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)

Well written but mistitled

Monumental? Yes certainly. Excellently written? Quite so.
A history of the 14th century? No
A history of 14th century Europe? No
A history of 14th century Anglo-French relations? Yes that should sum it up.

Ms. Tuchman's work really is fantastic but it has been made out to be a history of the 14th century in Europe, which it is not. Details of the Church have been given but more were expected for one of the most dramatic 100 years period for the Church; a century which saw the violent passage of many heresies and of course also of the Great Schism. Further the author almost ignores into oblivion the Germanic princes and the Holy Roman Empire. Relations with the Orient too have been glossed over or brushed aside. It seems that Eastern Europe and Russia have no business being in Ms. Tuchman's. work and nor do the various emirates of Muslim Spain.

However whatever Ms. Tuchman does write about she writes really well. I don't think she has left out anything from the 14th century history of the Hundred Years War. The author goes into greats depths of the relations between the French and English courts, the lives of the nobles, the battles and the ideas of Chivalry, the trade, commerce and taxation aspects. Innumerable short annecdotes have been cleverly woven into the history to endear the reader to the work and to bring the history of the period alive. Unfortunately Ms. Tuchman always ends up only mildly chastising if not completely pardoning English war crimes and courtly machinations while condemning severely similar acts on the part of the French. She does however herself make note of a similar attitude of the 14th century English for their own atrocities vis a vis those committed by their French contemporaries.

The audiobook has been narrated really nicely by Ms Nadia May, crisp, fantastic pronunciation, well accented for non-English words (almost to a fault at times). It will be worth revisiting the audiobook just for her narration.

I would recommend it.

Exceptional!

Now this is what a "scholarly" book should be. Impeccably researched, this book brings to life a period of history that has always proved opaque to me. Ms. Tuchman has done an exceptional job. It's the kind of book that makes you feel like you're investing your time well!

Plagues, Pillaging, Anti-Popes, & Pointed Shoes!

Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror is a fascinating history. As she explores the historical context surrounding the “protagonist” of her book, the lord Enguerrand de Coucy (who seems less cruel, arrogant, and wasteful and more brave, capable, and appealing than most of his noble peers), Tuchman provides vivid details about every imaginable aspect of medieval life, among them: chivalry, marriage, love, sex, children, war, mercenaries, politics, economics, taxes, religion, fashion, sewage, literature, art, pogroms, and plague. One of my favorites is the nobility’s absurd fashion consisting of pointed shoes so long that their tips had to be curled up against the legs with golden chains. She also manages to tell the gripping overall story of the European 14th century, with many absorbing sub-plots featuring remarkable actors and events.

I love Tuchman’s irony, sympathy, empathy, enthusiasm, and attention to detail for her subject. She brings history to life and makes us care about the people involved in it, from the abused peasants to the arrogant nobility, all of whom are caught up in disasters both natural (like earthquake and plague) and artificial (like war and class division). One of the wonderful things about Tuchman’s book is how strange it makes 14th century worldview and life seem and yet at the same time how uncannily it holds them up to mirror our own era and culture. In the words of Voltaire quoted by Tuchman: “History never repeats itself; man always does.”

She excels at the pithy turn of phrase, like this throwaway line from the epilogue where she describes Henry V, “who at 25 was prepared, with all the sanctimonious energy of a reformed rake, to enter upon a reign of stern virtue and heroic conquest.”

Though at times Nadia May’s voice is a little scratchy, her reading perfectly captures the tone of Tuchman’s writing. It’s a pleasure to listen to her witty and fluid prose. All in all this was an incredibly illuminating book.

Plagues, Pillaging, Anti-Popes, & Pointed Shoes!

Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror is a fascinating history. As she explores the historical context surrounding the "protagonist" of her book, the lord Enguerrand de Coucy (who seems less cruel, arrogant, and wasteful and more brave, capable, and appealing than most of his noble peers), Tuchman provides vivid details about every imaginable aspect of medieval life, among them: chivalry, marriage, love, sex, children, war, mercenaries, politics, economics, taxes, religion, fashion, sewage, literature, art, pogroms, and plague. One of my favorites is the nobility's absurd fashion consisting of pointed shoes so long that their tips had to be curled up against the legs with golden chains. She also manages to tell the gripping overall story of the European 14th century, with many absorbing sub-plots featuring remarkable actors and events.

