Tony Robinson

High Aethel Wolf is aging and the inheritance of Wessex is subject to challenge. His eldest children all think they are capable, his youngest are either banished or not so keen on power. Now there is a threat from the Norlanders who are raiding the wessex coasts and threatening the fragile peace. Meanwhile in Rome, Asser is released from his prison and charged with defending Wessex by creating a treaty with Wolf. Wolf's estranged son, Aethelfraed, does not want to meet his father but show more circumstances mean new alliances need to be formed quickly.
Essentially this is the story of the rise of Alfred the Great but is 'Alfred: the Lost Years' so historically it is very interesting. However the style of writing is rather quirky, it's not deliberately comic (like 'Horrible Histories') but nor is it straight historical fiction, there is lots of fact in amongst the fiction and the humour. In the acknowledgements this makes sense and Robinson says he is strongly influenced by a number of writers but what this reader senses is the entertaining narrative of a Ken Follett and the sense of the dark humour of Terry Pratchett. For some readers this won't work, however I really liked it! show less

This book was a Christmas gift from someone that knows I love children's literature, history and weird facts. It is intended for someone who si 10+ years of age, although a sensitive child might have some difficulty with it. Tony Robinson is British and so most of his references (money, geography, government, etc.) are U.K. or from continental Europe.

The book is amazing. It is a brief, readable history of child labour. He covers all types of labour from gong-scourer's boy to factory worker. show more As this is a children's overview there is not a great deal of detail, but there is enough to inform the imagination about such dangers as phossy-jaw (the deterioration of the jawbone because of the white phosphorous in the match factory), to lost limbs, to walking around all day in human excrement. Each chapter ends with a time-line so that things can be put into perspective.

The attitude about children was very different than it is today. That difference becomes quite apparent in the book. Children of today will see that they haven't always been seen as the treasured blessings they are now. Children were given the jobs no one else wanted, and mine tunnels were made smaller to save money because children could fit inside them and children could be paid less. At one time it was not uncommon for a 4 year old to work a 10 hour day. No napping allowed.

I recommend the book highly, and think it should be on every school curriculum. show less

“The paradox is that when you can get into right versus wrong bickering in personal relationships -- even if you believe you have won -- you have lost.”

Normally I am not a great fan of auto-biographies and in particular those of celebrities but I was given this by a friend who said that it was amusing so I decided to give it a go. Like most others I knew of Tony Robinson from Blackadder and the Time Team series but knew little else about him. However, his story goes back much further and show more is full of variety when he spent many years acting and directing in various provincial theatres as well as a deep involvement in politics. In his time he has worked with some of the big names in the industry including John Wayne, Richard Attenbrough and Liza Minelli. He is also candid and in many respects quite unsentimental about his personal life and in particular the role that has dementia played in it.

The book is full of detail but at times both funny and bitter-sweet and you realise that there is much more to him than you might otherwise suspect as such I found it a rather enjoyable read. show less

Torn on this one…I spent much of this listen being intensely annoyed by Robinson’s arrogance and entitlement and the tedious detail of endless theatre and union adventures. But the back third or so saved it for me, with some deeply personal and moving accounts of his parent’s struggles with dementia, the loss of people close to him, and insights into his many years with Time Team. Given his clear facility for remembering the minutest of details about obscure events from decades ago, it show more is disappointing that he chose to devote so little time and detail to his Blackadder days - arguably his most recognisable role and the one which would have prompted many to buy this autobiography (Robinson has happily capitalised on his most famous catchphrase for the title, after all). Perhaps he’d rather distance himself, anxious to avoid being defined predominantly for his role as Baldrick. It’s understandable that he’d want to show there’s more to him and share his passion for radical politics and disrupting the status quo. Those are undoubtedly interesting parts of the whole but the balance was out of whack, resulting in large chunks which just felt bloated and self-indulgent. The odd bits that bobbed up around this, however, were sublime. show less