The History Gossip by Katie Kennedy
My review
3/5 stars
Well-known on Tik Tok, Katie Kennedy has taken her content and turned it into a funny daily snippet of history.
I had no prior knowledge of the author, and picked this book up based purely on the blurb and the idea of a romp through history a day at a time. The Gen-Z style of language that was used throughout the book was fun, and seems a great way to get someone reading about history and keeping them interested (I actually thought of my teenage niece when I was reading it), however I will admit that it made the ever-aging Millennial me feel very old at times; I was grateful for the glossary of terms at the back of the book.
The daily format kept everything in a very digestable format, and I enjoyed that the author jumped all over history to give the most interesting snippets across a variety of countries, dynasties and topics. Both these elements kept the book feeling fresh throughout and made reading it an amusing experience; something that was also aided by my familiarity levels with the content - some things were totally new to me and great to read about, others were not new but it was fun to get a new perspective on them.
Book blurb
TikTok sensation Katie Kennedy, aka @TheHistoryGossip, serves up a delicious blend of fascinating, witty and salacious history tea for every day of the year.
With infectious wit and historical insight, The History Gossip brings you the mad, bad and dangerous tales from around the world. With entries for every day of the year, this is history … but not as you know it.
Equal parts fascinating and funny, Katie's unique brand of humour takes readers on a romp through the history books and answers burning questions such as ‘Was Anne of Cleves a minger’, ‘Did Mary Shelley lose her V-card on her mother’s grave’ and ‘Did George IV eat himself to death’ and more.
What better way to start your day than find out what other people have done before? The History Gossip reveals the funny, strange and utterly juicy tidbits throughout world history, each with a modern twist of pop culture references and contemporary slang.
This is the ultimate blend of ‘On this day’ history education and humour, making it the perfect gift or self-purchase for history lovers.
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You can buy the book here now. It was published by Michael O'Mara.
For more on the author, you can follow her on Instagram, or check out her Goodreads page.
