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Secret Britain: The Hidden Bits of Our History
Some of our most intriguing history is missing. Perhaps there has been a conspiracy, a cover-up? Or maybe some stories have been lost, forgotten or were just too embarrassing to talk about at the time? But now they are back, revealed in all their secret passages, events, societies, loves, identities and even dark secrets of the grave. After much sleuthing, Justin Pollard takes us into undisclosed historical waters to discover why the city of Burlington isn't on the map; how 'Agent Pickle' saved the lost treasure of Bonnie Prince Charlie; what Sir Thomas Overbury knew in 1613 that got him murdered with a poisoned enema and how Virginia Woolf sweet-talked her way aboard HMS Dreadnought dressed as Abyssinian Prince. Secret Britain will also reveal the tragic love story behind the Rolls Royce mascot; how agent Garbo managed to get an MBE and an Iron Cross; the sinister properties of the Hand of Glory; the lost smuggling ship Peggy; the Mystery Runner of Nos Galan; the extraordinary history of the Fairy Flag of Dunvegan; London's only Nazi war memorial and the secrets of the WWII Monopoly board.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionHumor
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
4 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Justin Pollard
17 books99 followersJustin Pollard was born in Hertfordshire and educated at St. Albans School and Downing College, Cambridge where he was president of the Poohsticks Society.
Since then he has written nine books, a few articles for magazines like History Today, BBC History Magazine and the Idler and he is currently one of the writers of the BBC panel show QI.
He is one of the founders of Unbound - http://www.unbound.co.uk - a new crowd-funding site putting authors directly in touch with their readers.
He also runs a company called Visual Artefact which provides scripting and historical advice for feature films. His credits include Shekhar Kapur’s ‘Elizabeth’, Joe Wright’s ‘Atonement’, Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and Pirates of the Caribbean 4.
In television drama he is the historical consultant for the BBC TV/Showtime series ‘The Tudors’ - which gets him into a lot of trouble with other historians.
He is also the co-founder of crowd-funding book website www.unbound.co.uk.
He lives in Dorset where he grows vegetables and wonders where all the sheep have gone.
Since then he has written nine books, a few articles for magazines like History Today, BBC History Magazine and the Idler and he is currently one of the writers of the BBC panel show QI.
He is one of the founders of Unbound - http://www.unbound.co.uk - a new crowd-funding site putting authors directly in touch with their readers.
He also runs a company called Visual Artefact which provides scripting and historical advice for feature films. His credits include Shekhar Kapur’s ‘Elizabeth’, Joe Wright’s ‘Atonement’, Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and Pirates of the Caribbean 4.
In television drama he is the historical consultant for the BBC TV/Showtime series ‘The Tudors’ - which gets him into a lot of trouble with other historians.
He is also the co-founder of crowd-funding book website www.unbound.co.uk.
He lives in Dorset where he grows vegetables and wonders where all the sheep have gone.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 12, 2015
History is written by the winners, but for every war or battle that is won, and for every monarch that makes it to the top of the pile, there are hundreds of alternative snippets of history that never see the light of day.
Pollard in this book aims to set some of the record straight in this book. He has uncovered many little stories, tales and anecdotes that fill in the gaps in the broad sweep and big picture views of most history books. He has called them secret, but they are more unknown, and cover all ages of history from the middle ages to events in the second world war. And being one of the QI elves, he has written this with wit and humour too, making it a pleasure to read.
A great book for those that want to peer in the cracks of British history.
Pollard in this book aims to set some of the record straight in this book. He has uncovered many little stories, tales and anecdotes that fill in the gaps in the broad sweep and big picture views of most history books. He has called them secret, but they are more unknown, and cover all ages of history from the middle ages to events in the second world war. And being one of the QI elves, he has written this with wit and humour too, making it a pleasure to read.
A great book for those that want to peer in the cracks of British history.
January 9, 2011
Fascinating. A bit random, but great fun.
April 9, 2025
One of those books that is miles wide and inches deep, with snippets of info on people, places and events in British history. Fun, and a good steppingstone to deeper research. I hadn't realized how little I know about the Jacobites until I read this book, and it has prompted me to look up other books to read.
September 11, 2025
One of those fantastic books that are full of interesting and random bits of information. A pleasure to dip into.
June 1, 2012
How to resist another silly-facts-book (some would call this ideal lavatory literature)?
I absolutely love this kind of easy reading and in fact you can see me completely absorbed in this book,fascinated and giggling deep in the night. It could be that I love these silly curiosity books because of my past as a journalist so it comes naturally that I like to save these informations in my brain or perhaps as Virgo I like to know about other people's embarrassments,who knows... however,it turns out to be better than I expected,collection of very interesting stories from Britain's past,odds and ends that nobody talks about but are absolutely fascinating. Forgotten newspaper scandals,crime stories with bizarre twists and so on,I dare you to put this book down once you start reading it!
