In Search of the Dark Ages cover art

In Search of the Dark Ages

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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

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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.

Michael Wood's a treasure- but there are issues

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A wonderful book by a fabulous author and read beautifully- the editing is a bit dodgy in the first 2 chapters.

Issues with editing

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A fascinating book really well read. Get this guy reading some other history books please!

Great narrator - really interesting book

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This was another wonderful Penguin production. The narrator was a joy to listen to and Michael Wood's text a joy to hear. This is a wonderful book. I thoroughly recommend this Audible recording to historically minded listeners.

Fantastic history.

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Never boring or bogged down, never tendentious; always balanced, focused, and with the gift of breathing life into the half heard-of characters who turn out to be massively important in our history.

Another Michael Wood triumph

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