Now Is the Time

De: Melvyn Bragg

Narrado por: David Timson

At the end of May 1381, the 14-year-old King of England had reason to be fearful: the plague had returned, the royal coffers were empty and a draconian poll tax was being widely evaded. Yet Richard, bolstered by his powerful, admired mother, felt secure in his God-given right to reign.

Within two weeks the unthinkable happened: a vast force of common people invaded London, led by a former soldier, Walter Tyler, and the radical preacher John Ball, demanding freedom, equality, and the complete uprooting of the Church and state. They believed they were rescuing the King from his corrupt ministers and that England had to be saved. And for three intense, violent days, it looked as if they would sweep all before them.

In this gripping novel, Melvyn Bragg brings an extraordinary episode in English history to fresh, urgent life on both a grand and intimate scale, vividly portraying its central figures.

It is an archetypal tale of an epic struggle between the powerful and the apparently powerless.

©2015 Melvyn Bragg (P)2015 Hodder & Stoughton

An Extraordinary Period in History Brought to Life

Would you consider the audio edition of Now Is the Time to be better than the print version?

I had not read the print version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love the entitled, influential Joan of Kent.

What does David Timson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator is superb and a joy to listen to.

Any additional comments?

I purchased this audio book after hearing the author interviewed on History Extra podcast. This tale brings to life a period of time I was not familar with in English history, and the extraordinary characters that populated it.