We are currently unable to process orders for destinations within the EU, due to changes in tariffs. Please contact books@lrbshop.co.uk for further advice

A History of the World in 51 Heroes and Villains

Tom Holland

£22.00

We send all orders via Royal Mail: within the UK, choose from 1st Class, 2nd Class or Special Delivery; for the rest of the world, International Standard or International Tracked. Delivery and packaging charges are calculated automatically at the checkout.

To collect orders in person from the Bookshop, choose Click and Collect at the checkout.


Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
10 September 2026
ISBN: 9781526698094
Hardback
448 pages

From the publisher

'I am a helpless, devoted, pathetic fan. So is everyone I know' JAMES MARRIOTT, THE TIMES
'The history publishing phenomenon of my lifetime' ROBERT COLLS, NEW STATESMAN

From the award-winning podcast The Rest is History and Sunday Times bestselling authors Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook comes a riotous deep dive into history's biggest heroes and most notorious villains

Welcome to a shadowy realm where the divide between the noble and the nefarious isn't quite as clear as it seems. Where saints can appear suspiciously treacherous, and scoundrels reveal unexpected glimmers of virtue. Prepare for sword fights, scandals and enough moral ambiguity to make Machiavelli blush - from the imperial court of eleventh-century Japan to the studios of twentieth-century Hollywood.

Along the way, Holland and Sandbrook debate questions like:
-Was Caligula an irredeemable monster or history's favourite scandal magnet?
-Was Wojtek the bear a true Second World War hero or simply a cuddly mascot?
-Was Elizabeth I a true Virgin Queen or just brilliant at branding?

So polish your armour, don your villainous moustache and get ready to choose a side in the ultimate showdown between history's greats and rogues...