Overview
Wow, it's not often that you have to risk your life as an author to write a book but for this one I did! I mean, I came face to face with some of the baddest, meanest, most bloodthirsty bods in history so I could find out just why they were, well, so BAD!
Yes, I zipped back in time with my trusty tranimalator so I could have a chat with villains like Blackbeard the pirate, nasty Emperor Nero, gangster pair Bonnie & Clyde, Vlad the Impaler (don't mess with HIM) and many others.
Why did I do it? Because villainous people are interesting! I wanted to know why they robbed, murdered, invaded, cheated and more - and I found out! I also discovered what their point of view was, and it was often very surprising.
How dangerous was it? Well, take Chinese pirate commander Zheng (who was boss of an astonishing 227 ships) - she was sure I was an English spy and she ordered her men to chop my arm off! I can assure you that it really hurt:
Luckily, I got to my tranimalator just in before it was too late and went back an hour in time - and, hey presto, I had two arms again. I tried to interview her once and more and, erm, it didn't go too well. But I did learn loads of amazing facts about her and all 10 villains in the book.
Some of them were quite friendly (at first) - I even managed to get a selfie with Nero...
The book has excellent illustrations by Gareth Conway and is suitable for anyone aged 9+ who likes history, villains, fun, facts, horrible happenings, time travel and discovering amazing things.