From Alfred the Cake to the Magna Charter, Sellers and Yeatman present English history as barely understood by your typical English schoolboy. The result is comic genius.
Folio Society; 1990; xxxiv, 116pp; 8to (200x135x18mm); 0.4kg; bound in printed paper; in plain slipcase; black and white illustrations throughout.
Ostensibly a history of England, 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates is, in reality, a rich satire of the history known to every English schoolboy—a history half (mis-)remembered and half embellished. Ironically, the book will best be enjoyed by those who actually have a good knowledge of the subject, for they will be best-placed to spot the deliberate but subtle twisting of the historical narrative for comic effect. A good knowledge of Shakespeare also comes in handy since confusing the Bard’s writings for actual events is a recurring device here. The following account of Agincourt is typical:
Conditions in France were favourable to Henry [V] since the French king, being mad, had entrusted the government of the country to a dolphin and the command of the army to an elderly constable. After capturing some breeches at Harfleur (more than once) by the original expedients of disguising his friends as tigers, stiffening their sinews, etc., Henry was held up on the road to Calais by the constable, whom he defeated at the utterly memorable battle of AGINCOURT (French Poictiers). He then displaced the dolphin as Anjou, Menjou, Poilou, Maine, Touraine, Againe and Againe, and realising that he was now too famous to live long expired at the ideal moment.
W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman, 1066 and All That
It’s a diminutive volume bound in brown paper-covered boards that are printed with a design presumably intended to resemble a school notebook. The design features a brown parcel paper background with the title printed in an inky hand on the front and a large ink blot on the rear. The spine bears the abbreviated title, authors’ surnames, and the word Folio. All three exposed edges of the text block are also printed with an ink splatter design.
The binding is sewn, with black and white head and tail bands, while the end papers are plain white. The volume comes in a slipcase that also has a brown parcel paper design.
Inside, we find the text is set in Old Style on Virginia Wove paper. It’s a slightly coarse white paper with good opacity. The type design is relatively simple, with chapters and sections headed in capitals and chapters opening with a drop cap. There’s a nice introduction by Ned Sherrin that gives some background on the writing of the book and on the authors who wrote it. The book also contains “test papers” to round out historical periods. An example question: “Give the dates of at least two of the following (1) William the Conqueror. (2) 1066.”
The books is illustrated by John Reynolds. Reynolds’ illustrations are simple satirical drawings of key historical figures and events. What they lack in visual impact is compensated by the liberal fashion in which they are scattered throughout the book. Besides these small illustrations there’s also a frontispiece in a similar style, which faces an elegant title page that stands in mock of all those fusty “real” history books. ■
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