The Red Prince cover art

The Red Prince

The Life of John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster

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The Red Prince

By: Helen Carr
Narrated by: Helen Carr
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About this listen

Medieval history from a rising star in the field, this is a biography of one of the most important figures of the age, John of Gaunt.

John Gaunt was the son of Edward III, brother to the Black Prince, father to Henry IV, and the sire of all those Tudors. He has had pretty bad press: supposed usurper of Richard II’s crown and the focus of hatred in the Peasants’ Revolt, as they torched his home, the Savoy Palace.

Helen Carr paints a complex portrait of a man who held the levers of power on the English and European stage, passionately upheld chivalric values, pressed for the Bible to be translated into English, patronized the arts - and, if you follow Shakespeare, gave the most beautiful oration on England: “this sceptred isle...this blessed plot.”

The Red Prince is an engrossing drama of political machinations, violence, romance, plague, revolt, and tragedy played out at the cusp of a new era.

©2021 Helen Carr (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing Europe Great Britain Medieval England Middle Ages Royalty Tudor Shakespeare

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All stars
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Loved every minute. Will listen to it again and again. Highly recommended. Very informative.

Brilliant book!

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The ‘lesser’ brother of the famous Black Prince, a man who was overshadowed but would in many ways eventually overshadow his more famous older brother simply by legacy. One could easily argue how much better off England would have been off if John had gained one of the two thrones he so desired. It helps a lot to understand the context around many of the other figures around the life of John, but the book helps to give context a lot of the time. I really enjoyed this book.

An often forgotten but nonetheless huge historical figure.

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Interesting and engaging précis of a fascinating historical time and some of its characters through the life of a key protagonist and ancestor of the British and European dynasties

Interesting and engaging

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Terrific and highly readable account of the life of this important figure. Excellent book well worth the time spent on it

Really informative and well written

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An informative and revealing biography of this enigmatic prince. I enjoyed it very much indeed

Fascinating

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Really enjoyed this informative telling of the story of John of Gaunt putting him centre stage and increasing my understanding of his tumultuous times.

Great storytelling

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This was an engaging, well researched work on a much lesser known figure of English history.

Loved it

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Absolutely loved listening to this book, we have to buy the hard copy now

Brilliant

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I’ve been wanting to understand and working my way back through the history of England and it’s relationship with Europe and this book just makes me want more. The author reads her book well and gives an account of the life and time of John of Gaunt, his relationship with his family, the political situation of the time and the gruesome siege battles, but moreover gives insight on his diplomacy and acumen. I highly recommend this book if you want to know more about 14th century English history.

Excellent

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I don't usually write reviews, but this book was excellent. Helen Carr has clearly done a significant amount of research, which she has presented in an engaging and entertaining biography. The narration (also by Helen Carr) is also first class. The subject matter is brought to life in an impressive manner. I hope to read/listen to more of Helen Carr's works as and when they are published. In short, highly recommended!

interesting, informative and well narrated book

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