A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts

By: Robert Bucholz, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Bucholz

Length: 24 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

During the 229-year period from 1485 to 1714, England transformed itself from a minor feudal state into what has been called "the first modern society" and emerged as the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world.

Those years hold a huge and captivating story. The English survived repeated epidemics and famines, one failed invasion and two successful ones, two civil wars, a series of violent religious reformations and counter-reformations, and confrontations with two of the most powerful monarchs on Earth, Louis XIV of France and Philip II of Spain. But they did much more than survive. They produced a great culture, giving the world the ideas of John Locke, the plays of Shakespeare, the wit of Swift, the poetry of Milton, the buildings of Christopher Wren, the science of Isaac Newton, and the King James Bible, to name a very few. And, despite the cruelty, bloodshed, and religious suppression they visited upon so many, they ultimately left behind something else: the political principles and ideals for which we-and so many of them - would work and die, and on which we would build our own nation.

Now you can watch this remarkable panorama of society, economics, religion, and politics unfold in a series of 48 transfixing lectures by a justifiably honored teacher who takes you into the lives of not only Britain's ruling royal houses, but the English people themselves, describing how they were born, worked, played, worshiped, fell in love, and died.

Cinematic in their presentation and detail - whether describing the likely thoughts of Charles I on the way to his execution or the overheard weeping of Queen Anne after she fired her Lord Treasurer - these lectures are as memorable as the history they describe.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses

Well done

The author starts a bit and perhaps pompous, but he is thorough, engaging, and stirring. Well done and well worth the time.

Entertaining and Informative

Professor Bucholz is a very dynamic speaker with the ability to make history relatable to our times. A very enjoyable course.

Wonderful English History Course

When most people think of English history, they think of exactly the period this course covers. With names like Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and of course Shakespeare, these icons of English history provide a great backdrop for the course. Bucholz, with his intelligence and humor, helps to make the period come to life. I highly recommend this title.

Amazing

This was a great lesson and the narrator was fantastic. This makes me want to visit England!

England Before the Thirteen Colonies

As a student of early American history, I was fascinated by how much the events in 16th and 17th century England influenced the the lives of those who settled the thirteen colonies and their own government. Professor Bucholz's narrative is well organized and well presented. I can't wait for his next Great Courses lectures, perhaps on the Hanovers.

Fascinating and thorough

I did not agree with everything presented in here, especially his fawning over Queen Elizabeth, but found it to be an engaging overview of this period of English history. I enjoyed his not focusing only on the royalty and mobility but also calling to mind the myriad of common folk and how they lived through their names and stories are lost to history.

The final chapter was interesting listening in 2021. He is clearly more left leaning but still heaps on praise for the founders of America despite their shortcomings. And he points out that the American Declaration of Independence is essentially an English history lesson. He ties a lot of the content in it to specific episodes that were covered throughout the course. I wish that I had listened to the last chapter first to have that context during the course.

A great and insightful course

A great and insightful course on the history of Tudor-Stuart England. The lectures are surprisingly easy to listen to, and you can tell that the lecturer is very into what he discusses. The inclusion of Cultural History is also welcome.

Wonderful, fun, interesting!

Relatively easy to follow for being a history lesson. The presenter makes it fun and interesting!

Very entertaining history!

I gained a great understanding of how a constitutional monarchy developed in England, while listening to a professor who obviously enjoyed his subject immensely. He was very engaging as well as extremely informative. I highly recommend the series.

One of the best

Even if you're not familiar with this era - or have it mapped into your mental DNA like the rest of my Countrymen - this is one of the best. I wish there were more Bucholz TGG's on Audible. I finished with a new found perspective and warmth for a period that I hadn't read around too much - Carolingian England. And Charles II really does come alive, like the "talk show host" Bucholz compares him to. Henry VIII is more dour, moody, and dangerous, and Elizabeth's patina of "Blanchett-ness" is given a much needed sense of perspective.
For a backwater Kingdom who's peers later gave all their guts and garters to flesh out the characters of Blackadder, it's a brilliant weaving of a story of This Sceptered Isle and all the sculduggery in between.