When It Happened is a smart, wry account that connects all the great dates in history and puts them into order from the Roman invasion to the twenty-first century. Here are all our good kings and usurpers, low dealings and acts of heroism, moments of great conquest, empire or defeat - and through it all the story of the formation of Britain. It also reveals occasionally forgotten episodes such as how the first Prince of Wales got his title, the Scots began the Civil War, and England got its name; which Roman emperor was proclaimed in Yorkshire and why King John got the nickname 'softsword'. The ideal antidote to the way they teach history in schools today, When It Happened affirms the importance of learning British history the way it used to be taught, and shows that our national story is more than 'just one damned thing after another'.