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The Last Duel
- A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France
- Narrated by: Robert Glenister
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
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The Last Duel
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Summary
“A taut page-turner with all the hallmarks of a good historical thriller.” (Orlando Sentinel)
The gripping true story of the “duel to end all duels” in medieval France that pits a knight against a squire accused of violating the knight’s beautiful young wife, soon to be a major motion picture with Ridley Scott directing stars Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Adam Driver, and Jodie Comer.
In the midst of the devastating Hundred Years’ War between France and England, Jean de Carrouges, a Norman knight, fresh from combat in Scotland finds his wife, Marguerite, accusing squire Jacques Le Gris of brutally raping her. A deadlocked court decrees a “trial by combat” that also leaves Marguerite’s fate in the balance. For if her husband loses the duel, she will be put to death as a false accuser.
While enemy troops pillage the land, and rebellion and plague threaten the lives of all, Carrouges and Le Gris meet in full armor on a walled field in Paris. What follows is a fierce duel before a massive crowd that includes the teenage King Charles VI, during which both combatants are wounded - but only one fatally.
Based on extensive research in Normandy and Paris, The Last Duel brings to life a colorful, turbulent age and three unforgettable characters caught in a fatal triangle of crime, scandal, and revenge. The Last Duel is at once a moving human drama, a captivating detective story, and an engrossing work of historical intrigue with themes that echo powerfully centuries later.
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Critic reviews
"Jager spins a complicated and sanguinary tale with the skill of an accomplished thriller author.... Sex, savagery, and high-level political maneuvers energize a splendid piece of popular history.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“Succeeds brilliantly in combining page-turning intensity with eye-opening insights into the bizarre ritual of judicial combat in the Middle Ages.” (The Times, London)
"Riveting.” (Publishers Weekly)
“As enthralling and engrossing as any...high-profile celebrity scandal today.” (Booklist)
What listeners say about The Last Duel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- dp litchfield
- 13-04-22
Great story telling.
loved this historical story using many sources to give a dramatic portrait of the last duel to occur by consent in France.
would recommend enthusiastically
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ash Roskell
- 01-10-22
Well Narrated, But Flawed Analysis
Robert Glenister is a reliable stalwart of audiobook narration and an accomplished actor of screen and stage, who’s name is an assurance of fluid reading, intelligent interpretation and quality in general. So it’s a great listen in that regard.
And the pace of the narrative, the ground covered and related events included all make for a lean, to-the-point breakdown of the culture, concerns and lives of the protagonists, without flab or padding.
However, the one flaw in this depiction is in the apparent flipping of the author’s point of view. Beginning the first third of his account by telling us of the events entirely from the point of view of the victim, stating them as fact and then spending the remainder of the book attempting to adopt an unbiased perspective. This switch occurs right at the point when the reader is expecting the author to lay out his reasoning as to why he has adopted his position and show us the historical evidence to back up his claims. The result is a lurching effect on the listener who, up to this point, has been faithfully following the retelling of an appalling crime, only to learn that it may just be an appalling slander. It is as though the author thought better of his biases after realising he had no conclusive evidence one way or the other, or he had just decided to begin his narrative with a novelist’s ear to the most impactful way to draw in the listener.
The effect is to leave most listeners with their established bias and a sense that the author has abandoned his own convictions. All of which could have been avoided with a few lines of qualification here and there. This opacity is further compounded when the author blurs the lines between his own conclusions and the people who’s views he is expressing, which is as much a problem of grammar and syntax as it is about muddled thinking.
Despite this rather damaging flaw, which leaves the listener confused about who said or did what and when, (a problem that we must lay as much at the feet of the editor as the author himself) it is still a fascinating listen. Worth the price of admission for those who want to peer through window into the Medieval psyche and the events that contributed to a moment of self reflection and change in Europe’s brutal culture.
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