Just what was so great about Peter, Catherine, Frederick and Alexander? What did Cleopatra see to admire in the fat man with a beard, Mark Anthony? Why do people suffer from Montezuma’s revenge?
This light-hearted romp through history sets off with the conundrum of the two Egyptians, carrying on to explore the Strange Bedfellows of Attila the Hun, Charlemagne and Lady Godiva, ending up in Merrie England and the roamings of Christopher Columbus, et al. It is a journey through the annals of history with the heroes and villains of the past as your fellow travellers: Lucretia Borgia, Lady Godiva, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and George III. Will Cuppy’s profiles of the good and the great make you realise that the truth of history is far stranger than the fiction!
Contents:
Introduction
Part 1: It Seems There Were Two Egyptians
- Cheops, or Khufu
- Hatshepsut
Part 2: Ancient Greeks and Worse
- Pericles
- Alexander the Great
- Hannibal
- Cleopatra
- Nero
Part 3: Strange Bedfellows
- Attila the Hun
- Charlemange
- Lady Godiva
- Lucrezia Borgia
- Philip the Sap
Part 4: A Few Greats
- Louis XVI
- Madame du Barry
- Peter the Great
- Catherine the Great
- Frederick the Great
Part 5: Merrie England
- William the Conqueror
- Henry VIII
- Elizabeth
- George III
Part 6: Now We're Getting Somewhere
- Lief the Lucky
- Christopher Columbus
- Montezuma
- Captain John Smith
- Miles Standish
Part 7: They Had All the Fun
- Some Rpyal Pranks
- Some Royal Stomachs
Afterword