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)

Exhaustive but exhausting

Any additional comments?

Not too long into this book I started to wonder if perhaps Tuchman was going to cover the life and events of every single person who was alive on this planet during the 14th century. Tuchman covers so much ground, introduces so many events, writes about so many people that by the end I felt as if the entire 14th century had fallen on top of me.

This isn't a bad book by any means - the fault lies entirely with myself. I'm not cut out to enjoy an endless parade of peoples and events that have no clear narrative. And while Tuchman does attempt to frame the century through the life of one man, de Coucy, I never felt like had a clear enough picture of him or how all the events she talks about truly effected him. And I suppose had she drawn a clearer picture then this book would have become more speculative and less factual which would have been counter to her purpose of recounting the events of this tumultuous century.

I should have known what I was getting into because the title uses the word 'distant', as in remote, 'mirror', as in a lens, and '14th century', as in the entire century and every single event that took place during those 100 years. Yet what I've come to realize about myself as a reader is that I prefer the personal over the grand informative, the mundane over the 'calamitous', and the microscopic over the macro. I'm far more interested in learning about how events effected just a few people and not the broad, sweeping strokes that effected all of a society. That's why I prefer literary fiction over this type of nonfiction.

However, Tuchman has produced a supreme work of knowledge and she is an excellent writer. She speaks with humor and wit and is ever lively - even mischievous such as when talking about the pointy shoes - so any failing to not be engaged my this tremendous work is all on me. Yet I still wish I could have gotten a more personal, more minute look at the people who were alive during this century. I felt that after awhile I was watching a parade - Danse Macabre - of tragic life after tragic life. And while it would be unreasonable for me to think many close personal accounts from the century remain (if they ever existed at all), I should look harder to find something that would engage me more than this book was able to.

I wanted to fall in love with this book, but it was far too academic for me, too distant, not nearly personal enough, and overwhelming in scope. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about the 14th century on the grand scale, but aside from a few points she makes about how religion and death and economics played a role in how people viewed themselves, I don't feel this book is able to (or was even attempting to) paint a clear picture of what it was to be an individual at the time.

Were someone were to write about the 20th and 21st century 600 years later and only wrote about the major headlines of those times I don't think we would have any better idea of what it was to actually be alive at the time than what Tuchman does here. Yes we would learn all about the major historical events of the day, but for me (and this is a matter of personal taste) I'm not interested in that sort of thing, I only care about the individuals and how they lived day to day. Most people do not live their lives according to the headlines.

But the failing is all mine. This is a work of historical nonfiction and not a novel and it attempts to show us the entire century. In that regard it is brilliant, it's just that it's so much information that it's hard to keep it all together. So while I can only critique the book that is and not the book as I want it to be then I have to admit this is a wonderful book and an excellent reading on a very distant time. Yet as as an engaging work that speaks to me as an individual, then I have to admit I failed this book because I'm just not cut out for it.

Informative but dense at times

I see most people seem to rate this book very highly. I don't and found the book a tough listen. I give the author kudos for presenting one of the best peeks into the start of the Renaissance at least from a mostly French perspective. A historian sometimes needs to tell a story in addition to presenting details. When this author is telling me about the bubonic plague or the schism within the Catholic church, she was holding my interest and keeping me on the edge of the seat. Unfortunately, that kind of story telling didn't happen that frequently in this book. I thought Simon Schama's 'History of Britain Vol I' covered the Renaissance (from the British perspective) much better because he never let the history get in the way of good story telling. Sometimes it makes for a better story when you leave things out and look at the big picture instead.

Excellent all round.

The history is almost unimpeachable, and is strikingly written. The narrator does the work justice. All round, excellent.

Interesting approach kept me hooked

Another great book from Barabara Tuchman. I thought the idea of following the life of one man--Enguerrand de Coucy--throughout the book was a successful one, because it gave a good balance of weaving in politics, war, and territorial acquisition with a description of everyday life on all social levels. The book is thoroughly researched and well written, but Nadia May's voice is really starting to get on my nerves. Stop sneering!

Amazing

A beautiful journey through the history of the middle ages that helps to understand the current world. Can I give it 6 stars?

Wonderful

Loved this history! Very detailed and interesting! Wonderful narration and writing. Glad I listened to it.

