Customer Reviews

1000 Years of English Royalty: William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II (Audio Editions)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Given a recording with a title like "1000 Years of English Royalty: William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II," one might expect several miles of tapes with a very fast talking narrator supplying the facts. Audio Partners, however, has done the next best thing and boiled it all down to 1 hour and 54 minutes with Derek Jacobi doing the honors with a small cast reading from the chronicles and other sources of the times.

Actually, it would help if you had a fairly good idea of English history to begin with and simply used this tape both as a refreshener and source of interesting extra details. Those plunging into the material cold will enjoy it but might easily get confused.

This abridgment, written and produced by Richard Hampton and Davis Weston, makes a set of Monarch Notes (no pun intended) seem complete. But what facts are included are well chosen, often very funny (i.e., the size of George IV's stomach),and never less than fascinating. Jacobi is the perfect narrator with his faultless diction and (to say the least) flair for the dramatic. This set helped to shorten a very boring drive I had to take recently; and I think I will play it all again in the next few weeks just to catch anything I might have missed. A lot of fun from Audio Partners.

Unfortunately this series, especially the second tape, assumes the listerner already has a basic knowledge of the history presented. Readings from the monarch's actual letters,etc., prove annoying on repeated listening. At the same time, Derek Jacobi's reading is wonderful and these tapes present an excellent, if occasionally mystifying, overview of the kings and queens of England and their triumphs, mistakes and tribulations. Worth repeated listenings with liberal use of the fast forward button.

bought this as a gift for someone who has always been in love with old England! She enjoyed the book.