eager to learn more that made me recoil in horror, laugh-out-loud or gasp in awe. This book truly has it all. Terry Deary is a master teller of all things historical and reading this as an adult has brought me so much joy and returned the fond memories of my childhood, where I truly could just sit and read all day.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in history, or who just wants to know a bit more about why the world is the way it is. It’s cheekiness, combined with wit, takes us through British history that is packed with facts and little-known anecdotes that make it an absolute delight to read. I will be definitely be purchasing a copy of this to add to my little home library when it is published!

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley, Terry Deary and Random House UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Terry Deary for adults. It's enough to lift the hearts of everyone who read his books as children. This is a super book and looks better than reading the children's horrible histories on the bus (yes it does get you some funny looks !)

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.

So say the lyrics of the British patriotic song, but just how true is it? In A History of Britain in Ten Enemies, Terry Deary takes us on a whistle stop tour of our nation’s history, and while many of the events may be familiar, there are definitely stories here that are not taught in school…

We have Terry Deary to thank for making history accessible to young people via his Horrible Histories series, the mix of accurate historical content and humour inspiring a generation of readers. In A History of Britain in Ten Enemies, he has managed to replicate this for an adult audience, telling the story of the British Isles and how invasions, attempted attacks and battles have helped to shape it into what it is today.

The book is easy to read and will appeal to anyone with a love of history or those wanting a bit of Horrible Histories nostalgia. The humour is very much apparent and combined really well with the historical fact. Even those with a good history knowledge will find information in here that was previously unknown to them!

This is a really good read and I hope that we see similar books by a this author in the future.

I absolutely loved Horrible Histories as a child, Terry Deary had such a brilliant way of making history funny and accessible whilst being really educational. When I found out that he'd written a history book for adults, I was excited but worried whether it would be as good given it wouldn't be quite as 'daft'.

Luckily, A History of Britain in Ten Enemies is very interesting and informative whilst still being funny - the little comments dotted in the text are brilliantly witty and dry, and made me laugh out loud a few times. As well as that, the historical stories being told were very interesting, even knowing the rough stories there was a lot of new details I wasn't aware of.

Overall a really enjoyable read!

A generation of kids grew up devouring Deary's "Horrible Histories" series. My children were no exception and Mr. Deary has in the past relieved me of many pounds of my hard earned cash. I was really intrigued to read an "adult" Deary book on history and I really love how he gets on with the job ripping through the history whilst imparting a lot of incredibly interesting and often jaw dropping little gems of interesting information about the times. I didn't really take to his digs at fellow citizens about their poiltical leanings (even though I'm on Deary's end oft he spectrum) and their worries about our societal woes such as such as how to limit the levels of immigration when he was discussing the Roman and other invasions of these Isles. It felt jarring to me in a history book. all be it a light hearted one. His jokes fell a bit flat for me but he really can weasel out all the delicious bizarre and amusing nuggets from history which I enjoyed. I'm sure all the younger generation who loved his Horrible Histories will relish this book, to once again be educated in british History and entertained at the same time.

I’m a long time lover of Terry Deary and all he has done for giving a funny and compelling voice to history and bringing it to life for the reader. When it comes to his new books, they are always a must read for me - they never let me down.

This one was no different, filled with humour but chock full of informative accounts and history. They are so easy to read and enjoyable too. Britain is no stranger to the enemies they’ve totalled up along the eras and split into easily digestible chunks, we go from the Romans, to Saxons to rivalries with the French, Dutch, Spanish, and well, pretty much everyone!

He had my loyalty ever since Horrible Histories and is one of the sole people I am to blame for my years long love and interest in history, sparked from childhood.

His books are always super fun and it’s another for the history shelf. I learnt a lot and enjoyed learning it along the way. No other author brings history to life as much as Terry Deary!

I’ve always loved Deary’s writing, and getting to read this early has been an absolute privilege. Deary’s books got me into history at a young age and I’ve been chasing the humour in his books for years, and finally found it again. He has a special talent of balancing humour and horrific history. I found myself laughing out loud at some of his jokes, then gasping pages later because of the awful history facts. Despite slipping in jokes here and there, he still maintains a level of respect for history which is something that so many historians struggle with. I also learned a lot reading this, so many fictional events that I thought were true, Deary taught me otherwise! I almost wish this book was longer, I’ll happily read anything he writes.

He’s done it again! You always know with a Terry Deary book that you will get a well researched, humorous history book that you can’t put down, and this very much follows that theme. I wish Mr Deary had been my history teacher, as he manages to turn topics which could very easily be very dry and boring, to be completely riveting, to the point you just can’t put the book down. Having been a fan of the authors since childhood, when I read all his horrible histories series, it’s been great to see his foray into adult history books in more recent history, whilst still retaining his trademark humour. I think this book is perfect for anyone who grew up reading the horrible histories series, due to the nostalgia you will feel whilst reading his newer books, but also anyone seriously interest in history, as the books are accurate and interesting, and never cross the line into being too irreverent. I’ve been looking forward to reading this book since I first heard it was in the pipeline, and I ever so glad I did read it. 10/10, I would 100% recommend, and also suggest it makes a great present too.