The Anglo-Saxons

A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 - 1066

By: Marc Morris

Narrated by: Roy McMillan

Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

A sweeping and original history of the Anglo-Saxons by national best-selling author Marc Morris.

Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters.

The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings. It explores how they abandoned their old gods for Christianity, established hundreds of churches, and created dazzlingly intricate works of art. It charts the revival of towns and trade, and the origins of a familiar landscape of shires, boroughs, and bishoprics. It is a tale of famous figures like King Offa, Alfred the Great, and Edward the Confessor, but also features a host of lesser known characters - ambitious queens, revolutionary saints, intolerant monks, and grasping nobles. Through their remarkable careers, we see how a new society, a new culture, and a single unified nation came into being.

Drawing on a vast range of original evidence - chronicles, letters, archaeology, and artefacts - renowned historian Marc Morris illuminates a period of history that is only dimly understood, separates the truth from the legend, and tells the extraordinary story of how the foundations of England were laid.

©2021 Marc Morris (P)2021 Penguin Audio, all rights reserved. Published by Brilliance Publishing, Inc.

Great book, just bought another

Learned so much and just bought a 3rd Marc Morris book. And I’m from Kansas.

Good but perhaps not great

It’s a good overview of the Anglo-Saxons. Maybe the most comprehensive as I’m not an expert.

But it was quite slow until the story got to Alfred. Maybe not fair due to the lack of source material. Even the narrator seemed to sense this as his tone and excitement changed noticeably at that point.

Terrific and gripping history

This is a wonderful book and is a comprehensive treatment of a period of history that has spotty documentation. Dr. Morris writes with vigor and humor and I actually laughed out loud a few times. Morris tells us what is true, what is conjecture, and what is myth. It really is terrific.

Engrossing

And illuminating, especially on root meanings for words and phrases. It is told and read in an easy to follow manner

Amazing!

Great read, wonderful information about the history of the Anglo-Saxons and their legacy. Definitely recommend.

Exactly What It Says On The Tin

I found the book engrossing, but it is only about the Anglo-Saxons, so not much in the way of Canute or William of Normandy for the fan of the period, even though they were Kings of the English in their own right (seeing as they are of course not Anglo-Saxons). Still, a very good history stretching from late Roman Britain to Harold the Saxon, so often swept over in more general histories.

Wonderful scholarship, compelling writing/audio

A fabulous contribution to a naggingly difficult period in history to read, study, or separate fact from fantasy. Marc Morris accomplishes this goal through thorough research that is well-paced, detailed (without becoming excessive), and comprehensive of the broader Anglo-Saxon history.

The Anglo-Saxons has accomplished a rare feat: a complete scholarly text, while also clean and approachable for a non-scholarly audience. The last bit is critical to its success, and rare. Public awareness and appreciation for Anglo-Saxon history is sadly limited to a small cast of characters and events (e.g., Alfred the Great, the Battle of Hastings, etc.), and this work provides a much wider universe and a far more thorough narrative. How the author was able to achieve this given the sparsity of the contemporary record I cannot know – makes it all the more impressive. The performer did a great job as well, especially given the range of languages and ancient words that had to be covered.

Enjoyable. Well done.

A stellar and engaging history

Providing depth and detail to a little-known chapter of history, this work is captivating in its scope and ability to give sense to a broad and sometimes confused era. It effectively explains the extent of our historical knowledge while still presenting a fully-fleshed out narrative that is full of tragedy and triumph. A really amazingly written and presented history

Very good

Loved the thoroughness of the treatment. Fine details included gave the feel of an interesting narrative, not just history.

Beautiful and Terrible

A wonderfully told story of the history of Anglo Saxons. I learned much, and will look for other titles by the author and narrator.