History lessons

Some constructive ideas here, so thank you. The Dorling Kindersley books are fabulous so will see if they do one on Kings and Queens. I can combine my learning with my grand daughter.

I had to try for a credit in School certificate. I had to do 19th century. 1815 Congress of Vienna I think (!)when Europe was divided up after the Napoleonic Wars. Political history was very boring for me and most learning was by rote so I remember only two very odd facts that might come in handy if |I am ever on Mastermind. Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi 1833 anyone? I thought not.

Oh yes! Bitesize is uniformly informative and entertaining whatever the topic.

Wikipedia is a good source of information regarding Royalty. Historic.uk.com interesting info about The Highland Clearances. BBC Bitesize is very good for any subject.
The history lessons I had at school were repetitive we were never taught modern history. I started to study as an adult I did a degree and have other qualifications at 64 I am still studying it's addictive.
It has been mentioned Future Learn is a very good site. I have done numerous courses so very interesting it's kept me occuppied especially this last year. History is a wonderful subject and it's what makes us who we are today.

When I was at school, history was linear, starting with King Alfred, ending with the present day. In Sixth form we could choose a period and for the European paper I chose Greek and Roman. Nowadays children do 'topics', so my GSs know all about the Vikings but don't know what happened in 1815.

The BBC has made many interesting historical series .
My recent favourite was Neil Oliver on Vikings.
From which I worked out my paternal family could be descended from King Canute!
History was my favourite subject at school.

LI had a very basic education leaving school at 15. In my thirties I started reading Jean Plaidy. She wrote many easy to read, but historically accurate, books, many relating to different monarchs over the centuries.
She might be out of print now, but this started me off and i later took A level History, but like another poster, my main interest now is social history. Go for it, it’s fascinating.

The most important issue to address if anyone is really serious about history is ‘what’s the source of that information, who wrote it, why, is it credible, are there other sources which contradict it ?

FutureLearn have free courses on history. I have completed 2 courses over the past few months. The first one was on Royal Fashion from the Tudors to the present day run by the University of Glasgow and the other was on Richard III run by Leicester University. They have several other courses on various topics.

History is about much more than kings and queens (in fact, they're not always very relevant). It's not even about how people used to live. It's about understanding the "big picture" and gives insights into why we are where we are now socially, economically and politically.

The Open University offer lots of free courses under their OpenLearn section.
There are 3 levels: Level 1 Introductory, Level 2 Intermediate and Level 3 Advanced.
Some fascinating topics to enjoy and learn!

Absolutely Alexa ( your last sentence). EP Thompson’s seminal work, first published in 1963 , The Making of the English Working Class gave a whole new meaning to our history and what is meant by history and who it’s really about. As he wrote in the preface to one of the later editions

"I am seeking to rescue the poor stockinger, the Luddite cropper, the "obsolete" hand-loom weaver, the "utopian" artisan, and even the deluded follower of Joanna Southcott, from the enormous condescension of posterity." (Thompson, 1980: 12)

But what’s happening in this country atm about attacking those who want an accurate and full depiction of our history ( warts and all) is truly shocking. History how it is taught how it is written about and how it is presented is always deeply political and all the more so when its selective nature is denied.

I have just finished reading four historical novels by Rosemary Sutcliffe . She is a super story teller, and her knowledge of how people lived long ago is very detailed. You have to be not too afraid of violent horrors though, such as soldiers' horses being horribly wounded or drowning in a bog. Or what it really felt and smelled like to be a galley slave.

Foxglove77, history of kings and queens is not interesting no wonder you disliked history at school. The biography of some king,queen, or duchess etc can be interesting if it is well written.

Many people nowadays prefer the history of how ordinary people lived their lives long ago.

I love history - always my main subject. Nothing to do with dates and Kings, Queens, Emperors, etc. It is social history that is my passion. What and how people ate, dressed, worked, etc. etc. etc.

Good historical fiction is one of the best book genre's.

Finally, one of my g.children has said that she wishes to take History at A level -and onto her degree.

Much of my knowledge of kings and queens comes from a book I was given at the age of 13 in Coronation year, 1953. It’s called Kings and Queens, and has memorable comic verses about our monarchs. Example, on Henry VIII:

Bluff King Hal was full of beans
He married half a dozen queens.
For three called Kate he cried the Banns,
One called Jane, and a couple of Annes.

All you need to know.

I think it’s by Herbert Farjeon, still available second hand from Amazon..

Welbeck I visited Highclere Castle aka Downtown Abbey and bought two signed books by the Countess of Carnarvon. The first one covers the first world war and was explicit but compelling. Ths second the second world war and later also fascinating. The facts were taken from the Highclere estate with families serving for decades. Also facts from the visitor books held there.

We've been watching Scotland from the Sky ,you'll find it om IPlayer.Its been very good at telling history ,the ironworks in Wester Ross in the 16th century ,the Roamns in Scotland and loads more really good stuff.Well worth a watch.
Dont watch Neil Oliver though his "history" is tainted ..he insists the Highland Clearances (when 1 and a quarter MILLION Scots left their homes and country in just a couple of years was) economic immigration .Thankfully the Scotland from the Sky told the true story .

I don't know how far back you want to go or what areas you want to cover. You might like to look at some of the history books published by Dorling Kindersley for children, just to give you a framework of what happened and when it happened. Andrew Marr's History of the World looks interesting and I might even get it for myself next time someone gives me an Amazon voucher!
I agree with Alegrias. The Crown is not history!

Foxglove77

Nicegranny yes of course thank you, I realize it is dramatized. However I never knew the Queen was so close to Winston Churchill.

was she close to him.
i haven't seen the crown.
i realise he was PM for a short time during her reign, but do we actually know that they were close.
obviously she would have met him during the war, at BP, when he came to see the king.
i suppose that dramas can give a way in to understanding or at least an interest in historical figures.
but i think it is a mistake to think of significant history only in terms of the toffs. the downton effect. quite misleading.

we only did a very narrow part of history in secondary school.
most of what i know i have gleaned from tv, radio, and some basics from junior school.
also tangentially from studying other subjects, parts of law, politics, philosophy, literature, cultural trends, social psychology. but nothing in depth, just snippets here and there.
i think you can learn a lot from reading or listening on radio to biographical works, and analyses of political movements.
look on internet, bbc etc; there is masses of material.

Foxglove - history is my passion, and I love sharing it.
There are loads of books available, and, hopefully one day when we return to normal life, you will be able to visit places of historic interest, or go to talks and join courses.
There are lots of opportunities out there. Maybe start with your own locality and family.

Gosh, there are so many titles out there. How much detail of each one do you want?

Arness.publishing.com do some lovely titles. Check under Reference, and then History. They've got 4 pages of titles so do go through so you don't miss any. When you click on the cover you'll be able to look inside the book.

The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy (Oxford Illustrated Histories) is good as well.

Good luck. If you want a full biography of an individual do post.

Nicegranny yes of course thank you, I realize it is dramatized. However I never knew the Queen was so close to Winston Churchill.

Foxglove
The crown is just made for entertainment and only touches roughly on situations not accurately. Enjoy it but don’t take it too seriously. I found it entertaining.
History books are your best bet.