As this horrible history of Britain shows, whatever life is throwing at us in the 21st century, our ancestors had it a whole lot worse. Try 1349 (the black death), or 1536 (the year the king went mad...), or 1729 (when a biblical fog descended on England for months and literally laid waste to the nation). 'Britain's Really Rottenest Years' is not just a bad news story. It is a readable leapfrog though British history which takes us, via the interesting bits, from the misery of the Roman invasion of AD60 (when 50,000 Roman thugs invaded) to the Thatcherite year of discontent of 1981, a cheering gift for anyone who needs reminding how truly awful life can be.