author
Walter Carruthers Sellar
1898–1951
Best known for the brilliantly silly 1066 and All That, this Scottish humorist turned school history on its head with deadpan jokes and mock-serious nonsense. He wrote with a style that still feels fresh, especially for readers who enjoy clever parody.
1 Audiobook
1066 and all that : A memorable history of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 good things, 5 bad kings and 2 genuine dates
by Walter Carruthers Sellar, Robert Julian Yeatman
About the author
Walter Carruthers Sellar was a Scottish humorist and writer for Punch, born in Golspie, Sutherland, on December 27, 1898. He won a scholarship to Fettes College in Edinburgh, where he became Head Boy, then served briefly in the First World War before studying history at Oriel College, Oxford.
At Oxford he met R. J. Yeatman, his most famous collaborator. Together they wrote 1066 and All That, first published in Punch and then as a book in 1930, a mock history of England that became a classic of British comic writing.
Sellar also worked as a schoolmaster, teaching at Fettes, Canford, and later Charterhouse while continuing to write humorous pieces. He died on June 11, 1951, and is still remembered for a kind of comedy that makes learning look gloriously absurd.