Listen free for 30 days
-
Great-Uncle Harry
- A Tale of War and Empire
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $33.22
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
Michael Palin recreates the extraordinary life and tragic death of a First World War soldier—his great-uncle Harry.
Some years ago a stash of family records was handed down to Michael Palin, among which were photos of an enigmatic young man in army uniform, as well as photos of the same young man as a teenager looking uncomfortable at family gatherings. This, Michael learned, was his Great-Uncle Harry, born in 1884, died in 1916. He had previously had no idea that he had a Great-Uncle Harry, much less that his life was cut short at the age of 32 when he was killed in the Battle of the Somme. The discovery both shocked him and made him want to know much more.
The quest that followed involved hundreds of hours of painstaking detective work. Michael dug out every bit of family gossip and correspondence he could. He studied every relevant official document. He tracked down what remained of his great-uncle Harry's diaries and letters, and pored over photographs of First World War battle scenes to see whether Harry appeared in any of them. He walked the route Harry took on that fatal, final day of his life amid the mud of northern France. And as he did so, a life that had previously existed in the shadows was revealed to him.
Great-Uncle Harry is an utterly compelling account of an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life. A blend of biography, history, travelogue and personal memoir, this is Michael Palin at his very finest.
What the critics say
"An important historical record and a well-paced story in its own right, Great-Uncle Harry is also much more than that: a tremendous act of love." —The Guardian
“Palin’s Great-Uncle Harry . . . was a feast. Ostensibly, it was a tribute to Lance Corporal H.W.B. Palin, slain on the Somme in September 1916. But he did not merely recreate the life of a man whose body was ‘known unto God.’ Through years of research and hard writing he created a life.” —The Critic
“A remarkable work of forensic genealogy, reassembling the absent bones of a man who left scant clues, told with quiet, affectionate persistence. There was an obstinate opacity to the man, and yet Palin manages to revive him.” —StarTribune
More from the same
What listeners say about Great-Uncle Harry
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- t-bob
- 2023-11-11
Fascinating and moving
Palin makes even the plainest details fascinating to listen to, I was moved to tears several times listening. (My favourite part is where he describes the people in the photo, ending with his out of place great-uncle).
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mrs Colin
- 2023-10-28
Really enjoyed
I liked this book a lot - told through diaries and plenty of other research. Very well written and narrated. It details WW1 through the lens of Harry’s diaries. There is also a lot of background of Harry’s life and the rest of the family before the war which gives a good contrast between war and peacetime life.
Erebus by MP is also excellent while you are it :)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!