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Devil-Land
- England Under Siege, 1588-1688
- Narrated by: Emma Gregory
- Length: 24 hrs and 10 mins
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Publisher's summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
A Book of the Year 2021, as chosen by The Times, New Statesman, Telegraph and Times Literary Supplement.
A groundbreaking portrait of the most turbulent century in English history.
Among foreign observers, 17th-century England was known as 'Devil-Land': a diabolical country of fallen angels, torn apart by seditious rebellion, religious extremism and royal collapse. Clare Jackson's dazzling original account of English history's most turbulent and radical era tells the story of a nation in a state of near continual crisis.
As an unmarried heretic with no heir, Elizabeth I was regarded with horror by Catholic Europe, while her Stuart successors, James I and Charles I, were seen as impecunious and incompetent. The traumatic civil wars, regicide and a republican Commonwealth were followed by the floundering foreign-leaning rule of Charles II and his brother, James II, before William of Orange invaded England with a Dutch army and a new order was imposed.
Devil-Land reveals England as, in many ways, a 'failed state': endemically unstable and rocked by devastating events from the Gunpowder Plot to the Great Fire of London. Catastrophe nevertheless bred creativity, and Jackson makes brilliant use of eyewitness accounts—many penned by stupefied foreigners—to dramatize her great story. Starting on the eve of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and concluding with a not-so 'Glorious Revolution' a hundred years later, Devil-Land is a spectacular reinterpretation of England's vexed and enthralling past.
Critic reviews
"A big historical advance. Ours, it turns out, is a very un-insular 'Island Story'. And its 17th-century chapter will never look quite the same again." (John Adamson, Sunday Times)
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The Lady Queen
- The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial - and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages. On March 15, 1348, 22-year-old Joanna I, queen of Naples, stood trial for the murder of her husband before the pope and his court in Avignon. Determined to defend herself, Joanna won her acquittal against overwhelming odds. Victorious, she returned to Naples and ruled over one of Europe's most prestigious courts for the next three decades - until she herself was killed.
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Terrible mispronunciation of words
- By Amelie on 12-03-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Imprudent King
- A New Life of Philip II
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Philip II is not only the most famous king in Spanish history, but one of the most famous monarchs in English history: the man who married Mary Tudor and later launched the Spanish Armada against her sister Elizabeth I. This compelling biography of the most powerful European monarch of his day begins with his conception (1526) and ends with his ascent to Paradise (1603), two occurrences surprisingly well documented by contemporaries. Eminent historian Geoffrey Parker draws on four decades of research on Philip as well as a recent, extraordinary archival discovery - a trove of 3,000 documents in vaults in New York City....
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Great, but I jumbled
- By Missee on 03-18-19
By: Geoffrey Parker
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Francis I
- The Maker of Modern France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Catherine de Medici's father-in-law, King Francis of France, was the perfect Renaissance knight, the movement's exemplar and its Gallic interpreter. An aesthete, diplomat par excellence, and contemporary of Machiavelli, Francis was the founder of modern France, whose sheer force of will and personality molded his kingdom into the first European superpower. Arguably the man who introduced the Renaissance to France, Francis was also the prototype Frenchman - a national identity was modeled on his character.
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Rekindling salamandrine fires...
- By Adeliese Baumann on 09-29-18
By: Leonie Frieda
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The Sultan and the Queen
- The Untold Story of Elizabeth and Islam
- By: Jerry Brotton
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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When Queen Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope in 1570, she found herself in an awkward predicament. Now England's key markets would be closed to her Protestant merchants. To complicate matters, the staunchly Catholic king of Spain was determined to destroy her, bolstered by the gold pouring in from the New World. In a bold decision with far-reaching consequences, Elizabeth set her sights on the East.
