Great Tales from English History: The Truth About King Arthur, Lady Godiva, Richard the Lionheart, and More: 1 Hardcover – Import, 3 June 2004

Easy to read and quite entertaining. Just read a chapter at a time to learn some snippets of English history and legend. It was a little more battered (it was a used book) than I expected, but OK. I'm not unhappy.

Great Tales from English History was one of the first books I bought for my Kindle. It wasn't what I was expecting but it is entertaining on its own terms. This is not a continuous narrative but, as the title suggests, individual tales. Each one is relatively short - most clock it at around 5 pages - making it perfect for bite-size reading. The tales themselves draw heavily on original chronicles and sources and Lacey does an admirable job of providing context for the prejudices of the sources. Most of the stories do involve the great and mighty but Lacey also includes tales of "Cheddar Man", an early English physician and the Venerable Bede. Lacey's tales were the perfect company for the subway portion of my commute, easily digestible in 10 minutes each. They've also proven to be good bedtime stories for my 12 year old niece.If I had to sum this book up in one word it would be this: charming. That's not faint praise. This is not a substantial work of history but it does provide an entertaining respite for history buff and history novice alike. I particularly enjoyed the way Lacey uses the original source material while still providing a commentary on the likeliness of events happening as written. He also delves into the deeper meaning of the tales whether it's Piers Ploughman and the bell on the cat or Alfred and the Cakes. He even works in the occasional flash of humor, as when he refers to a boisterous channel crossing as a "booze cruise." Doing all of this in five page spurts while still entertaining is an accomplishment.

This volume and its two companions are a handy guide to major events and people in England's history. In this volume, Lacey skirts around some of the earliest events and people, not providing much in depth and ignoring even a mention of some facts that might help him be a little less dismissive of some of the stories. But once he gets to 1066 and the battle of Hastings, his details become much clearer, and he is a good help to non-Brits who might want to hone up on names and events with some but not too many details. The three volumes end in the 20th century, so you know it covers a lot in a small space (or three small spaces). The chapters are all short - two to six pages - and are a handy guide for non-Brits. Even Brits could use them as a refresher course.

Just as described, thank you!

Not exactly what I expected. The subtitle is a more accurate description of the content: This is not a book of tales and legends but one of uncovering truths behind tales and legends. Once that's understood, it's not dry reading but rather an adding of perspective to tales and legends and as such, very interesting and informative.