How does your knowledge of History rate against a Grandmaster of the genre? This rewarding and compelling program for your BBC model B or Acorn Electron computer has been specially adapted from the Weidenfield Quiz book and will provide hours of edification and amusement for family and friends.

Do you know what was extraordinary about the execution of Anne Boleyn? Or whose horse was awarded campaign medals by special command of Queen Victoria? If you can answer these questions, you are likely to do pretty well with the other 298 included in this quiz. It covers all aspects of British history, from Julius Caesar to Margaret Thatcher: kings and queens, riots and rebellions, mysteries and murders.

History is one of a series of six Grandmaster Quizzes, in which you can pit your knowledge against a grandmaster of the subject. The writer's specialised skill and expert knowledge makes the quiz both challenging and exciting. Each program has thirty sections of ten questions - a massive 300 questions in all - and you can take the quiz alone, in competition with a friend, or in teams. You can choose a timed option too - and if you're getting too many of the answers right, your computer can reduce the time you have to answer!

This pack contains one program cassette, one quiz data cassette and an instruction booklet.

John Julius Norwich is well-known as a historian and author of several books, including a two-volume history of Venice. He regularly appears on television and radio in such old-established favourites as "Face the Music" and "Round Europe Quiz"."

"How," asked the authors of '1066 And All That' in one of their Test Papers, "can you be so numb and vague about Arabella Stuart?" The question was unanswerable, the premise all too true. Nor, for most of us, are such feelings confined to the unfortunate Lady Arabella.

Yet the history of these islands is mecifully illuminted, time and time again, by little pools of light - generated by people or events that have for one reason or another become unforgettable and, while remaining firmly implanted in fact, have contrived also to pass into legend. It is with these pools, above all, that the following three hundred questions are concerned - not with the day-to-day fabric of history but with its occasional explosions: of greatness and glory, disgrace or disaster, comedy or crime.

This is not, therefore, to be taken too seriously. It's a quiz, remember, not an examination; its purpose is not to instruct, merely to amuse. Of course, you may pick up a few stray (and most certainly useless) pieces of knowledge along the way, but they will be incidental. And I can promise you one thing: about Lady Arabella Stuart, you will remain every bit as numb and vague as you were before.

- John Julius Norwich

When the program is loaded, there is a short bleep and the program title appears. Press the SPACE bar as requested and you will be asked:

  Do you want to do the quiz:
  1. On your own
  2. As two competing individuals
  3. As two competing teams
  Enter choice : ?

Answer the questions as prompted by typing in your response. Press RETURN when you have completed each entry.

The main menu will now appear and the thirty quiz titles are displayed on two screens. To move from one screen to another, type 0 and press RETURN. Select the quiz you require, type its number and press RETURN then remove the program cassette from the deck and insert the data cassette when prompted. Make sure that the coorect side of the cassette is uppermost: quizzes 1-16 are recorded on side 1 and 17-30 on side 2. Press SPACE BAR as requested. When your quiz has finished loading, there is a short bleep. You are now ready to begin the quiz.

Most of the quizzes start with a section introduction written by the author. To move on to the second paragraph, or to see the first question press SPACE.

If you request a time limit, a clock counts down in seconds in the top right-hand corner of your screen. If you do not enter an answer before it reaches zero, you receive no marks: if two teams are playing, the question is offered to the opposition. However, you are allowed to complete an answer whih you started to enter within the alloted time.

To pass a question, press RETURN. A passed question will be offered to the opposition, if you are playing in teams.

Some questions may require you to refer back to the section introduction. Do this before you enter your answer by pressing the ESCAPE key. Pressing the SPACE bar will return you to the Quiz menu and your answers so far will be lost.

Some questions require several separate answers. When a) appears on screen, you enter your first answer, when b) appears, you enter your second answer, etc.

When you have given the answer and pressed RETURN, the author's answer is displayed. Compare the answers and decide how many points you should have. You can enter 0 if you are completely wrong, 1 if you are halfway there, and a maximum 2 points for a completely correct answer. Type in your score as requested. When you press RETURN the next question appears.

At the end of the quiz, the final scores and the total time taken to answer the questions is given. In the case of a draw, the contestant with the shortest time will win.

If you decide to try another quiz you will be returned to the Main Menu. You can run the same quiz again simply by re-selecting its number: it is still in the computer's memory. If you do not wish to try another quiz, the program will end.