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Essential for understanding our own era
- By marwalk on 07-21-19
By: Jerry Brotton
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King John
- Treachery and Tyranny in Medieval England: The Road to Magna Carta
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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King John is familiar to everyone as the villain from the tales of Robin Hood - greedy, cowardly, despicable, and cruel. But who was the man behind the legend? Was he a monster or a capable ruler cursed by bad luck? In this new book, best-selling historian Marc Morris draws on contemporary chronicles and the king's own letters to bring the real King John vividly to life. John was dynamic, inventive, and relentless but also a figure with terrible flaws.
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Interesting, but confusing
- By mkl929 on 08-09-21
By: Marc Morris
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The New World
- A History of the English Speaking Peoples, Volume II
- By: Sir Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Between 1485 and 1688, England became a Protestant country under Henry VIII. His daughter, Elizabeth I, battled for succession and supremacy at home, and the discovery of 'the round world' enabled a vast continent across the Atlantic to be explored. While this new era was spawning the beginnings of modern America, England was engaged in a bloody civil war and sustained a Republican experiment under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell.
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Churchill series
- By Elizabeth Weingarten on 08-27-08
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A Great and Terrible King
- Edward I and the Forging of Britain
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Edward I is familiar to millions as "Longshanks", conqueror of Scotland and nemesis of Sir William Wallace (in Braveheart). Yet this story forms only the final chapter of the king's action-packed life. Earlier, Edward had defeated and killed the famous Simon de Montfort, traveled to the Holy Land, and conquered Wales. He raised the greatest armies of the Middle Ages and summoned the largest parliaments. Notoriously, he expelled all the Jews from his kingdom.
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Fascinating book
- By Mary Elizabeth Reynolds on 04-13-15
By: Marc Morris
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Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him
- The Secret History Behind the Tudor Throne
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Julie Teal
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Henry VIII is best known in history for his tempestuous marriages and the fates of his six wives. However, as acclaimed historian Tracy Borman makes clear in her illuminating new chronicle of Henry’s life, his reign and reputation were hugely influenced by the men who surrounded and interacted with him as companions and confidants, servants and ministers, and occasionally as rivals - many of whom have been underplayed in previous biographies.
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Exceptional.
- By bigdjunta on 08-02-19
By: Tracy Borman
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Henry IV
- The Righteous King
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The talented, confident, and intelligent son of John of Gaunt, Henry IV started his reign as a popular and charismatic king after he dethroned the tyrannical and wildly unpopular Richard II. But six years into his reign, Henry had survived eight assassination and overthrow attempts. Having broken God's law of primogeniture by overthrowing the man many people saw as the chosen king, Henry IV left himself vulnerable to challenges from powerful enemies about the validity of his reign. Even so, Henry managed to establish the new Lancastrian dynasty and a new rule of law.
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Detailed and compelling
- By kayakman on 12-15-17
By: Ian Mortimer
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The Tudors
- The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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For the first time in decades, here, in a single volume, is a fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty, comprising some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. Acclaimed historian G. J. Meyer reveals the flesh-and-bone reality in all its wild excess.
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OUTSTANDING!
- By The Louligan on 03-15-10
By: G. J. Meyer
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Absolute Monarchs
- A History of the Papacy
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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With the papacy embattled in recent years, it is essential to have the perspective of one of the world's most accomplished historians. In Absolute Monarchs, John Julius Norwich captures nearly 2,000 years of inspiration and devotion, intrigue and scandal. The men (and maybe one woman) who have held this position of infallible power over millions have ranged from heroes to rogues, admirably wise to utterly decadent.
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A relentless succession of very old men
- By Nassir on 11-01-11
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Elizabeth
- The Forgotten Years
- By: John Guy
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Elizabeth was crowned at 25 after a tempestuous childhood as a bastard and an outcast, but it was only when she reached 50 and all hopes of a royal marriage were dashed that she began to wield real power in her own right. For 25 years she had struggled to assert her authority over advisers who pressed her to marry and settle the succession; now, she was determined not only to reign but also to rule.
