History’s Strangest Deaths: quick links
No matter how much we humans might research and theorise, some of the most entertaining stories throughout history remain disputed or tenuous at best. But in Half-Arsed History podcast host Riley Knight’s debut book History’s Strangest Deaths, this flaw of history is instead an asset. After all, as Knight often reminds the reader, who are we to let historical accuracy get in the way of a good story?
And this book’s account of 50 unusual, ironic and one-of-a-kind deaths are, indeed, good stories. The book traverses ancient China, Greece, and Rome, the Byzantine empire, medieval France, and more, stretching all the way to 1990s Toronto by the very final chapter.
History’s Strangest Deaths: inventions that kill their inventors
The victims of these strange deaths range from a jockey, a painter and a scientist, to an abundance of emperors and kings. There are inventions that kill their inventors, fatal bouts of laughter, a donkey chowing down on some figs, a two-metre-long beard, and no fewer than seven women named Matilda, who happen to all be part of the same story.
History’s Strangest Deaths. Image: Allen & Unwin.
This book is brimming with dry wit. Knight plays with the form of historical non-fiction by peppering the book with footnotes that, sure, frequently provide additional interesting historical details and facts, but even more frequently provide a space for comedic asides.
History’s Strangest Deaths: deadpan humour
Knight’s deadpan humour is front and centre from the opening line – ‘dying is a favourite pastime of ours’ – and is the absolute highlight of the book. The matter-of-fact approach to the dark humour of history injects this book with a Monty Pythonesque sensibility. The handful of moments where Knight really isn’t afraid to go there with his jokes are moments that land spectacularly.
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The book doesn’t draw solely from disputed stories, but when they do appear, Knight presents the opposing historical accounts of the story to the reader and allows them to make a decision for themselves. The chapters are fast-paced and concise, which makes for easily digestible history; this is not a dense history book.
History’s Strangest Deaths: life is short
The book covers one death per chapter, making it easy to dip into for a few stories at a time. History’s Strangest Deaths could certainly be read all at once but is perhaps best enjoyed a few chapters at a time, whenever you need a reminder that life is short, so remember to laugh hard – but not too hard, unless you want to find yourself between the pages of the next book about history’s wackiest deaths.
History’s Strangest Deaths by Riley Knight is published by Allen & Unwin.
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