70. Children’s History

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The episode opens with a quote from the Nigel Molesworth character about how to avoid history lessons. Dominic describes Molesworth as one of his heroes as a child, a 1950s schoolboy character. The books are a classic series of humorous takes on English school life that would appeal to fans of British humor and satire.

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Tom describes this as his absolute favorite history book as a child, which he tweeted about when soliciting questions for this episode. He explains that unlike the British-focused Ladybird books, it covered Sumeria, the New Kingdom, medieval China, and especially the Roman Empire with fabulous illustrations. Tom can still visualize specific illustrations including Nero watching Rome burn and the Sasanian king capturing a Roman emperor.

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Dominic has this Ladybird book physically with him during the recording. It's discussed at length because it opens with two stories that are completely untrue—Cromwell being stolen by a monkey as a baby, and having a childhood fight with Charles I. Dominic uses it to illustrate how mythologized stories can hook children into history even if they need debunking later.

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Mentioned as one of the Ladybird history books Dominic has physically with him during the recording, alongside Oliver Cromwell and James I and the Gunpowder Plot.

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Dominic reads extended quotes from this Ladybird book, including the passage describing King James as 'not a pleasant man' with 'ungainly appearance' who was 'untrustworthy and deceitful,' and a surprisingly sympathetic passage about Guy Fawkes as 'a brave man and a gentleman, a faithful friend to the limit of endurance.' It illustrates the strong moral viewpoints in vintage children's history.

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Tom mentions this Ladybird book as a source of childhood disappointment—he expected a book about Julius Caesar the person but found it was largely about Roman Britain, with too much about road-building and not enough about dramatic events like Caesar's assassination. He says he felt he'd been sold 'dodgy goods.'

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Tom describes this as a formative childhood book by the brilliant illustrator and serious military historian Peter Connolly. It combined narrative history at the top of pages with detailed facts about weaponry and spectacular illustrations of battles including people being stabbed with spears. Tom says the combination of story, facts, and illustrations was 'a complete winner.'

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Mentioned enthusiastically by Tom as a companion to The Roman Army, part of Peter Connolly's series. Tom recalls fabulous illustrations including Alexander crossing the Granicus, the Spartans at Thermopylae, and the Battle of Salamis.

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Discussed as a series Dominic encountered in the Imperial War Museum gift shop when looking for a narrative history of WWII for his son. The hosts note that Horrible Histories is full of curious facts about enemas and executions—the kind of gross details children love—but critically lacks narrative structure and dramatic storytelling, which is what Dominic tried to provide in his own books.

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Mentioned by listener Theobald Tiger as the book that sparked their interest in history around 1955. The hosts note that despite its reputation as shorthand for a particular patriotic style of children's history, it is actually 'surprisingly progressive,' partly because the author, Henrietta Marshall, was from New Zealand and had an outsider's perspective on British history.

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Referenced alongside Star Wars and Harry Potter as examples of stories that appeal to children through strong, well-defined characters, a sense of urgency, and narrative pace. Also mentioned in the discussion of violence in children's fiction—Tom asks how many people die in Tolkien's battles and whether children feel troubled by it.

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Referenced as an example of stories with strong, well-defined characters that appeal to children, alongside Star Wars and The Hobbit. Used to illustrate the point that what children want from stories—including history—is character, urgency, and narrative tension.

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Tom describes Asterix as a 'gateway drug' into history, particularly ancient history and the Roman conquest of Gaul. He notes that Asterix features a Roman occupation of Gaul with echoes of the Nazi occupation of France, though he was oblivious to this as a child. He also observes that nobody dies in Asterix despite Caesar historically killing and enslaving millions of Gauls, illustrating how distance in time sanitizes violence for children.

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Discussed as an example of how children's history books reflect changing perspectives. The 1957 edition's illustration showed Raleigh's perspective as he launches an attack on indigenous people in the Orinoco region, while the 1980 reissue changed the illustration to show Raleigh through the eyes of the people seeing him arrive—a significant shift in whose viewpoint is privileged.

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One of two books Dominic is promoting in this episode, part of his Adventures in Time series for children aged 8-12. He discusses how editors debated whether details about Henry VIII's enemas and obesity were too squeamish for children, but test readers aged 8 declared it 'the best bit in the whole book.' The book's dedication to his son Arthur, who rated every battle, massacre, and severed head, is read aloud at the end.

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The other book Dominic is promoting, also part of the Adventures in Time series. Extensively discussed throughout the episode—Dominic explains how he structured it by starting with Hitler as a boy (originally with a dog in the trenches, removed on his 8-year-old son's advice), how he handled the Holocaust chapter by framing it around Anne Frank and including stories of rescuers like Nicholas Winton and the Danish resistance, and how he told the Dunkirk story through the little ship of Charles Lightoller.

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Tom jokingly mentions that his disappointment with the Ladybird book on Julius Caesar (which focused too much on Roman Britain rather than Caesar himself) essentially led him to write his own book on the subject—Rubicon, his acclaimed narrative history of the fall of the Roman Republic.

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Discussed in the context of how Dominic handled the Holocaust chapter in his Second World War children's book. He explains that the entire chapter is framed around Anne Frank's experience, and that his editor agreed it would be 'mad not to do Anne Frank' because her story is so compelling and well-known. Referenced as the emotional anchor for introducing children to the Holocaust.

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Mentioned as a forthcoming book in the Adventures in Time series, due before Christmas. Dominic uses it as an example of how he handles historical uncertainty for children, noting that he includes passages like 'some people said Alexander did this, others said he did that' to give children a sense that there isn't always one right answer about history.

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Referenced briefly by Tom as an example of the 'adventure' framing of imperial history—British adventurers going off to exotic, far-flung places. Used to characterize a style of children's history writing that presented colonial encounters as exciting adventures rather than examining the perspectives of colonized peoples.

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Briefly mentioned by Dominic as another Ladybird history book in the series, referenced during the discussion of ancient history and the appeal of distant time periods for children.

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Mentioned as part of Peter Connolly's series of ancient military history books that Tom loved as a child. The book covered Hannibal and the Carthaginians and followed the same format of narrative history combined with detailed weaponry facts and battle illustrations.