Agincourt

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: Charles Keating

Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Agincourt is classic Cornwell...[with] attention to historical detail, well-paced action, and descriptive writing that is a pleasure to read." (Boston Globe)

Bernard Cornwell, the New York Times best-selling "reigning king of historical fiction" (USA Today), tackles his most thrilling, rich, and enthralling subject yet - the heroic tale of Agincourt. The epic battle immortalized by William Shakespeare in his classic 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 minute one, proving once again and most powerfully, as author Lee Child attests, that "nobody in the world does this stuff better than Cornwell."

©2009 Bernard Cornwell (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The greatest writer of historical adventures today." ( Washington Post)
"Nobody in the world does this stuff better than Cornwell. (Lee Child, author of Nothing to Lose)
"Readers who haven't discovered Bernard Cornwell don't know what they are missing....He may well be the best historical novelist writing today -- and Agincourt may well be his best novel yet. (Vince Flynn, author of Extreme Measures)

Excellent!

The marriage of the story with narrator was perfect! Keating does a great job capturing the characters personalities and moods and the ambiance of 15th century warfare in Europe. Cornwell did his research and put together a great tale with a lot factual information in it. The main character Nick, was an actual archer whose name was listed on the records that still exist as are some others in the book.

Great book... but for one thing..

Great narration, entertaining story... hated the music in random spots. they tried to add some flare, but it didn't work out..

Reality of war during the Middle Ages

The tale of historical fiction about the battle of Agincourt and the times leading up to the battle. Told through the eyes of a common man at arms and archer. Engrossing book about the infamous English and French battle. The brutality of war, the reality of life for a common soldier, and the uglier side of the church, are all brought to life in this well written story.

Wonderful historical adventure

Excellent story, historically accurate and compelling listening. Charles Keating is a great reader with voices and accents. I highly recommend it.

I learned So Much

Would you consider the audio edition of Agincourt to be better than the print version?

Moot

What was one of the most memorable moments of Agincourt?

The vivd descriptions of the powers of archers versus armour.

Which character – as performed by Charles Keating – was your favorite?

Father Christopher. He was a priest, but also a person of great common sense and an interpreter of war and human behavior. He was compassionate, but never foolish. He helped keep people grounded without being in total denial. He was equally protective of men and woman which in that time was just short of a miracle in itself.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

War is Always Hell.

Any additional comments?

Like most people, I didn!t know as much about this period of history as I did of ancient times or modern times. It brought home again to me how horrifying it would to have been a woman in this time period. Woman were just chattel and their fates were never in their hands. So many times, no rights and no recourse if ill treated. Lords and the church were all powerful and their word was law. The book shows how pride and money once again kills many who, when they figure out their real role is in a war, find it is too late to do anything but do or die.

Let's Go Medieval!

Would you consider the audio edition of Agincourt to be better than the print version?

I LIKED this reader. I can't say that it's BETTER than a print version, I just happen to prefer audio. Keating made the distinction between voices obvious without resorting to caricature...it's a fine balance. It's difficult sometimes in audio books to follow conversations with only one reader, but this was seamless.

What did you like best about this story?

Don't want to spoil the best part. Talk about “goin’ all Medieval”!! This has the best and most graphic battles ever. Cornwell is acknowledged as one of the best historical fiction writers of all time, and this novel is one of the best. It’s 1415 or thereabouts, before Joan of Arc --1420 or so -- and Henry VIII—1515--, when Henry V is making his stand in France, during the 100 years war. Historical fiction with humor is rare and this one pulls it off in some wonderful dialog.

Which scene was your favorite?

Sir John is hilarious and the rest of the dialog is very good. You’ll feel like your on the field with Hook, the Archer and the poor, arrogant French knights and men at arms.

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

Yes. I have the luxury of listening as long as I want almost all the time. I pick long books and generally don't miss a day without an audiobook as part of it.

Any additional comments?

I think this is Cornwell's best.

Good Story

overall a good story. it is an interesting accounting of a pivotal point in history told by interesting characters.

wonderful!

this is an excellent listen which any history buff will enjoy but it is also entertaining for all.

Review

I did not like the addition of music. The book, however, I found, was very interesting.

Amazing!

The first part of this novel is not for the faith of heart. However, the combination of Cornwell's storytelling and Keating's performance combine to make a great listening experience.