It's history with the nasty bits left in. Want to know: What a liripoop is? Which potty professor liked to walk like a dinosaur? What's buried beneath the botanical gardens? Plot your path to the past with the frightful fold-out map of the city - take a punt past corpse-ridden Christchurch and go skeleon-spotting at the cruel and crumbling castle.

Based on the bestselling books written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Martin Brown, here is the first of an annual dose of "Horrible Histories", which will keep fans of the series horribly hooked from year to year. Packed with the usual barmy blend of foul facts, cartoon strips, stories, jokes, activities and puzzles, this full-colour hardback will keep boredom at bay during the school holidays and make an awesomely entertaining Christmas gift. The first title, "Cruel Kings and Mean Queens", gives readers the lowdown on shocking sovereigns and rotten rulers, from William the Conqueror and Elizabeth I, to Genghis Khan and Mao the merciless.

Travel back into the measly Middle Ages, where the world was full of wild women, mad monks, naughty knights and crazy kings and queens! Discover a genuine jester's joke, why chickens had their bottoms shaved and what ten-year-old treacle was used for. History with the nasty bits left in! 2013 is HORRIBLE HISTORIES twentieth anniversary.

The Terrible Tudors gives you all the grizzly details of Tudor life for everyone - from cruel kings and queens, to poor peasants and common criminals. Read on for some curious quizzes, horrendous beheadings and foul facts including why Henry VIII thought he'd married a horse! Even More Terrible Tudors takes you back for another look at the mad Tudor monarchs and their suffering subjects - who just couldn't help losing their heads. Read on for painful punishments and the terrible trickery of the ruthless royal family including who invited Queen Elizabeth I to visit his brand new toilet! The Vile Victorians gives you all the terrible truth about revolting events affecting everyone not so very long ago - from the vile Victorian queen herself, to some vicious Victorian villans. Read on for gruesome gore and foul facts including who had a glass eye for every occasion! History has never been so horrible!