Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Norman Conquest
- The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England
- Narrated by: Frazer Douglas
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.00 for first 30 days
The Norman Conquest
Buy Now for £21.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Editor reviews
Historian Marc Morris presents an enjoyable and modern account of the Norman invasion that created the foundation for the English nation. Beginning with the Saxon kings and the constant conflicts besetting England as she fell prey to both Vikings and Normans, Morris lays bare the intrigues and betrayals that marked the Anglo-Saxons' rule. With his silken voice and impeccable timing, narrator Frazer Douglas recounts these events with great familiarity and relish. Morris sets the stage for William the Conqueror's invasion and shows how his hopes for a united Anglo-Norman realm were dashed by rebellions, Viking invasions, and the demands of his fellow conquerors. Listeners will be entertained by this rambunctious look at the most important period of English history.
Summary
A riveting and authoritative history of the single most important event in English history: The Norman Conquest.
An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. An invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought.
This new history explains why the Norman Conquest was the most significant cultural and military episode in English history. Assessing the original evidence at every turn, Marc Morris goes beyond the familiar outline to explain why England was at once so powerful and yet so vulnerable to William the Conqueror’s attack; why the Normans, in some respects less sophisticated, possessed the military cutting edge; how William’s hopes of a united Anglo-Norman realm unraveled, dashed by English rebellions, Viking invasions, and the insatiable demands of his fellow conquerors.
This is a tale of powerful drama, repression, and seismic social change: the Battle of Hastings itself; the sudden introduction of castles and the massive rebuilding of every major church; the total destruction of an ancient ruling class. Language, law, architecture, and even attitudes toward life itself were altered forever by the coming of the Normans.
What listeners say about The Norman Conquest
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 03-01-19
Dreadful narration
The book is good, the narration is unbearable. First time I've had to return a 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
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs Su Underwood
- 10-02-22
Fascinating
I always enjoy Marc Morris’s books and this one did not disappoint.
The pronunciation of place names by the reader grated though. If an actor reads a book and neither they nor the technical people involved know anything of the subject, then it would help if they researched pronunciations beforehand.
Accordingly, if any prospective listeners live in Ely, they might want to avoid this rendition. I don’t live there and yet I wanted to scream by the end…
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joel Whitnell
- 26-07-23
Well worth your time
Great book, informative deep dive into a very misunderstood period in English history the only drawback was the bad pronunciation of the English and Norman towns/cities/castles…..
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- M Ghori
- 14-10-23
Really interesting
The book gives a good insight into a part of English history that isn’t so well known.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Caroline Anderson
- 22-06-24
Good book, off-putting narration
Sadly, I agree with all the comments regarding the narration. The book itself is good. But an altogether happier experience for both content and narration is the Anglo-Saxons by the same author which I can happily recommend.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mark Holmes
- 11-11-13
Thorough and entertaining
Would you consider the audio edition of The Norman Conquest to be better than the print version?
This is an excellent overview of the Norman Conquest, from it's pre-history in the early 11th Century to it's lasting legacy through British History. Morris will be criticised for being pro-Norman, but he does illustrate quite convincingly that Harold's claim to the throne was less than dubious. He's certainly no Norman apologist when it comes to the Harrying of the North and their ruthless political (if not literal) decapitation of the Saxon nobility.
What Morris does manage to do is to incorporate the source material effectively into the narrative. As such, he provides an insight into the way that Historian's handle the contemporaneous accounts of the Conquest whilst turning their author's into characters in their own right.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
Frazer Douglas' reading is slightly odd. He has a tendency to ponderous hesitancy and some of his pronunciation of place names is irritating (his rendering of Ely, the Cambridgeshire town, as EE-LIE rather than EE-LEE was particularly poor). Also, his adoption of a 'posh vicar' voice when quoting from the original source material grated after a while.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Antony
- 09-12-15
Great book but an odd narration style
Where does The Norman Conquest rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
The content was excellent, very well researched and presented the sources at much more than their face value. The critical evaluation of the evidence really added a lot to this book.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Edmund Ironside, the evidence suggests that he was a brave and strong leader but the hand he was dealt was spectacularly unlucky
What didn’t you like about Frazer Douglas’s performance?
The intonations were all wrong, giving the emphasis in the wrong places. He also paused mid-sentence and then resumed as if he were starting a new sentence. Some of the names and words were pronounced in a strange way. It took some getting used to at first but this did not detract from the excellent content.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No real emotional reaction just a series of "what if" pontifications
Any additional comments?
Great book, I'll seek out more by the same author
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 20-06-20
Most annoying, reader ever
Odd pauses, mid-sentence along with horrible mispronunciations of some names made this a disappointing listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lauren of Normandy
- 22-05-17
gripping!
was gripped. found it hard to leave it when I had to do everyday things.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Keith
- 16-06-18
Really engrossing story/narrative
Really engrossing narrative of this transformational period of history. May well change your preconceptions. It did mine.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!