Terry Deary is a British author best known for “Horrible Histories”, the children’s history series he began in 1993 with the illustrator Martin Brown. Born in Sunderland in 1946, he says on his own website that he has written 362 books, which have sold more than 38 million copies in 45 languages.
Deary’s father was a butcher in Hendon, Sunderland, and his mother managed a clothing shop. He worked in the family shop as a boy, joined the electricity board as a management trainee at 18, and became a professional actor in 1972 with Theatre Powys in mid Wales, touring village halls with theatre for children. He later qualified as a teacher and taught drama. He began writing in 1976 and went full time in 1994.
“Terrible Tudors”, written with Neil Tonge, opened the “Horrible Histories” series in 1993, and “Rotten Romans”, “Vicious Vikings” and “Vile Victorians” followed in 1994. Published by Scholastic, the books cover civilisations, nations and periods of history with humorous pictures and plenty of gruesome detail. The series has since grown to include specials, handbooks, city guides and the “Gory Stories” spin-offs.
An animated version was shown on CITV, and a live-action sketch show of the same name has run on CBBC since 2009, with Deary making occasional appearances. In 2012 he was the tenth most-borrowed author in British libraries. The University of Sunderland awarded him an honorary doctorate of education in 2000.
Alongside the non-fiction he has written a large body of historical fiction for children. It includes the “Tudor Chronicles” novels, short series grouped by period such as “Tudor Tales”, “Roman Tales” and “Viking Tales”, and “The Fire Thief” trilogy, which opens with a 2005 novel about Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from the gods.
Since 2024 he has also written for adults. “A History of Britain in Ten Enemies” was published in October 2024 and its paperback reached number one on the Sunday Times list in May 2025; “Revolting” followed in September 2025. His first murder mystery, “Actually, I’m a Murderer”, appeared in 2025, with the sequel “Actually, I’m a Corpse” in June 2026 and “A History of the World in Ten Wars” in October 2026. He lives in County Durham and is a road runner who has completed the Great North Run 25 times.
Publication Order of Horrible Histories Books
Terrible Tudors (With: Neil Tonge)
1993
Awesome Egyptians (With: Peter Hepplewhite)
1994
Rotten Romans
1994
Vicious Vikings
1994
Vile Victorians
1994
Blitzed Brits
1994
Groovy Greeks
1995
Measly Middle Ages
1996
Slimy Stuarts
1996
Awful Egyptians
1997
Cut-Throat Celts
1997
Angry Aztecs
1997
Even More Terrible Tudors / Terrifying Tudors
1998
Frightful First World War
1998
Gorgeous Georgians
1998
Savage Stone Age
1999
Woeful Second World War
1999
Smashing Saxons
2000
Incredible Incas
2000
Stormin’ Normans
2001
Barmy British Empire
2002
Ruthless Romans
2003
Villainous Victorians
2004
Publication Order of Horrible Histories Specials Books
Cruel Kings and Mean Queens
1995
Rowdy Revolutions
1996
The Twentieth Century
1996
Wicked Words
1996
Dark Knights and Dingy Castles
1997
Bloody Scotland / Scotland
1997
Ireland
2000
The USA / USA
2001
France
2002
England
2004
Rotten Rulers
2005
Wales
2008
Cruel Crime
2012
Publication Order of Horrible Histories Handbooks Books
The Horrible History of the World
2003
Perilous Pirates
2006
Wicked Witches
2007
Vile Villains
2008
Spies
2009
Blitz
2009
Wild Warriors
2010
Nasty Knights
2010
Terrible Trenches
2011
Publication Order of Horrible Histories Gruesome Guides Books
Loathsome London / London
2005
York
2005
Edinburgh
2005
Dublin
2006
Stratford-upon-Avon
2006
Oxford
2007
Liverpool
2024
Cardiff
2024
Bath
2025
Glasgow
2025
Publication Order of Horrible Histories High Speed History Books