For example,did you know that there is a Nazi memorial in London? What happened with a woman who was inspiration for figure on every Rolls Royce? How criminals believed in "Hand of Glory"? My favorite bit of useless information is the story about true identity of famous royal biographer Helen Cathart who wrote sweet-natured biographies of royal family and always declined public appearances, explaining through her agent that she wants to promote royal family and not herself. Well,wouldn't you know,this gentle old lady actually never even existed and it was her agent Mr.Harold Albert who wrote all those books!
Thrilling,entertaining and very informative - cutest little jewel of the book!
I absolutely love this kind of easy reading and in fact you can see me completely absorbed in this book,fascinated and giggling deep in the night. It could be that I love these silly curiosity books because of my past as a journalist so it comes naturally that I like to save these informations in my brain or perhaps as Virgo I like to know about other people's embarrassments,who knows... however,it turns out to be better than I expected,collection of very interesting stories from Britain's past,odds and ends that nobody talks about but are absolutely fascinating. Forgotten newspaper scandals,crime stories with bizarre twists and so on,I dare you to put this book down once you start reading it!
For example,did you know that there is a Nazi memorial in London? What happened with a woman who was inspiration for figure on every Rolls Royce? How criminals believed in "Hand of Glory"? My favorite bit of useless information is the story about true identity of famous royal biographer Helen Cathart who wrote sweet-natured biographies of royal family and always declined public appearances, explaining through her agent that she wants to promote royal family and not herself. Well,wouldn't you know,this gentle old lady actually never even existed and it was her agent Mr.Harold Albert who wrote all those books!
Thrilling,entertaining and very informative - cutest little jewel of the book!
April 17, 2014
Not to dwell on it, but this book definitely falls into the lavatory reading sub genre(the one I am sure many partake of but few would admit too) which may make it hard to lend out after the recommendation. But this is essentially what it does best, small entertaining snippets of history divided into various sub categories that give you an insight into what makes the past so fascinating. Outside of the bathroom it is also probably a good one to give to younger readers who you wish to engage in history as its quirky but nonetheless informative style allows you to move easily through history picking up knowledge as well as having a laugh in between. That this comes from one of the writers of the brilliant QI comes as little surprise as it shares a sense of the absurd with that show, though given the ease of access and clearly vast knowledge the author possesses one would hope that it could in fact spin off into a television show of its own rather than languish as a cash in project off the shows name. All in all insightful, enjoyable and worthy of your time.
January 19, 2011
It was a fun read, but it became a bit wearying towards the end. I know that this book is probably best read by dipping in and out, but I decided to read it through which probably wasn't the best idea.
I kind of just wanted it to end towards the latter half. Plus a few of the latter stories stretched the notion of 'secret' ;o)
And I wasn't too keen on the organization of the stories. I thought that within each chapter, they could've at least been listed chronologically, but no such luck. Sometimes I'd have to read almost half of the story in order to figure out which year(s) it had happened in.
Still, having said that, it's still a pretty good book if one's interested in 1. trivia and B. British history.
I kind of just wanted it to end towards the latter half. Plus a few of the latter stories stretched the notion of 'secret' ;o)
And I wasn't too keen on the organization of the stories. I thought that within each chapter, they could've at least been listed chronologically, but no such luck. Sometimes I'd have to read almost half of the story in order to figure out which year(s) it had happened in.
Still, having said that, it's still a pretty good book if one's interested in 1. trivia and B. British history.
July 6, 2012
Invariably intended as a dipper rather than a read through, I found getting through Secret Britain a bit wearisome. I kept seeing how many stories lay ahead before the next chapter, how many pages before the end were blank 'tween chapter markers, and reassuring myself that page 300 was quite a short read... A number of interesting tales, some somewhat, others not so much. Definitely a dipper and one where you shouldn't feel the need to read every anecdote if it's course seems unlikely to entertain.
And yes... I haven't finished yet. I thought writing the review now might speed me on to the Acknowledgments...
And yes... I haven't finished yet. I thought writing the review now might speed me on to the Acknowledgments...
March 23, 2011
I'm a real history buff, and there's nothing I love more than random historical facts, so this book was right up my alley! It's very fun to read - definitely one to recommend to all those people who think history is just boring facts - and deceptively educational. I think you could learn a lot from this book without even realising it. It also makes you think about how much a lot of history books leave out by focusing on the big picture, or the major players like kings and queens.
And if nothing else, this book would be perfect for pub quizzes!
And if nothing else, this book would be perfect for pub quizzes!
November 20, 2010
Really enjoyed this collection of short historical (true) stories, from one of the writers behind QI. There's loads of really interesting, funny and plain strange stories from historical Britain. It's a perfect book for dipping in and out of, because all the stories are no more than a few pages long.
I'm really looking forward to reading more from Pollard in the future
I'm really looking forward to reading more from Pollard in the future
June 21, 2010
An ok sort of book but nothing outstanding.
November 24, 2013
I enjoyed this book, but then I am a sucker for this type of book. I still manage to find some stories I did not know.
February 23, 2015
There were some really interesting stories in this book, but it is definitely a bathroom reader. Not a gripping page turner by any means, but not bad either.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews