A Distant Mirror

The Calamitous Fourteenth Century

By: Barbara W. Tuchman

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A “marvelous history”* of medieval Europe, from the bubonic plague and the Papal Schism to the Hundred Years’ War, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Guns of August

*Lawrence Wright, author of The End of October, in The Wall Street Journal

The fourteenth century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and the exquisitely decorated Books of Hours; and on the other, a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague.

Barbara Tuchman reveals both the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived. Here are the guilty passions, loyalties and treacheries, political assassinations, sea battles and sieges, corruption in high places and a yearning for reform, satire and humor, sorcery and demonology, and lust and sadism on the stage. Here are proud cardinals, beggars, feminists, university scholars, grocers, bankers, mercenaries, mystics, lawyers and tax collectors, and, dominating all, the knight in his valor and “furious follies,” a “terrible worm in an iron cocoon.”

©1978 Barbara W. Tuchman (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Beautifully written, careful, and thorough in its scholarship.... What Ms. Tuchman does superbly is to tell how it was.... No one has ever done this better." (New York Review of Books)

"Barbara Tuchman at the top of her powers.... A beautiful, extraordinary book.... She has done nothing finer." (Wall Street Journal)

A fantastic guide to a forgotten century

Travelling through rural France on an extended holiday, I found this book an excellent guide to this period of the history of the region. Tuchman's style, knowledge and and enthusiasm for the subject, her ability to bring the long dead back to life with meaning added greatly to the experience. The narration by Nadia May, injected with enthusiasm, humour and expression, brought the castles, palaces, churches and village streets closer and heightened my ability to be able to see the past as it was lived, multi-dimensionally. Life in 14th century France and England was extremely hard, but we need to remember the struggles of all the history which shaped the future generations of these societies to understand who we are today. So often history is selective, but Tuchman has brought to our attention very detailed consequences of the actions of rulers, the revolts of the powerless, and the ruthlessness which which people of all ranks were treated. The book also reminded me that my life, compaired to that of my unknown ancestors, is so privileged. Thank you Barbara Tuchman and all who contributed to the amazing experience I had in listening to this book.

A great book...

Politics and war, but also daily life and the short sightedness of human ambition are brought to life in this excellent narrative of events in the 14th century. A pleasure to listen to the reading (I had the feeling the Queen of England was readig it to me). It makes you think of the stupidity and crazyness of the war in our 21st century. The bright pictures in this distant mirror helped me to reconcile myself with the darker side of our own times. And I met and lost a friend I never met....Angerand de Cousy, a bright and valliant man in this spectaculair cenury!

Informative but with tedious parts

I really enjoyed Barbara Tuchman’s renowned classic, The Guns of August. This book is just as detailed, and provides a lot of insight into the politics, wars, religion, cultural attitudes, economy, daily life, and structure of society in 14th century Western Europe.

However, the narrative momentum that made Guns such a good read (listen) wasn't as present here. Not that I can really blame the author, since writing about a long-past time period isn't the same as writing about events still in living memory (as WWI was in the 1960s), but listening to this book felt more like listening to a history professor give a lecture. To be be fair, Tuchman organizes a loose narrative around the life and times of a nobleman named Enguerrand de Coucy, whom she considers to be a representative figure of his times, but he's not really an absorbing character in his own right. I found the litany of specific religious and political affairs that filled the second half of the book a little too dry to hold my attention.

That said, the first half of A Distant Mirror was pretty interesting. Tuchman paints a picture of a complex, multilayered society that continued to evolve over a century, both from gradual changes and the impact of calamitous events like the Black Death. Through the book’s rich detail, we get a sense not only of how all the pieces of this world fit together, but why things had gotten to be as they were. A few lessons that stood out for me:

* Peasants and serfs gained more rights during this period, though not because of more egalitarian values. It was because the nobles needed money, and social mobility was what they could offer in return for rent. Advancements in war technology also improved peasant standing.

* The elaborate fashions and rules of etiquette came about from competition between the "new nobility" and the "old nobility", which resented the upstarts

* The characters in George R.R. Martin's popular Game of “Thrones” fantasy series weren't that far removed from their real-life inspiration. Knights followed the rules of chivalry with other nobility (at least superficially), but they were often quite nasty to everyone else. Mercenaries doubly so.

* The church wasn't as backwards as it's often portrayed as being. In fact, it could be a force for learning and tolerance. However, it was often caught between the politics of the nobility, the superstitions of the common folk, and the worldly ways of some of its own members. Sometimes, it promoted holy wars as a way to send the destructive warrior classes somewhere else.

* There were lots of uprisings by common and middle class folk, some of whom professed an idea of equality not all that distant from the one that inspired the American Revolution

* The Black Death was an apocalyptic event that had a huge impact on the attitudes of survivors

If you’re a fan of Barbara Tuchman or Middle Ages history, you’ll probably enjoy this book. However, I think only the biggest fans will want to do more than skim the second half. So, 4 stars for half one, 2 stars for half two, and 3.5 total.

A groundbreaking work of history

This was the first serious attempt at trying to reconstruct daily life in medieval Europe, as contrasted with the usual historical analyses of politics, wars, and famous personages. Tuchman pulls together all the research she could find, concentrating on one particular place in France to give the work the continuity needed for this exercise. It is unceasingly informative, entertaining, and readable. Highly recommended.

Excellent

I enjoyed listening to this book very much. The story was very interesting and informative. I learned much more than I had ever known about the medieval world. The narrator was very easy lit to listen to and kept my attention. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning history.

This book was unique, excellent, exiting.

It was not only about the middle ages, but about great and failed familys, kings, knights. It corretly shows the battles and fiests, human behavior, humanity and cruelty.

Good Book; So-So Narrator

I enjoyed the book, but the narration could have used editing to get rid of the numerous overlong and arbitrary pauses. I'd recommend other books by this author, but by all means avoid this narrator.

Fascinating book that led me to seek more.

If you could sum up A Distant Mirror in three words, what would they be?

Illuminating, inspiring, detailed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Enguerrand de Coucy is the landed aristocrat who links this history together. There were a number of other figures he encountered that I'd like to learn more about. I need to get a paper copy of this book for reference.

What about Nadia May’s performance did you like?

Her classy narration fit the subject.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No - too long.

Any additional comments?

I'd recommend finding a paper copy of this book to accompany the audio version if you are interested in further research. There are many names of places and people that are difficult to decipher by ear as they are obscure and French. There were so many fascinating stories and people that I'd like to learn more about, but I don't know where to begin.

Incredibly well documented and written

Where does A Distant Mirror rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of my favorite. Captivating like a novel and documented like a scholarly book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Distant Mirror?

The pest epidemics and its deep consequences on the social and political events of the century.

What does Nadia May bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great energy throughout this dense and complicated book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really, it is too long and detailed !

Any additional comments?

Nadia May delivers a great performance as long as she sticks to English. Unfortunately her French pronunciation is not very good and, as a native French speaker, I struggled to understand the French quotations or the name of some French locations.

History Repeats Itself

If the Middle Ages intrigues you, Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror makes it accessible and understandable. I wouldn't have "read" this book. I don't speak French, and I think I would have just skipped trying to remember the characters because I couldn't pronounce their names. This narration makes it easy to follow the machinations of the European leaders in the 1300's. By choosing a French nobleman as the focal point for her book, she kept the history in check. There's a lot here, but so interesting. I loved it. And I'm keeping it on my iPhone, just to have if I feel like checking in occasionally, because it's impossible for me to remember even a tenth of what she has to offer, so re-listening occasionally will be enjoyable.