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In Search of the Dark Ages
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
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In Search of the Dark Ages
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Summary
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.
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What listeners say about In Search of the Dark Ages
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Daearegydd
- 04-09-22
Appaling production
There is no fault with the author. Michael Wood's telling of dark age history is compelling. Whoever edited this together, however, is utterly incompetent. Repeated sections, material cut short and missing, plus stuff that was clearly never meant to make the final edit. A good book ruined by piss poor production.
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34 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Richard J. Paterson
- 22-12-22
Michael Wood's a treasure- but there are issues
I remember watching Michael Wood's TV series in the late seventies (early eighties?) as I was falling in love with History. His boundless enthusiasm and his ability to involve the reader/viewer/listener is still evident. This is a new extended version of the book that came out to accompany the series back in the day, with new chapters on some of the great Anglo-Saxon women and others that go beyond the standard "this King fought this battle" narrative. It is read well by Marston York, but the editing of this work is poor- there are clearly sections missing and jarring jump cuts that should be put right by the production company and a new version issued at some point soon.
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19 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 06-02-23
Great listen
Love the stories and the way they are told
What let’s this down is the quality of production at times. The end of the King Arthur chapter is just missing! There are many times sentences are repeated
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 24-12-22
Issues with editing
A wonderful book by a fabulous author and read beautifully- the editing is a bit dodgy in the first 2 chapters.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- tleaf100
- 10-09-22
Ruined.
How to ruin an already ok product.
Awful,if you've heard/seen the originals.
Needs the author himself reading it.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- First slip
- 18-07-23
Very good
Unfortunately pages 53-56 are missing. Hopefully these are the only ones. Narrator is excellent
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Hickey
- 14-03-23
Surviving The Dark Ages
Life was certainly challenging in the period we now refer to as "The Dark Ages." This book has been carefully put together with each chapter covering an individual in power, or a period of time.
What becomes clear is that having power and remaining in power was a real challenge. Discover how each of the kings and queens reigned and tried to deal with untest and constant viking raids.
I have really enjoyed listening to the book. it is read in easy chunks, perfect for car journeys or relaxing with the headphones in. A must read/listen for anyone wishing to understand how it all started.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ken P
- 26-06-23
A Great Look at Michael Wolf's Earlier Works
Great narration and a worthy over-write of Michael Woods' earlier works on the Dark Ages.
I well remember the TV series by Michael Wood, and am as captivated by this work as I was then 40 years ago.
He is a great researcher of this country's last and with the finding of recent writings by William of Malmsbury and Beds along with other recently discovered works has made a great and in-depth exit to his history of post Roman early Britain a really worthwhile contribution to knowledge we should all learn of these great islands.
It is a great pity that Harold lost at Hastings, as we could have been a greater country than we all ready are, in my opinion.
Great work Michael (maybe they'll do another TV series on this revised history of the Dark Ages)?
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Marie Harrison
- 13-04-23
Mostly okay
I'm on a bit of a history binge at the moment, so most of this was familiar enough to be interesting. However, there were several points that where it would have made sense to dive deeper into the primary source material, or examine the conclusions the author made. But instead, the author skimmed over a lot of interesting material e.g. that Harold probably wasn't killed by an arrow to the eye. Still, it was an okay book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Julia Kemp
- 20-09-22
Great narrator - really interesting book
A fascinating book really well read. Get this guy reading some other history books please!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dee Goulet
- 31-08-22
Brilliant!
I loved this book! Full of wonderful, researched details that bring this period to life.
I highly recommend this book!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Beth997
- 28-08-22
Needs a bit more editing
A really well written and well read book, but just 3 chapters in and I've already encountered several repeated sections and verbal notes to the editor that have not been removed. I can only guess that if there are repeats, there must be omissions.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer L
- 26-11-23
Great story and narration
Marston York is a fabulous narrator and having listened to him read some of Griff Hosker’s books I chose this one to listen to as well. It’s well written, has a good pace, and it was nice to read about the amazing women in British history, and to learn more about Aethelflaed’s story. The only problem was that the audio editing was a little slack with some repeats and other errors, it didn’t affect the story but was definitely noticeable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Little Willow
- 23-11-23
Michael Woods Narration makes it more enchanting to listen to
I have loved all his historical research tv shows and his books since i was a teenager who loved world history. Now in my 50s i am rewatching them and listenibg to the audios. I wish he narrated all of them he is so wonderful at bringing it to life. Highly recommend
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-05-23
Fantastic
Fantastic book on English history from the beginning through 1066!
Also, the narrator has a great voice.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AstoriaSis
- 06-05-23
Wonderful.
After years of listening to world history, this book filled in some unknown details of everything I have read. A great book and Marston York is excellent.
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