Members Behaving Badly
A History of Britain in 52 Parliamentary Rogues
Published on 19. February 2026
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-78396-938-8 (ISBN)
Description
*
A DAILY MAIL BOOK OF THE WEEK
An alternative history of Britain through the scandalous stories of 52 MPs who behaved very badly indeed...
'Funny, eye-opening and jaw-dropping.' CHARLIE HIGSON
'[A] lively ... thoroughly entertaining and novel history of the House of Commons.' COUNTRY LIFE
Over the centuries, the House of Commons has been full of MPs standing up against tyranny; remarkable people doing remarkable things for the good of all. Yet there have been just as many cheats and liars who have played games, played the markets and played the people who put their trust in them.
Members Behaving Badly tells the story of our nation from 1603 to 1945 through 52 of these parliamentary villains: abusers, kidnappers and murderers, violent men doing violent deeds, often using parliament as a front and excuse. These are the MPs who made history - for all the wrong reasons.
There's rake and poet Sir Charles Sedley, whose illicit partying while sozzled and stark naked on a tavern balcony caused a sensation even in Restoration London; the stock-jobbing, flip-flopping chancellor of the Exchequer, Charles Townshend, who proposed taxes that sparked a revolution; David Lloyd George, Britain's saviour during the First World War, but whose avarice, corruption and abuse of honours ruined his political party forever; and many more.
___
'Thoroughly entertaining... Full of the woeful and riotous tales of the many men who have disgraced the benches of Westminster.' Jonathan Healey, author of The Blazing World
'Kilroy's storytelling is brimming with detail, sprinkled throughout with wit and humour.' Kate Vigurs, author of Mission France
'A riot of malfeasance and misbehaviour' Roger Moorhouse, author of Wolfpack
A DAILY MAIL BOOK OF THE WEEK
An alternative history of Britain through the scandalous stories of 52 MPs who behaved very badly indeed...
'Funny, eye-opening and jaw-dropping.' CHARLIE HIGSON
'[A] lively ... thoroughly entertaining and novel history of the House of Commons.' COUNTRY LIFE
Over the centuries, the House of Commons has been full of MPs standing up against tyranny; remarkable people doing remarkable things for the good of all. Yet there have been just as many cheats and liars who have played games, played the markets and played the people who put their trust in them.
Members Behaving Badly tells the story of our nation from 1603 to 1945 through 52 of these parliamentary villains: abusers, kidnappers and murderers, violent men doing violent deeds, often using parliament as a front and excuse. These are the MPs who made history - for all the wrong reasons.
There's rake and poet Sir Charles Sedley, whose illicit partying while sozzled and stark naked on a tavern balcony caused a sensation even in Restoration London; the stock-jobbing, flip-flopping chancellor of the Exchequer, Charles Townshend, who proposed taxes that sparked a revolution; David Lloyd George, Britain's saviour during the First World War, but whose avarice, corruption and abuse of honours ruined his political party forever; and many more.
___
'Thoroughly entertaining... Full of the woeful and riotous tales of the many men who have disgraced the benches of Westminster.' Jonathan Healey, author of The Blazing World
'Kilroy's storytelling is brimming with detail, sprinkled throughout with wit and humour.' Kate Vigurs, author of Mission France
'A riot of malfeasance and misbehaviour' Roger Moorhouse, author of Wolfpack
Reviews / Votes
'A deliciously scandalous new history charts the dishonourable antics of our honourable members ... Kilroy's book is enough to make the reader question democracy, when we are confronted with such a grim catalogue of egomania. I hope Kilroy writes a second volume, bringing the saga up to the present day.' Daily Mail, Book of the Week'[A] lively, well-laid-out, thoroughly entertaining and novel history of the House of Commons over three dynamic centuries.' Country Life
e'A riot of malfeasance and misbehaviour... Debbie Kilroy reminds us that, though we might imagine ourselves ill-served by our current crop of MPs, some of their predecessors were hilariously and horribly worse.' Roger Moorhouse, author of Wolfpack
'Relevant, informative and timely, Kilroy shows us the real unparliamentary behaviour of the past, whilst also reminding us some things never change!' Jackson van Uden, 'History with Jackson'
'Reader beware - beneath the veneer of rogues, scoundrels and libertines lies a dark world filled with pirates, kidnapping, adultery, duels, baby swapping, gambling, murder and devil worship. Kilroy's research is exemplary and her story telling is brimming with detail sprinkled throughout with wit and humour. This is a must read!' Kate Vigurs, author of Mission France: The True History of the Women of SOE
'Thought the likes of Johnson, Hancock, Pincher and Parish were the worst behaved MPs of all time? Think again ... Funny, eye-opening and jaw-dropping.' Charlie Higson, author of Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee
'A thoroughly entertaining gallop through four centuries of Parliamentarian perfidy. Members Behaving Badly is a Hogarthian gallery of rogues and rotters, full of the woeful and riotous tales of the many men who have disgraced the benches of Westminster. I enjoyed it very much.' Jonathan Healey, author of The Blazing World
'This witty and well-written book highlights 52 parliamentary rogues from 1603 to 1945. There are fascinating stories of blackmail, adultery, embezzlement and murder. It's a rattling good read.' Professor Frank McDonough, author of The Hitler Years
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
510 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78396-938-8 (9781783969388)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
DEBBIE KILROY is a writer and historian. Having read history at the University of Birmingham as an undergraduate, where she won the Kenrick Prize, she founded the award-winning 'Get History' platform in 2014 with the aim of bringing accessible yet high quality history-telling and debate to a wide audience. Since then, she has completed a Masters in Historical Studies at the University of Oxford, receiving a distinction and the Kellogg College Community Engagement and Impact Award. She has also worked with Histories of the Unexpected and Inside History, with her article for Parliaments, Estates and Representation winning the international ICHRPI Emile Lousse prize for the best political article by an up-and-coming historian.