The Histories
Penguin Classics
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The Histories
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Narrated by:
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Frank Laverty
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By:
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Herodotus
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Tom Holland
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
This Penguin Classic of Tom Holland's 'stirring new translation' (Telegraph) of Herodotus' Histories, one of the great books in Western history, is narrated by Frank Laverty.
The Histories of Herodotus, completed in the second half of the fifth century BC, is generally regarded as the first work of history and the first great masterpiece of non-fiction writing. Joined here are the sheer drama of Herodotus' narrative of the Persian invasions of Greece, and the endless curiosity - turning now to cannabis, now to the Pyramids - which make his book the source of so much of our knowledge of the ancient world.
This absorbing new translation, by one of Britain's most admired young historians, allows all the drama and mysteriousness of this great book to be fully appreciated by modern listeners.
©2013 Tom Holland (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Unquestionably the best English translation of Herodotus to have appeared in the last half-century, and there have been quite a few...fast, funny, opinionated, clear and erudite.... I am in awe of Tom Holland's achievement." (Edith Hall, TLS)
"A labour of love...full of rattling good yarns...the minister for education should present each of his cabinet colleagues with a copy of Holland's admirable translation." (Economist)
"Tom Holland has been captivated by Herodotus since he was a child. His pleasure shines through his relaxed, idiomatic, expansive and often dramatic translation.... He, like Herodotus, is a storyteller par excellence." (Peter Jones, New Statesman)
Highly enjoyable
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Excleent pergormance! Would highly recomend!
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Whilst the ‘English’ reading is excellent, you notice he’s far more informal and chatty in his delivery than a version I heard yearsago recorded forRNIB Talking books.
Herodotus is one is those books written, as Swamy’s Heaney put it, on ‘official note paper’ and both readings discussed here express determination to ditch the pompous nd quite inappropriate way Academia has traditionally placed the work like a statue on a ply that, and to this end Tom Holland’s translation and Liberty’s performance of it work in sync to make the point. Herodotus is spinning yarns ; a role entirely fit for a lively and engaging Irishman; well done indeed!
Irish reader a stroke of genius!
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So glad I took a chance!
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There's always a philosophical vibe running through the lives of the historical figures in the book. You see people living in a time when the line between cruelty and justice was remarkably blurry in a world where divine portents were real and consequential. People could still trace their family trees back to gods and heroes. It makes you wonder: does it really matter to draw the lines between the probable, the exaggeration, and the convenient fabrication? (I am looking at you, Darius!)
You can sense history—as we understand it today—slowly emerging from myth. But what makes it compelling for me is the opportunity to get a glimpse into how our ancestors saw themselves and made sense of their world.
As for the narration complaints? I don't get it. I'm not a native English speaker and had no trouble at all following the narrator. In fact, I felt it added to the experience.
A Time Machine to the Ancient World
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