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The White Ship
- Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
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The White Ship
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Summary
The sinking of the White Ship in 1120 is one of the greatest disasters England has ever suffered. In one catastrophic night, the king’s heir and the flower of Anglo-Norman society were drowned and the future of the crown was thrown violently off course.
In a riveting narrative, Charles Spencer follows the story from the Norman Conquest through to the decades that would become known as the Anarchy: a civil war of untold violence that saw families turn in on each other with English and Norman barons, rebellious Welsh princes and the Scottish king all playing a part in a desperate game of thrones. All because of the loss of one vessel – the White Ship – the medieval Titanic.
Critic reviews
"How a drunk teenager shipwrecked the monarchy.... As colourful and racy narrative history goes, this absolutely gallops. The White Ship whips through 100 years of complex history from the Norman Conquest to Henry II." (Daily Mail)
"Rooted in the medieval chronicles, but crafted like a Hollywood thriller. Spencer is one of the finest narrative historians around.... This story fairly rattles towards it terrible denouement." (Mail on Sunday)
"Charles Spencer has shown himself to be a perceptive and lively historian.... A gifted storyteller.... A complex tale spanning decades, with a rich, but rarely attractive cast of characters, pivoted on one single, tragic winter evening. It is an event and a period of history that should be better known, and now it will be." (The Times)
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What listeners say about The White Ship
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Susan Ryland
- 07-03-21
Good historical account
I enjoyed this history lesson about post 1066 and leading up to the Plantagenets. So much to learn and I had to turn down speed of the narrator to take it all in. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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2 people found this helpful
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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
- Mrs M E Burstow
- 03-11-20
Good Hospital Reading
My father is in hospital and getting rather board. He wanted a book which was interesting, intellectually stimulating and zipped along nicely.
The White Ship fulfilled the brief rather well.
A fascinating book. Well written. Which covers a less well known period in history.
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3 people found this helpful
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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
- S. J. Donnelly
- 22-07-21
worth reading
exceptional book, read lots of royal historical books before but this literally one of the best, so many details and well written not one bad thing I could say except it ended
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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
- R. Haylock
- 22-12-22
Held my attention
Often when listening to books on medieval history my mind drifts away. To much detail that to me seems of little relevance. This book gives a wide view of English history from just before the Norman conquest to Henry II. It gives details as they exist about the sinking of the White ship but does not stretch them out. It is far more about the effects the sinking had on English history in the context of the time. I do not understand the negative comments about the presentation, in my opinion the readers performance was well suited to the subject matter.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Sarah Wyatt
- 27-07-23
Excellent book!
This work is so informative and really puts the 1066 conquest into historical context. Very fast narration but it does make for active concentration! Will listen again and again!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-01-22
A gripping narrative of a complex period of history
Very well told with a wry humour at times. The writer captures the brutality and vitality of the period vividly.
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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
- Elke
- 20-12-22
Great book
I wanted to know more about what led to the anarchy and this answered all my questions really. I would love this in-depth book to go on! This whole time period is fascinating and as a woman totally infuriating!
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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
- Rob Fox
- 13-02-22
Great Book
A great telling of a violent and volatile part of English history. It has the build up , the sinking and the aftermath. It shows how the men and women of the age would use any means to gain more power and wealth.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jan Kaneen
- 15-09-21
Lesser know history brought brilliantly to life
This is such a tragic story brought vividly to life after having had historical events thoroughly contextualised first. Educational and enjoyable
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 03-09-21
Great book, terrible reading.
Excellent story but the reader has the dullest most wooden delivery and I couldn’t listen to anymore than an hour. I’ve bought the book instead so as not to put me off such a fascinating moment in history.
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8 people found this helpful