The Monarchy of England

The Beginnings

By: David Starkey

Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith

Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the first of three volumes, which, taken together under the over-arching title of Monarchy, will form a new, ground-breaking history of England as told through the lives of its Kings and Queens.

Volume one is an in-depth examination of how the English monarchy came into being, and how England became a nation state. It begins with Rome, the 'fount' from which all modern western European countries spring. The importance of the contrasting cultural and intellectual heritage of the Anglo-Saxons is underlined. Wessex, round which England coalesced in the ninth and tenth centuries, was a participatory society which balanced an effective monarchy at the centre with institutions of local governement which required - and got - the active involvement of most free men. It was this combination which enabled Wessex to survive and absorb the Viking invasions, and finally to thrive.

Then came the crisis of the Norman invasion when, as one contemporary put it, 'God ordered that the English should cease to be people'. But - as David Starkey demonstrates - the English proved resilient, and within forty years of the battle of Hastings had conquered Normandy. The values and practices of Anglo-Saxon politics had triumphed and the English nation state had been reborn.

This is popular history of the most exciting and challenging kind.

©2004 David Starkey (P)2004 Harper Collins UK

David Starkey's Monarchy

Not a purely factual history but a detailed assessment of the effects changes in monarchy had on the life and times of Britain. Fascinating!! Read by the author himself which gives the audiobook a greater impact.

Charming and Insightful

It's absolutely great when you think you know a little about a subject but then realise you know nothing, your perspective of historical events widens and world appears a little different. This book is about the evolution of the British Monarchy, but it is also as much about the development of the principles of modern parliamentry democracy, the English langauge and so much more. I loved it, and the narration was excellent!