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Terrible Traitors

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Book Synopsis

Terrible Traitors is a horrible compendium of the worst traitors in history.

Were they really all bad?

You decide.

The master of making history fun, Terry Deary, tells the tales of fifty brutal betrayals across history.

Did you know that the oldest story in the world is about the traitor Enkidu, who dared to rise up against King Gilgamesh?

You might already know about Caesar and his unfaithful senators, but have you heard about Walter Tirel, the Norman knight who went out hunting with King William the Conqueror?

Well, only one man returned.

Walter claimed it was an accident, but he had a pretty good track record with his aim…

There have always been people who are willing to switch sides, let down a friend, betray their country and turn traitor.

Sometimes they do it for love, often because of their beliefs, maybe out of pride… perhaps even greed.
(And sometimes just for fun.)
Nothing could ever make you become a traitor though… could it?

Fully illustrated throughout and packed with horrible stories – with all the horribly hilarious bits included with a fresh take on the classic Horrible Histories style, perfect for fans old and new the perfect series for anyone looking for a fun and informative read Horrible Histories has been entertaining children and families for generations with books, TV, stage shows, magazines, games and the brilliantly funny Horrible Histories: the Movie – Rotten Romans.

Our Review Panel says...

This a a clever tie-in to the current interest in traitors, following on from the TV programme of the same name. It is fairly typical Horrible Histories fare, with their trademark humour and puns.

It tells us of fifty-two assumed traitors, from 2700 BC (the Awful Ancients) to 1945 (the Woeful Second World War) and gives us two to three pages of information about each turncoat, dispelling certain myths along the way. There are twenty-six time periods covered, including Rotten Romans, Slimy Stewarts and Vile Victorians, as well as regional headings such as Wales, USA and The British Empire.

Readers will definitely learn some new facts, no matter what they already know about the time periods, although the number of pages allocated to the double-crossers means that their deeds are relatively précised with the included trademark illustrations. There is a brief ‘Did You Know?’ section at the end of each tale of treachery that gives interesting facts, and children are encouraged to think about the despicable deeds and consider whether there might be extenuating circumstances.

It’s the sort of book that I can see children dipping in and out of, rather than reading it all at once. It covers so much of history that it may be of limited use within the school curriculum, apart from a Crime and Punishment topic. It would be good fun for debate and discussion in Key Stage 2.

Terrible Traitors

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