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worth the credit
- By Lesley on 04-19-17
By: John Guy
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The great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig confided in his autobiography: “I have a pretty thorough knowledge of history, but never, to my recollection, has it produced such madness in such gigantic proportions.” He was referring to Germany in 1923, a “year of lunacy,” defined by hyperinflation, violence, a political system on the verge of collapse, the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and separatist movements threatening to rip apart the German nation. Bestselling author Volker Ullrich presents a riveting chronicle of one of the most difficult years any modern democracy has ever faced.
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Interesting read about economics
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Been looking for this book for a long time
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Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
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In Springfield, Massachusetts in 1651, peculiar things begin to happen. Precious food spoils, livestock ails, property vanishes, and people suffer convulsions as if possessed by demons. A woman is seen wading through the swamp like a lost soul. Disturbing dreams and visions proliferate. Children sicken and die. As tensions rise, rumours spread of witches and heretics and the community becomes tangled in a web of distrust, resentment and denunciation.
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George Washington claimed that anyone who attempted to provide an accurate account of the war for independence would be accused of writing fiction. At the time, no one called it the “American Revolution”: Former colonists still regarded themselves as Virginians or Pennsylvanians, not Americans, while John Adams insisted that the British were the real revolutionaries, for attempting to impose radical change without their colonists’ consent. With The Cause, Ellis takes a fresh look at the events between 1773 and 1783.
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Modest history primer, wished for more substance
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It was supposed to be a moment of great optimism, a cause for jubilation. The Congo was at last being set free from Belgium—one of seventeen countries to gain independence in 1960 from ruling European powers. At the helm as prime minister was charismatic nationalist Patrice Lumumba. Just days after the handover, however, the Congo’s new army mutinied, Belgian forces intervened, and Lumumba turned to the United Nations for help in saving his newborn nation from what the press was already calling “the Congo crisis.”
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Gram1950
- 03-28-24
Different Slant on the English Civil War
A very dull, slow reader didn’t help a very slow moving depiction of foreigners take on the chaos that was Stuart England . The book took an interesting slant on an oft told story but was told in a very slow pace. I finally listened at 1.5 to get through it.
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- John Birkhead
- 08-30-22
Fascinating
I very much enjoyed this book. The book covers the period from 1588 to around 1688. The detail and style make this a great read. Highly recommended.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-07-23
Great book, pity about narrator
The book is so well-written and researched. I have no problem with that. The problem is with the narration of this audiobook. Sadly, it looks like no quality control was done of the pronunciation of some of the foreign names/words. The voice is good, but when you pronounce “Mainz” as ‘mairz’ intead of ‘minez’ for English speakers, this is a shame. Or “Rheims”, when you pronounce it ‘reems’, I nearly felt like crying. It should be pronounced ‘haarns’ for English speakers with the ‘n’ hardly being audible. This is as close in English spelling I could make that particular pronunciation. Or “particulier”, should not be ‘particulair’. It should be ‘particooliay’.
Constantijn Huygens would be particularly dismayed by the butchering of his surname! ‘Hogans’! What the hell is that?? It should sound in Dutch like ‘Howhens’. ‘G’ in Dutch is sounded like an English ‘h’ for many words. I’ll give one last terrible pronunciation which has made me end this book prematurely and sadly. It was “Bogusław Radziwiłł”, a Polish personage. The narrator pronounced it ‘Boguslore Radziwill’. It shoud be ‘Boguswaf Radgiview’ in English spelling pronunciation. The ‘ł’ has a notch across its length for a reason, Emma.
I can’t take any more of this bombed audiobook. The narrator clearly didn’t put enough work into researching foreign words and pronunciation before going ahead. Perhaps maybe try reading it once through and then doing narration when familiar with all foreign words?? One would expect a better performance for a book that won the Wolfson prize. I wish Clare Jackson herself had performed it. I’m sure she would have done a stellar job.
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- K&S&T
- 10-01-22
The Exciting Made “Meh”
For a history buff, this account is coherent only because the story is known, but for a person seeking to learn about the period, it is an astounding array of highbrow, elite minutia with almost no explanation. Ultimately, instead of giving a new take, the book offers a set piece to display deep learning and knowledge that yields no greater understanding. Very disappointing.
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1 person found this helpful