History loves a villain.
Across the entire span of human civilisation, certain people and groups have been identified as being responsible for the ills of the world, and have remained hated for it. In his continuing desire to separate out the facts from the fiction of history, Otto English looks at how these legacies were constructed and who told us that they were evil.
From how Bloody Mary became the figurehead of uppity women and how Judas's betrayal became a template for religious tensions for centuries to what the Peasants Revolt and the Illuminati shows us about power struggles throughout the ages, English exposes the agendas behind the 'truths' we've been told to believe. And in looking at how xenophobia was weaponised during the 'Spanish' Flu, he reveals how our past sometimes bleeds into the present day.
Fascinating and fearless, Notorious will re-examine some of the history's biggest villains and change the way you see the world forever.
Author of bestseller Fake History, Otto English is the pen name of journalist Andrew Scott. From 2010, Scott began writing and tweeting about politics and history, gaining attention for his itinerant blog, he moved into journalism and has since written for Politico, the Independent, New Statesman, Daily Mail and many other publications. He has always been fascinated by the writing of history and the creation of political narratives, and has spoken about them on BBC News, BBC Radio 4 and LBC He lives in south-east London with his wife and two children.
