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The Greatest Nobodies of History

By: Adrian Bliss
Narrated by: Adrian Bliss, Beth Rylance, Sebastian Humphreys, Kristin Atherton
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Publisher's summary

“All at once funny, touching, dazzlingly informative and fascinating, brilliantly imaginative and altogether wonderful. Capable of switching between divine silliness and genuinely tender sweetness, tragedy, and wonder.”—STEPHEN FRY

History belongs to the heroes. But to get the full story, sometimes you have to ask the side characters.

The lives of Leonardo da Vinci, Henry VIII, and Queen Victoria fill bookshelves and fascinate scholars all over the world. But little attention is given to the ferret who posed for the Renaissance master, the servant who oversaw the Tudor’s toilet time, or the famous horse who thrilled the miserable old monarch.

These supporting cast members have been waiting in the wings for too long, and Adrian Bliss thinks it’s high time they join their glory-hogging contemporaries in the spotlight. Fortunately—thanks to some recently discovered ancient complaint letters, court transcripts, and memoirs in bottles—now they can.

Equal parts fascinating and hilarious, The Greatest Nobodies of History is a surreal love letter to life’s forgotten heroes, featuring hitherto undocumented accounts from Ancient Greece to the front lines of the Great Emu War.

All that follows really happened, and some of it could even be true.

©2024 Adrian Bliss (P)2024 Random House Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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What listeners say about The Greatest Nobodies of History

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Bliss is Bliss

As someone who is a fan of Adrian Bliss’s social media content, I was excited to hear about his book. As expected, there are many funny passages in the book. What was not expected were the equal amounts of poignant passages. Adrian shows himself to be a very capable writer. The chapter of the trial of the vestal virgin smacked of British humor. Whereas the chapter of the last Dodo, which you would expect to be very funny, was a heart wrenching tale. I will eagerly await his next book

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Lots of fun!

Prefect reading! Hopefully there will be a volume 2 in the near future, and then a volume 3. Lots of wonderful moments that will stay with you!

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Very fun!

This creative take on history is a great listen. the narration was done really well and the stories are absolutely charming. I strongly recommend it!

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Surprised by joy

The title is a line from a Louise Penny novel, but fits for Mr. Bliss’ book. I thought the book would just be kind of fun and funny. Yes, it’s fun and funny. It’s also very smart and instructive, offers an amazing take on storytelling and is full of heart. I felt sure I would laugh but never knew I’d actually learn things as well. The Master’s Ferret actually brought me to tears and then ended with a laugh out loud. I know the printed version is just as wonderful but hearing him read his own work in that voice we’ve all come to love for his video shorts, makes it a terrific work. I highly recommend the book and hope it shows up on everyone’s bookshelf.

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Completely enjoyed this book!

Engaging with humor on several levels. Especially loved the subtle humor. And I learned about events I didn’t think I needed to know; I found I was looking forward to “the facts” wrap up of each section. This book is creative and fun.

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Fun and Witty

Have always enjoyed his videos and this book was a very entertaining listen. Witty and enjoyable. I hope he writes another.

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I like all of it

I liked the whole thing i have no problem with it this is the best book

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read the afterwords first

very tongue in cheek!! Parts very silly and parts very creative. overall it was worth listening to.

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Entertaining and humorous

The storytelling is brilliant and very creative. I truly enjoyed this book and often found myself laughing out loud. I really appreciated that the author included the factual information at the end of each chapters. I am hoping for a second book!

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Clever and funny

Adrian Bliss is very easy to listen to. I found his stories to be both humorous and touching. I do hope he puts out another volume of greatest buddies and their stories.

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