Accessible and Interesting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely! This is a very accessible look into a much over-looked period history. I came in with only the vaguest idea of this time in European history but I found myself quickly engaged.

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

The Battle of Nicopolis sticks out to me because of its world-shifting consequences - unknown and unseen at the time. As the author rightly points out, Fall of Constantinople is often considered the end of an era; however, the real turning point was this battle. The following half-century was just the death throes of that world.

Have you listened to any of Nadia May’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any of Ms. May's performances but I would gladly do so again. Her voice is clear, pleasant, and well-modulated. Her pace is very comfortable.

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

I would have loved to do that, however, the book is entirely too long for that.

Simply Incredible

Would you listen to A Distant Mirror again? Why?

I've listened to this book 4 or 5 times. It is that engrossing.

What did you like best about this story?

Where to begin? Seemingly every sentence contains a novel facts and the sentences woven into a beautiful tapestry.

What about Nadia May’s performance did you like?

Nadia May is terrific. She speaks with the author's authority.

Any additional comments?

This is a must have for anyone. Even if you have no interest whatsoever in medieval history, this book still a must have.

Engaging, entertaining, educational.

I can see that some people might discuss the organization, especially as you start the book. But at the end I think the focus and organization is fully justified - if only as a way to hold this much information in your head.

The majority of the content is based in western Europe as the concept is anchored to a person that lived for a large chunk of the century, was famous enough to have reference material to draw from, and not some extreme case or personality of the times. It kept the stories and context grounded. There is full acknowledgement of the "other" parts of the world and how they interacted. But the main discussion only extends as far as the focal point traveled to or interacted with those places.

What a fascinating time. The material is presented in a tempered way - judgement of customs and actions anchored in the time but also fair in judgement from a historical perspective. It continues to amaze that when you dive down into the daily life and resources or knowledge that people had available - the "craziness" of most times is relatable. The tools or speed or severity may be different...but people were and remain people driven by similar motivations.

The easiest comparison is the plague to the pandemic. People had the same confusion and fear in the beginning. Wanting to protect themselves but also help others. The spread back then took longer and counter measures were more extreme (though not more logical than some today). Today we might not burn a block to the ground with people inside, but we definitely close borders and kick people out. We follow theories of the moment just as they did - but now the theories change faster and spread wider. And some are based in actual science.

But fashion, politics, military ambitions, economics - same just without instagram, autonomous vehicles, or bitcoin.

Fantastic depiction of the 14th century

If you have an interest in the middle ages, and particularly in the social history of that time period, you absolutely have to read this book.

We are all familiar with the history books which describe the major battles of a particular time period or which concentrates on the political machinations. This book does this as well but with so much more.

If you want to learn how people dressed, what they ate, how much they were paid, how religion and war influenced their lives, what they died of etc, etc, then get this book now.
The best bit is that Barbara Tuchman doesn't just concentrate on the nobility. She covers all stratas of society from peasants to clerics, from dukes to brigands.

Some reviews have complained that this book spends too much time on the minutiae of daily life, but personally I think that this is the book's strongest point.
You actually get to know how people "really" lived during the 14th century.

The book does concentrate almost exclusively on western Europe, imparticular France. However, as so much of what happened in the 14th century centred around decisions and actions taken in what is now present day France this is perfectly understandable.

There is excellent coverage of the Black Death, the Papal Schism and of course the 100 years war.
We get a fascinating insight into how religion influenced daily life and what people actually believed and how much of that belief was actually practised.
Believe me, if you thought some of the scandals surrounding the Catholic church in the last few years were bad, you will be sobered when you here what they were up to during this time period.

My advice is not to get hung up on trying to remember all of the names of people and places covered in the book. Many of the names are similar and keeping track of interlinking families and alliances can often be tricky.
As long as you can keep track of the main characters its probably ok to let the rest just flow over you ... while you just enjoy absorbing the interesting titbits of information we are given along the way.

Personally I think the narration by Nadia May is the best ... note that a second version of the book is available from audible which is narrated by a different person.

There is no doubt that this book contains a massive amount of information. Some might find this daunting, but if you are really interested in life during the middle ages then you will lap it all up.