The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England
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The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England
Narrated by:
Wanda McCaddon
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Wanda McCaddon
About this listen
This magnificent story of 1,000 years of English history is told through the lives and deeds of Kings and Queens, from the Normans to the Windsors. Understand how the power of the crown has changed as a result of both the character and ability of each monarch and evolving historical circumstances. Eight specialist contributors depict the whole spectrum of royal life in a succinct and fascinating way. Newly revised in 1998, this edition offers expanded coverage of the House of Windsor, including recent events that have greatly affected the Royal Family.
©1998 Antonia Fraser (P)1998 by The Audio Partners Publishing Corp.Listeners also enjoyed...
The reader is AWFUL.
Did nobody listen to this before release?
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You can certainly tell this is an older audiobook because of the recording quality; it's clear and the narrator is very good, but the length in pauses between paragraphs is very long and there's a distinct crackly undertone to the sound. The narrator also pronounces certain words in an odd way, 'joust' being one example (I've only ever heard it said as "jowst", but she pronounces it like "juiced"). I get different strokes for different folks, but this did bug me a bit after a while.
The book is split into the usual dynastic groupings, with a different author taking on each period. While it is fairly detailed and yet concise, I do think it is a shame that Antonia Fraser didn't take this task on herself; she's a great historian in her own right and I think having her perspective one each ruler would be very interesting. As it is, it's a little bit all over the place; some authors focus more on the historic events, others the people, and each author seems to have a clear 'favourite' so you don't get a consistent approach to each examination.
The age of the book does also let it down. Initially published in 1975, this version has been updated to bring us up to 1999, but it's still comes across as rather traditional history. All if the featured authors are male (as far as I know), and the gender biases of the time do come through quire clearly in places; none of the Queens get a particularly glowing reception, and something about their chapters just seems 'off' to me when compared with the various Kings.
If nithing else, I can recommend this as good for those who struggle to fall asleep - in the nicest possible way, it did the job I asked it to - it's engaging enough that my brain wants to listen and understand rather than start whirring with all my worries, but it's not over-stimulating so sleep comes far more naturally. And it is worth a listen if you have an interest in the subject, but there are definitely better versions out there.
Good for falling asleep to.
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Very good
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The chapters are unnamed, though I am sure that cannot be the case in the print version. So you can't find any particular monarch by looking for their chapter. And they appear to be random cuts, chopping up the narration without any reference to what a chapter is. As a result a chapter will often end mid sentence! And even if by luck it doesn't, it certainly doesn't end when one monarch is dealt with and a new one about to be addressed. Very messy indeed. The sound quality is also poor, thin and tinny. Overall, it feels like this was turned into an audiobook before anyone was quite sure how exactly that should be done.
That said, I like the narrator - she has a clear, crisp voice that is easily followed despite the tinny effect. It's a soothing voice too, rather as if Miss Marple is reading to you.
The content too is still of interest, even if it's dated - anyone interested in history gets a bonus dose here with the insight into how much society has improved since the 1990s! And of course many of the details of the monarchs' lives aren't affected by this, so it's not that it's inaccurate as such. Just weighted with the biases of a bygone age.
Dated indeed.
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Royals have lives too.
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