I love Tuchman's irony, sympathy, empathy, enthusiasm, and attention to detail for her subject. She brings history to life and makes us care about the people involved in it, from the abused peasants to the arrogant nobility, all of whom are caught up in disasters both natural (like earthquake and plague) and artificial (like war and class division). One of the wonderful things about Tuchman's book is how strange it makes 14th century worldview and life seem and yet at the same time how uncannily it holds them up to mirror our own era and culture. In the words of Voltaire quoted by Tuchman: "History never repeats itself; man always does."

She excels at the pithy turn of phrase, like this throwaway line from the epilogue where she describes Henry V, "who at 25 was prepared, with all the sanctimonious energy of a reformed rake, to enter upon a reign of stern virtue and heroic conquest."

Though at times Nadia May's voice is a little scratchy, her reading perfectly captures the tone of Tuchman's writing. It's a pleasure to listen to her witty and fluid prose. All in all this was an incredibly illuminating book.

The Gold Standard for Books of Its Kind

I'd always heard this book was "the gold standard" for history books on the Middle Ages. It's been on my radar for years, and for some reason, it kept getting backburnered. Now that I've gone through it, I can honest say that it's earned the high praise. As an overview of a single century, it provides both a microcosm of the Middle Ages as a whole and a fascinating storyscape of the events that defined the 14th century. There is nothing in this book that's overly difficult to consume, making it an ideal read for both enthusiast and expert alike. Tuchman knows her stuff, and she presents it in a way that speaks to the audience at their own level without insulting either end of the spectrum. That's so hard to do.

Not only is this book fair and balanced in regards to the distaster, drama, and people involved, it makes it a point of telling you so and demonstrating it at every turn by comparing the information to some of the more grandiose fallacies that are often believed. And as balanced as it is, it's still pretty clear that this is a century you wouldn't want to visit, let alone be a part of. It's the kind of book that, the deeper it goes, the more you will appreciate living in your own day and time, with all of the modern comforts to which you've grown accustomed.

Nadia May is superb as the narrator. Her French is spot-on, which is necessary for any book that discusses this era, and her tone is lively and engaging throughout. She reads this material in a way that says, "I'm interested in this, and you should be too."

Avoid the Audiobook

I would avoid the audiobook. The book itself is excellent but there are so many details, names, locations, and reasons to stop and ponder. It’s really hard to keep up and digest what’s being described when listening. But an even bigger issue is Nadia May is very difficult to hear. I was constantly raising the volume to hear and even then her thick accent obscured what she’s saying. It ended up being a slog to get through.

The grande dame of history brings it together

Much of this vast subject gets overwhelmed by the details. A century torn by death, plague, famine and war exacerbated by politics based more on personal whim than on any effort to make internal or international relations work is an uncomfortable mirror to our own. By the end Tuchman delivers a tale with much to teach us, filled with personality and warmth. I’m glad to have read it.

Needs to be abridged

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. The information was interesting, but way too detailed. Could be vastly improved by being abridged,

What three words best describe Nadia May’s performance?

Ok, but her voice went up and down, and I could not catch everything she was saying

Do you think A Distant Mirror needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

Huge unwieldy download

My major complaint is the size of the download files. My current MP3 player requires the Enhanced format, which makes files twice as large as the previous format 4, with no increase in audio quality. They are also no longer splitting up the book into smaller files. It is almost impossible to download a book without the latest in high speed connections,

I drive truck over the road, which leaves me lots of time to listen to audiobooks while driving, but I almost never have access to a good enough connection to download such large files. This download would cost ten dollars worth of bandwidth to download via my Verizon wireless hotspot and no truckstop WiFi network has proven stable enough to download such a large file. I was only able to download it by going to a local library to use their connection.

Catastrophically good!

I read this book 5 years ago and I just had to listen to its wonderful storytelling. Of a dark and terrible time; just when u think it can’t get worse...it does!!!
The Sham of Chivalry is exposed the problems caused by greedy elites. It’s a distant mirror indeed. They all act like Donald Trump would and boast like Donald trump does.