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  • The Plantagenets

  • The Kings Who Made England
  • Written by: Dan Jones
  • Narrated by: Dan Jones
  • Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (124 ratings)

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The Plantagenets

Written by: Dan Jones
Narrated by: Dan Jones
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Publisher's Summary

This brilliant new audiobook explores the lives of eight generations of the greatest kings and queens that this country has ever seen, and the worst. The Plantagenets – their story is the story of Britain.

England’s greatest royal dynasty, the Plantagenets, ruled over England through eight generations of kings. Their remarkable reign saw England emerge from the Dark Ages to become a highly organised kingdom that spanned a vast expanse of Europe. Plantagenet rule saw the establishment of laws and creation of artworks, monuments and tombs which survive to this day, and continue to speak of their sophistication, brutality and secrets.

Dan Jones brings you a new vision of this battle-scarred history. From the Crusades, to King John’s humbling over Magna Carta and the tragic reign of the last Plantagenet, Richard II – this is a blow-by-blow account of England’s most thrilling age.

©2019 Dan Jones (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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What the critics say

‘Stonking narrative history told with pace, wit and scholarship about the bloody dynasty that produced some of England’s most brilliant, brutal kings’ Observer

‘Colourful and engaging … Jones has produced an absorbing narrative that will help ensure that the Plantagenet story remains stamped on the English imagination’ Sunday Times

‘Unapologetically about powerful people, their foibles, their passions and their weaknesses … vivid descriptions of battles and tournaments, ladies in fine velvet and knights in shining armour crowd the pages of this highly engaging narrative’ Evening Standard

‘Action-packed … Filled with fighting, personality clashes, betrayal and bouts of the famous Plantagenet rage’ Daily Telegraph

‘Dan Jones expertly weaves an enormous medieval tapestry, ranging from the Middles East of Richard the Lionheart's Third Crusade to the battlefields of the Hundred Years War’ Sunday Telegraph

‘This is an unashamedly royal history and even the most insatiable appetite for chivalric deeds and aristocratic violence will be sated by its conclusion’ Sunday Times

What listeners say about The Plantagenets

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Wonderful

Addictively good. Beautifully read, wonderfully written history. Entertaining and fresh. Listening to it on walks made the time fly by.

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Your

If you think politics are corrupt now then take a listen to the story of this time period.

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wild times

another great one from the author. so much history and intrigue. I enjoyed this one. a little slow half way but kept going and glad i did!

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Brilliantly curated

Excellently chronicled historical story telling. I'll definitely be listening to it again. I found myself seeking out opportunities to listen at home.

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Excellent audiobook.

The story, the details and the performance make this audiobook a must have. I Love reading and listening about medieval history and this audiobook is a fine addition to my collection. Very clear and entertaining. Based on my experience with The Plantagenets, I will surely buy more of Dan Jones audiobooks.

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Very good overview

Very good and engaging summary of the rule of the Plantagenets without getting too bogged down. Added Dan Jones’ other works to my wishlist

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A Well-Read Gloss

Dan Jones, as both author and narrator, is clearly a TV presenter first and a historian second. Excellent presentation redeems a history which attempts to cover far too much too quickly, with the outcome a shallow gloss of the Plantagenet dynasty. It is given a little too much to salacious quotations and too little to deep analysis, even if the most basic questions, not least of which is whether the mere fact of continuous lineage is sufficient grounds to consider Plantagenet rule in England as a historic period. Fine for a casual listen, but a serious student of English history will want to seem out more thorough work with more precise focus.

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Very good overall book

My one bone of contention was ending the book at Richard II. Henry the IV was still a Plantagenet. The story of the Plantagenets natural ending should be at the end of the War of the Roses with the ascension of Henry VII and the beginning of the Tudor Dynasty. There is no ‘Lancaster Dynasty’!. I was sad to miss the telling of the battle of Agincourt. I liked how Jones was not afraid to mince words or make excuses for the lesser kings like John, Edward II, and Richard II.

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Far better then a text book

I have read and listened to many boring, dry and overly technical history books, but this is nothing like those. This work is entertaining without glossing over the historical truths or making changes for dramatic effect. Dan Jones reads to us in conversational English without dumbing the language down and makes the reader actually enjoy learning about this period. I highly recommend viewing his 4 part documentary on the Plantagenets (down through Timeline) to see these larger then life figures in action.

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Medieval Transformations Explained

Trace the history of the development of English political institutions as illustrated by colorful characters such as Richard the Lionheart and Edward Longshanks. Narration by the author adds a great personal touch!

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2 people found this helpful