About Us

Duchess & Bruno makes funny history books and activity packs that teach kids and adults to think for themselves - real history, genuinely funny, every fact checked. Here are the people behind it.

Annelise - Founder, history teacher

Annelise spent her childhood reading Garfield. Thousands of hours. A sardonic cat with no respect for authority - looking back, the warning signs were all there.

Then she grew up sensible: history teacher. Eight years of modern and ancient history in high schools, then years training teachers at university. She has a University Medal and everything.

Her specialty as a History major was the history of nationalism and terrorism - the field where you learn the most uncomfortable truth there is: atrocities don't start with wicked people. They start with people who are certain they're saving everyone. Robespierre was a nice bloke, right up until the guillotines.

Annelise taught 1984 and Animal Farm more times than she can count, and spent years studying how ordinary, decent people get swept along by fear and certainty until they've done something terrible - never feeling it happen. The unsettling part: almost nobody is ever taught to watch for it. She realised she hadn't been taught either.

So in 2023 she started doing the thing she'd always wanted to do: making comics about it. (Well - commissioning the drawings. You don't want hers.) A rebellious, razor-sharp schemer (Duchess), the loyal rule-follower who adores her (and gets conned anyway - Bruno), and every dirty trick in the history of bad arguments.

Perri - Creative Director, comedian

Perri is Annelise's son and the other half of Duchess & Bruno. As Creative Director he actually runs things on the creative side - story production, character voice, the beats that make something funny and then quietly devastating. He has the kind of quick wit that makes rooms go quiet for half a second before everyone laughs. If a line in a Duchess & Bruno comic makes you snort before you realise you've just learned something, that's Perri's work.

Gabriel Pt Dedi - Illustrator and Artist

Gabriel Pt Dedi is an illustrator and comic artist from Bali, Indonesia. One of his notable works is Bingkai Titik, a silent comic featured on Official Webtoon Indonesia. Since it contains no words, anyone from around the world can enjoy it. You can explore more of his work on Instagram: @gallery.gabrielptdedi

How we make it

Annelise writes every word first - the history, the substance, the meaning - reading the original books to get it right, not summaries. Then Perri makes it funny and edgy. Every illustration is then drawn by Gabriel, who brings them to life. No AI writes or draws a word of it, and every date and fact is checked before it ships. A brand that teaches you to spot dodgy reasoning doesn't get to be sloppy with the facts.

The Supervisors

Duchess & Bruno is overseen by three cats and a toy poodle named Chloe, who is the actual love of Annelise's life and knows it. Yes, a cat-and-dog brand run by a cat-and-dog household. The research is ongoing and the sample size is excellent.

Why We Do This

Because the past holds hard-won wisdom about how to live, and most of it never makes it past school. Because the people who did history's worst things weren't stupid or evil - they were ordinary, and certain, and never stopped to ask whether they might be wrong.

And because we believe you'd rather laugh while you learn to see how it happens. History keeps making the same mistake, and it's rarely the villains who cause it. We'd like you to see it coming - starting with yourself.

Parents and teachers rate the packs 5.0. "My kids absolutely adore the characters and story - it reminds us of Horrible Histories." - Sandra, verified purchase

Want to see what all this looks like in practice?

Grab the free Bandwagon Effect pack - a full comic, a true history disaster, and the activities, printable tonight. If your kid asks for the next one, you'll know we meant all of the above.

Or see the whole collection at once: The Complete Fallacy Bundle - all 24 fallacies, all 24 disasters, the complete set.