In Search of the Dark Ages cover art

In Search of the Dark Ages

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

In Search of the Dark Ages

By: Michael Wood
Narrated by: Marston York
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

In Search of the Dark Ages is an unrivalled exploration of the origins of English identity, and the best-selling book that established Michael Wood as one of Britain's leading historians. Now, on the book's 40th anniversary, this fully revised and expanded edition illuminates further the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest.

Alongside portraits of Boadicea, King Arthur, Alfred the Great, Athelstan, and William the Conqueror, the story of England is expanded further to include new voices, with all-new chapters on fascinating characters such as Penda of Mercia, Aethelflaed Lady of the Mercians, Hadrian the African, Eadgyth of England and Wynflaed. It's an altogether richer, more varied and inclusive study on the creation of Britain.

Just as it did when it first published 40 years ago, In Search of the Dark Ages overturns preconceptions of the Early Middle Ages as a shadowy and brutal era, showing them to be a richly exciting and formative period in the history of Britain.

©2001 Michael Wood (P)2022 Penguin Audio
Europe Great Britain Medieval Military England Middle Ages Arthurian

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Anglo-Saxon World cover art
Ancestors cover art
The Fall of the Roman Empire cover art
A Brief History of Britain 1485-1660 cover art
A Brief History of British Kings and Queens cover art
London in the Eighteenth Century cover art
London in the Nineteenth Century cover art
The King in the North cover art
History of the Lombards cover art
The Germans and Europe cover art
History of the Franks cover art
A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons cover art
The Faded Map cover art
The Birth of the West cover art
Rorke's Drift cover art
A Brief History of the Vikings cover art
All stars
Most relevant
The narrator’s voice was well suited to this complex material and difficult names. The history is grippingly told with plenty of detail that brought the figures fully to life. Highly recommended.

A challenging period of history brought to life

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I loved it. I have listened 3x and it still fills me with fascination . You feel as if you are in the mind of the shapers of a half millenium .

A wonderful review of history .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Recommended. I learned much about both familiar characters and some, like the Lady of Mercia, who I was ignorant about.

Sheds light on the Dark Ages

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Nice voice and gave me a better understanding of a part of history I knew little about

Very informative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A seminal work. Accessible, interesting and well read by the narrator. Well worth a listen.

Magnificent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews