Rotten Romans, Vile Victorians and the Evils of Empire!

Having sold 36 million copies of his children's books, Terry Deary has now turned his gaze on adults. Expect fireworks, as he goes after some of our most sacred cows with his famously tongue-in-cheek and irreverent humour

- Matt Nixson

TERRY Deary is the man who made horrible history horribly entertaining! Since his debut book, The Terrible the first of more than 60 Tudors non-fiction titles was published in 1993, the former butcher's boy, actor and teacher has sold more than 36 million copies of his warts-and-all Horrible Histories children's series.

Meanwhile, the TV adaptations, first broadcast in 2009 and still going strong, have bagged a string of awards for their irreverent, entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny take on the past. The Pythonesque CBBC show beloved of children and parents received a Bafta special award in the autumn for its "extraordinary cultural and social impact".

Fans have described his work as history without the boring bits.

Having turned his eye to a new audience with A History of Britain in Ten Enemies, his first book aimed predominantly at adults, readers can expect fireworks. In an age when many public figures eschew strong opinions, the 78-year-old is refreshingly outspoken and happy to challenge the status quo.

Previous targets have included schools "They have no relevance in the 21st century. They were a Victorian idea to get kids off the street" and libraries - "We've got this idea that we've got an entitlement to read books for free, at the expense of authors, publishers and council tax payers" - and he recently made headlines hitting out at the British Empire. Speaking to the All About History magazine recently, Deary slammed Britain's imperial legacy claiming there was "nothing brave or courageous" about it.