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1415

Henry V's Year of Glory

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About this listen

Henry V is regarded as the great English hero, lionised in his own day for his victory at Agincourt, his piety and his rigorous application of justice. But what was he really like?

In this groundbreaking audiobook, Ian Mortimer portrays Henry in the pivotal year of his reign. Recording the dramatic events of 1415, he offers the fullest, most precise and least romanticised view we have of Henry and what he did. At the centre of the narrative is the campaign which culminated in the battle of Agincourt: a slaughter ground intended not to advance England’s interests directly but to demonstrate God’s approval of Henry’s royal authority on both sides of the Channel. The result is a fascinating reappraisal of Henry which brings to the fore many unpalatable truths as well as the king’s extraordinary courage and leadership qualities.

©2013 Ian Mortimer (P)2017 Tantor Europe Great Britain Medieval Politics & Activism Royalty England Middle Ages United Kingdom Tudor
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I along with a lot of people always considered Henry V to be an English national hero. This book has made me reconsider who he was and although there are still things to admire, this book shows his flaws and weaknesses.

I would recommend this book to help you understand the man and not the legend

Henry V reassessed

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To do history day by day is a strange approach. But it works thanks to the enormous amount of contemporary evidence. It is also helped by a balancing narrative of the Council of Constance and the surprising role England played in it.

Excellent audio

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This was one of those titles that made me impatient for the next opportunity to pick up where I had previously left off. Rather than obscure the bigger picture, the approach taken by the author of forensic examination of day by day details was both fascinating and illuminating. In particular it provided great weight of evidence to dispel both the contemporaneous and subsequent historical propaganda. The work is as much a study of human nature as it is of history. Although concentrated in one year, the commentary during the body of the work and in the epilogue places the events of the year both in the context of events that had led up to it and the role it played as a catalyst for paradigm shifting changes in the years and centuries that would follow it.

Fascinating

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I have read the book a number of times many years ago and saw this on offer. A great overview of Henry's life with great use of sources.

Reading kept me interested and listened in blocks of 3 or 4 hours at times. Will listen to again.

Great and informative

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Great narrative of the year 1415, about Henry V ,and all that was happening politically in his realm and how he navigated those same politics to get his wish and funding to claim France.Gripping narrative involving many elements,not least the papal schism and the French political system which had a regency council to rule as their King was mad,also the infighting with the French that benefitted Henry,whom through diplomacy used it to his advantage

Henry Vth as a masterfully politician

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