Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Crypt

  • Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond
  • By: Alice Roberts
  • Narrated by: Alice Roberts
  • Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (114 ratings)

$0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Crypt cover art

Crypt

By: Alice Roberts
Narrated by: Alice Roberts
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
activate_primeday_promo_in_buybox_DT

Listeners also enjoyed...

Buried cover art
Ancestors cover art
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being cover art
Spycraft cover art
Vital Organs cover art
Kindred cover art
Great and Horrible News cover art
X Marks the Spot cover art
In Search of the Dark Ages cover art
Mortal Monarchs cover art
The Little Book of Humanism cover art
The Great Mortality cover art
A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum cover art
The Anglo-Saxon World cover art
Byzantium cover art
Everyday Life in Medieval London cover art

Summary

THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER

'Compulsive . . . A wonderful display of how modern archaeology can bring hidden histories to life' Daily Telegraph

'Gripping . . . I found it hard to put down' Evening Standard

'Another really good book from archaeologist Alice Roberts . . . Helps you understand the facts on a technical level, but also makes you feel them in your bones' New Scientist

'Robert's reflections on Thomas Becket and Canterbury Cathedral are especially entertaining . . . Fascinating' Spectator

The new book by Sunday Times bestselling author of Ancestors and Buried - the final instalment in Professor Alice Roberts' acclaimed trilogy.

We can unlock secrets from bones preserved for centuries in tombs, graves and crypts.

The history of the Middle Ages is typically the story of the rich and powerful, there’s barely a written note for most people’s lives. Archaeology represents another way of interrogating our history. By using cutting-edge science to examine human remains and burials, it is possible to unearth details about how individuals lived and died that give us a new understanding of the past – one that is more intimate and inclusive than ever before.

The seven stories in Crypt are not comforting tales. We meet the patients at one of the earliest hospitals in England and the victims of the St Brice’s Day Massacre. We see a society struggling to make sense of disease, disability and death, as incurable epidemics sweep through medieval Europe. We learn of a protracted battle between Church and State that led to the murder of Thomas Becket and the destruction of the most famous tomb in England. And we come face to face with the archers who went down with Henry VIII’s favourite ship, the Mary Rose.

Beautifully written and expertly researched by Professor Alice Roberts, Crypt is packed with thrilling discoveries that will make you see the history of Britain afresh.
©2023 Alice Roberts (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, UK
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Crypt

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    86
  • 4 Stars
    20
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    88
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    81
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly thought provoking

I learnt so much about disease and the history of it that I really hadn’t expected to. It’s a wonderful book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

love all the information,the authors voice is so relaxing like being

like being treated as an equal by the Professor , the shear volume of information is astounding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Death and disease

I really enjoyed this book Alice Roberts has a really good voice and the content was extremely interesting, quite a bit of detail on the science of the diseases which I loved.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Impressive

Wonderful details that were never able to be fitted into a TV programme. Great read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

na

thisgreat book really worth listening to Great performance and Very historically insightful and interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great listen as always

Excellent work as always. Dr Alice never misses. Very informative, interesting and very easy to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic read

Incredibly interesting, the links between Archeology, Anatmoy and Genetics. Explained in a superb way by Alice Roberts. Fascinating stories, interesting and understandable science. All narrated in an enthusiastic and interesting way by the Author. The whole series has been amazing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A really interesting way to approach the diseases and injuries people have suffered in the past

I really enjoyed the chapter on the anchoress and the world in which she lived. Telling the stories of people like this makes them more real than they often appear on the written page.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mixed with medieval history

Great read , big fan of Alice Roberts all her books are a great & fascinating read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Extraordinary detail

Highly recommend this deep dive into the science of ancient bones and what they reveal about the people and society. Another fascinating book by the author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!