High Speed History: Egyptians
2010
High Speed History: Tudors
2010
High Speed History: Knights
2011
High Speed History: Rome
2011
Publication Order of Horrible Histories Gory Stories Books
Shadow of the Gallows
2008
Tower of Terror
2008
Wall of Woe
2008
Raiders and Ruins
2009
Blackout in the Blitz
2009
Pirates and Plunder
2010
Publication Order of Other Horrible Histories Books
Dreadful Diary
1996
Poisonous Postcards
1997
The Massive Millennium Quiz Book
1999
Horrible Christmas
2000
The Awesome Ancient Quiz Book
2001
Cruel Crime and Painful Punishment
2002
The Wicked History of the World
2003
The Mad Miscellany (With: Martin Brown)
2004
Who’s Horrible in History
2009
Horribly Hilarious Joke Book
2009
The Horrible History of Britain and Ireland
2010
Frightfully Funny Quiz Book
2010
Deadly Days in History
2013
The Big Fat Christmas Book
2014
Top 50 Kings and Queens
2015
Top 50 Villains
2016
This Is a Horrible Book of Foul Facts
2016
Crackin’ Castles
2016
Gruesome Great Houses
2017
All at Sea
2020
Up in the Air
2021
Right on Track
2022
Ghosts
2022
The Worst in the World
2023
On the Road
2023
Terrible Thames
2023
Paws, Claws and Jaws
2024
The Truly Terrible History of the Toilet
2024
On This Horrible Day in History
2025
Terrible Traitors
2025
Football
2026
Publication Order of Tudor Chronicles Books
The Prince of Rags and Patches
1997
The King in Blood Red and Gold
1997
The Lady of Fire and Tears
1998
The Knight of Stars and Storms
1998
The Lord of the Dreaming Globe
1998
The Queen of the Dying Light
1999
Publication Order of Tudor Tales Books
The Actor, the Rebel and the Wrinkled Queen
2003
The Prince, the Cook and the Cunning King
2003
The Thief, the Fool and the Big Fat King
2003
The Maid, the Witch and the Cruel Queen
2003
Publication Order of Egyptian Tales Books
The Magic and the Mummy
2004
The Phantom and the Fisherman
2004
The Gold in the Grave
2004
The Plot on the Pyramid
2004
Publication Order of Greek Tales Books
The Tortoise and the Dare
2007
The Town Mouse and the Spartan House
2007
The Lion’s Slave
2007
The Boy Who Cried Horse
2008
Publication Order of Roman Tales Books
The Captive Celt
2008
The Goose Guards
2008
The Fatal Fire
2008
The Grim Ghost
2008
Publication Order of Knights’ Tales Books
The Knight of Silk and Steel
2009
The Knight of Spurs and Spirits
2009
The Knight of Sticks and Straw
2009
The Knight of Swords and Spooks
2009
Publication Order of Viking Tales Books
The Eye of the Viking God
2010
The Sword of the Viking King
2010
The Hand of the Viking Warrior
2010
The Battle of the Viking Woman
2010
Publication Order of Pirate Tales Books
The Pirate Lord
2011
The Pirate Queen
2011
The Pirate Prisoner
2011
The Pirate Captain
2011
Publication Order of Victorian Tales Books
The Fabulous Flyer
2012
Terror on the Train
2012
Sea Monsters
2012
The Twisted Tunnels
2012
Publication Order of World War I Tales Books
The Last Flight
2013
The War Game
2013
The Bomber Balloon
2013
The Pigeon Spy
2013
Publication Order of World War II Tales Books
The Apple Spy
2015
The Bike Escape
2015
The Barrel Burglary
2015
The Phantom Farm
2015
Publication Order of Shakespeare Tales Books
Macbeth
2016
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
2016
Romeo and Juliet
2016
Twelfth Night
2016
Publication Order of Saxon Tales Books
The King Who Threw Away His Throne
2017
The Lord Who Lost His Head
2017
The Shepherd Who Ate His Sheep
2017
The Witch Who Faced the Fire
2017
Publication Order of Stone Age Tales Books
The Great Cave
2018
The Great Flood
2018
The Great Monster
2018
The Great Storm
2018
Publication Order of The Fire Thief Books
The Fire Thief
2005
Flight of the Fire Thief
2006
The Fire Thief Fights Back
2007
Publication Order of Master Crook’s Crime Academy Books
