Agincourt

A Novel

De: Bernard Cornwell

Narrado por: Charles Keating

data-redactor-tag=""em"">Agincourt is classic Cornwell…[with] attention to historical detail, well-paced action, and descriptive writing that is a pleasure to read."" —data-redactor-tag=""em"">Bostondata-redactor-tag=""em""> Globe

Bernard Cornwell, the data-redactor-tag=""em"">New York Times bestselling “reigning king of historical fiction"" (data-redactor-tag=""em"">USA Today), tackles his most thrilling, rich, and enthralling subject yet—the heroic tale of data-redactor-tag=""em"">Agincourt. The epic battle immortalized by William Shakespeare in his classic data-redactor-tag=""em"">Henry V is the background for this breathtaking tale of heroism, love, devotion, and duty from the legendary author of the Richard Sharpe novels and the Saxon Tales. This extraordinary adventure will captivate from page one, proving once again and most powerfully, as author Lee Child attests, that “nobody in the world does this stuff better than Cornwell.""

Love me a little Medievalism

Sometimes i get a little medieval and what i like best is when a story is as true to history as possible - yet still weaves in enough fiction to capture the essence of life. This one does it well with a narrator who keeps it flowing well. As for violence, well - it was a violent age. I found it not too heavy, not too light. I may dig into the author's reccommended sources for some more of the history, but he did a great job of skimming over the complexities of politics and relating some human interest into the time period.

The Grit of the Middle Ages and Warfare

This book does not "pull its punches". Contained is ALL the grisly nastiness of the age such as: some priests having license to do murderous things, very intense cursing, and brutally honest descriptions of real hand to hand combat, (e.g. swords pushed into open visors.) NOT for the squeamish, this a very historically accurate account of a REAL battle between France and England, famous enough to have earned its own name. (In a world of nearly constant war that is no small thing.) The English had bowmen who were heroically strong. The book gives you a deep understanding of the incredible strength and dexterity required to draw an the very thick, heavy, powerful, deadly bows of that age, an arrow from which could slice through metal armor. Described is how life looked, felt, and even smelled to soldiers. The descriptions in Agincourt top any filmed brutal historical battle sequences by NOT avoiding ANY of the awful realities of such combat. To his credit the author cites references (at the end of the book), several conflicting accounts of actual battle statistics and a the very few liberties he took (it is historical fiction) with events and why. Regardless, this epic tale is perfectly narrated and produced. (FYI, Agincourt was the inspiration for Shakespeare's King Henry V.) All that makes Agincourt a "must read" for those wishing an incredibly compelling, fascinating, and gritty story. This is no dull history lesson. Rather the author puts you right smack in the middle of one of the most amazing battles ever fought.

A good book if you like mideaval battles

Cornwell spins an entertaining, albeit not particularly deep, tale surrounding the leadup and ultimate fighting of an actual battle between the French and the British. Apparently any Brit is supposed to know the story (or some variation) but for those of us in the colonies most of the history was all new. The story is a bit Hollywood at times, but overall it is an enjoyable book with a good reader. Half the book covers the day of the battle and that is, somewhat surprisingly, the most interesting part. You really feel the conflicting tensions and the description is far more riveting than I would have thought possible. That said, if you are not into the minutia of mideaval warcraft, then this may not be a good choice for you.

Two for the price of one

Cornwell's books are often dry. The blur between historical fiction and history almost disappears. I enjoy them because you 1) learn something you didn't know about a certain historical period; and 2) learn it while reading fiction! I always like my fiction liberally doused with history. Or is it vice versa?

This book was not as dry as other Conwell's I have read. It is gritty, bloody, dirty and disgusting. You are there in the middle of the mess surrounded by poor, stinking, starving wretches. And yet, for pages at a time you are participating in a great adventure.

I've read so much fact about this battle. I know it was an insignificant battle at the tale end of yet another ongoing and ultimately insignificant feud between England and France. But this little battle, that should never have been fought and the British should never have won has been studied by military tactitians for centuries. It's contribution to the art of war is undeniable. But it takes good fiction, like Cornwell's to make us think about the people behind the battle. How they felt, how they perceived the events as they occurred, how their perspective might have differed from the historians. That is what makes fiction a great way to explain history. And this book does that very well.

While it might not be Shakespeare, Cornwell's book does as much to explain the horrors of war as Henry V.

Great story, distracting theatrics

Would you listen to Agincourt again? Why?

I found the background music at the beginning of each chapter to be useless and distracting.

Would you be willing to try another one of Charles Keating’s performances?

No