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The White Ship
- Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
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The White Ship
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Summary
The sinking of the White Ship in 1120 is one of the greatest disasters England has ever suffered. In one catastrophic night, the king’s heir and the flower of Anglo-Norman society were drowned and the future of the crown was thrown violently off course.
In a riveting narrative, Charles Spencer follows the story from the Norman Conquest through to the decades that would become known as the Anarchy: a civil war of untold violence that saw families turn in on each other with English and Norman barons, rebellious Welsh princes and the Scottish king all playing a part in a desperate game of thrones. All because of the loss of one vessel – the White Ship – the medieval Titanic.
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Critic reviews
"How a drunk teenager shipwrecked the monarchy.... As colourful and racy narrative history goes, this absolutely gallops. The White Ship whips through 100 years of complex history from the Norman Conquest to Henry II." (Daily Mail)
"Rooted in the medieval chronicles, but crafted like a Hollywood thriller. Spencer is one of the finest narrative historians around.... This story fairly rattles towards it terrible denouement." (Mail on Sunday)
"Charles Spencer has shown himself to be a perceptive and lively historian.... A gifted storyteller.... A complex tale spanning decades, with a rich, but rarely attractive cast of characters, pivoted on one single, tragic winter evening. It is an event and a period of history that should be better known, and now it will be." (The Times)
What listeners say about The White Ship
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- Susan Ryland
- 07-03-21
Good historical account
I enjoyed this history lesson about post 1066 and leading up to the Plantagenets. So much to learn and I had to turn down speed of the narrator to take it all in. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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3 people 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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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-01-22
A gripping narrative of a complex period of history
Very well told with a wry humour at times. The writer captures the brutality and vitality of the period vividly.
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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
- Elke
- 20-12-22
Great book
I wanted to know more about what led to the anarchy and this answered all my questions really. I would love this in-depth book to go on! This whole time period is fascinating and as a woman totally infuriating!
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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
- Mrs M E Burstow
- 03-11-20
Good Hospital Reading
My father is in hospital and getting rather board. He wanted a book which was interesting, intellectually stimulating and zipped along nicely.
The White Ship fulfilled the brief rather well.
A fascinating book. Well written. Which covers a less well known period in history.
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4 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
- S. J. Donnelly
- 22-07-21
worth reading
exceptional book, read lots of royal historical books before but this literally one of the best, so many details and well written not one bad thing I could say except it ended
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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
- Rob Fox
- 13-02-22
Great Book
A great telling of a violent and volatile part of English history. It has the build up , the sinking and the aftermath. It shows how the men and women of the age would use any means to gain more power and wealth.
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1 person 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
- Jan Kaneen
- 15-09-21
Lesser know history brought brilliantly to life
This is such a tragic story brought vividly to life after having had historical events thoroughly contextualised first. Educational and enjoyable
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 03-09-21
Great book, terrible reading.
Excellent story but the reader has the dullest most wooden delivery and I couldn’t listen to anymore than an hour. I’ve bought the book instead so as not to put me off such a fascinating moment in history.
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8 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
- Peter Stephenson
- 20-12-22
NOT EASY INITIALLY - BUT THERE'S A REASON FOR THIS
Just to start off with the narration is pretty bland - but some readers (like me) prefer this because books are bland as well. A demonstrative reader can put their own spin on the text and personally I don't always like that. I want to do that myself - as I would if I was reading a book through my eyes. The narration was however clear, easy to listen to and probably how a scholarly listener would prefer it. An audio book is not a radio play. I also enjoy books read like an audio play - but a bland narration is a perfectly good style for a scholarly work.
Initially I was surprised by how much of the first part of the book set the political scene. But unless you want to hear just an accident report what was happening before and what happened afterwards is the historical significance of the wrecking of the White Ship. It's not about drunken passengers and a drunken crew smashing themselves on a rock. It about the ending and changing of historically significant lives, power balances, policies, politics and all the other things that happen when a large section of the uber elite get wiped out. If you want a book about a ship disaster (like a report on the Mary Rose) this is not the book for you. But if you want know how a single event can re-shape the dynastic politics of western Europe this definitely is the book for you.
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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
- Ms Nadine Tanner
- 25-10-21
Next
I enjoyed this very much.
It amazes me how much we do know of this period in history.
I need to find something else to fill the gap now.
Where do I start?
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