Horrible Histories (book Series) - Reception

Reception

The book Bloody Scotland drew the ire of the Scottish Separatist Group, who claimed it promoted a "UK centric, anti-Scottish viewpoint of Scottish history". They pointed to a featured haggis recipe: "cook the haggis until it looks like a hedgehog after the fifteenth lorry has run over it". They reported the book to the Commission for Racial Equality, who rejected their claim. The National Trust was unhappy with Cruel Kings and Mean Queens because it made fun of Prince Charles, the trust's patron, and Queen Elizabeth II. Slimy Stuarts has been accused of Anti-Catholic views.

In the series, there are two books entitled The Horrible History of the World and The Wicked History of the World; however, they are the same book with different headings. To confuse things further, compact and mini editions were planned for release at the end of 2007. The same incident occurred with The Horribly Huge Quiz Book/ Massive Millennium Quiz Book, and The Mad Millennium /Mad Millennium Play. Also, there were two different covers for Horrible Christmas, as well as new paperback, compact and mini editions.

Much of what are proclaimed as 'facts' are, debatably, exciting myths and legends. The books, for example, claim that Shakespeare invented the evil actions he attributed to Richard III and present Caligula as being insane. Some of these falsities are listed in the song "It’s Not True" in the CBBC TV series. Promoting Reading for Pleasure in the Primary School argues that the series provides an extensive level of detail for the subject material, and uses strong, authentic sources.

The series has been described as a "popular iconoclasm, a challenge to standard narratives". However other critics suggest that this is a "deliberate attempt to provide alternate readings" on principle. Teachers' omniscient authority is undermined in sections such as 'Test Your Teacher', which says "Your teachers will tell you all about the legions and what they wore and how they lived. But they don't know everything." By these tokens, the series could be taken to suggest that formal education provides an approved, abridged version of history, one which leaves out all the gory, interesting bits. Thus certain authors argue that any histories that do not focus on spectacular events are now deemed boring to younger readers. The use of non-linear structure has raised the concern that the books are encouraging shorter concentration spans, that longer narratives develop.

Horrible Histories has received much praise. It is cited as a non-fiction series which has successfully used a formula to entice young children into reading: "The information here is densely packed, at a suitable level for Key Stages 2 and 3, historically accurate and complete with cautions about history being interpretive, but the success lies in the humorous and varied way that the subjects are presented". In Words, words, words, Janet Allen notes the books are "delightful combinations or cartoons, graphs and charts, narration, letters and wanted posters that convey a vast amount of information about those periods". Other critics also praise the wide variety of media in the books, such as recipes, quizzes and newspaper extracts; use of comic strip is particularly noted. The series is also recognised as an effective trigger for debates in English lessons.

The humour of the books has been identified as a major aspect of the series' success along with the story-telling skill. The series is notable for being historical non-fiction that young people read for pleasure, the first of its kind, pioneering a genre. Consuming history by Jerome De Groot, cites Horrible Histories as a series which demonstrates the "flexibility and dynamism of the 'historical' form" in children's books, another possible market for those types of books. It explains that the books "play on children's fascination with goriness" and that they are "mischievous, irreverent and iconoclastic, appealing to a child audience's desire for silly jokes, presenting history as something tactile and simple". Interactivity is attributed to the re-printable recipes and "what would you do?" multiple choice sections. Groot compares the use of illustration to Glen Thompson's For Beginners comic books of the mid 1980s. Horrible Histories are noted for making "heavy use of visual and verbal textual interplay". While the series' direct address to its child audience makes the series a popular choice for independent reading, it can make the books ineffective as read-aloud books due to their personalized style of writing and the visual aspects of the books. However, some teachers have reported as using these books in a read-aloud manner. Consuming history by Jerome De Groot suggests that "the series' wider popularity is due to their tone and style rather than their content".

While discussing the graphic violence in games such as Counter-Strike, Grand Theft Auto and Half Life, the author Judy Arnall notes that children in many societies, current and historical, often witness events much more horrific than those featured in the games. She cites The Wicked History of the World as giving a good context for this.