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  • The Medieval Anarchy: History in an Hour

  • By: Kaye Jones
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
  • Length: 1 hr and 9 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (104 ratings)
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The Medieval Anarchy: History in an Hour cover art

The Medieval Anarchy: History in an Hour

By: Kaye Jones
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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Summary

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. Nicknamed ‘The Anarchy' for its unprecedented levels of chaos and disorder, the succession crisis that followed the death of King Henry I in 1135 resulted in England's first civil war.

The Medieval Anarchy: History in an Hour neatly covers all the major facts and events giving you a clear and straightforward overview of the plots and violence that ensued during the the nineteen-year conflict. The Medieval Anarchy: History in an Hour is engagingly written and accessible for all history lovers.

This, in an hour, is the story of ‘The Medieval Anarchy’ through the personalities, context, events and aftermath of England's first, and often forgotten, civil war. Love your history? Find out about the world with History in an Hour…

©2013 Kaye Jones (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

“If the past is a foreign country, History in an Hour is like a high-class tour operator, offering delightfully enjoyable short breaks in the rich and diverse continent of our shared past” (Dominic Sandbrook)
“The practice of History is ever-evolving, and the History In An Hour idea brings it back up to date for the digital age” (Andrew Roberts, Bookseller)
“This is genius” (MacWorld.com)

What listeners say about The Medieval Anarchy: History in an Hour

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An excellent gallop through history

I bought this title on a whim as I was intrigued how they could cover such a large subject in just one hour. Well I was not disappointed; the ubject matter was concise and yet covered all the major events and players, and the whole thing was very much aided by Jonathan Keeble's excellent narrative.

He has a real talent for engaging the listener, so that the end result is like listening to an interesting stranger on a train. The narrative also sticks to the known facts and never drifts off into opinion or myth as so many history books can have a tendency to do.

An excellent title, which has prompted me to buy another in the series, being "World War 1 in 1 hour"

Highly recommended

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Mmmm.....medieval

Everything you could ever need to know about 'the first English Civil War' in an hour. Very good indeed. Enjoy.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent summary

I really enjoyed this concise summary of a confusing and little known period of English history. A good little starting point for further reading. Excellent narration which is always the make or break. with audio books.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A fascinating overview...

...of a largely ignored period of history. The first English civil war lasted 19 years and caused total chaos. While it's not possible to cover everything in such a short history, it does a good job of summarising the key events and JK's narration is excellent.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

The real Game of Thrones

At times the complicated power battles in this tale of conflict do become a little difficult to follow, but I never lost a good overall picture of Mathilda, Steven and their family and supporters. I now know a lot more about this fascinating period of history. The quality of the writing,creating and recording are excellent. Well worth a few pounds.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating stuff

Wonderfully read, so it sounds like your favourite gossipy friend filling you in on the important news of the day. Absolutely fascinating story too. Made me want to resist everything from this era.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Well read and written, but a dull point in history

The audio book was well read but I personally found this a very boring point in history. Although it was boring I would still recommend buying it as it marks some important events. If they had not occurred I'm sure we would be living in a very different world.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Turmoil on a small land!

As a companion to 1066 this is a good listen. On it's own it perfectly sums up the oft forgotten first English civil war.

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