
Crypt
Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $22.98
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Alice Roberts
-
By:
-
Alice Roberts
About this listen
CHOSEN BY WATERSTONES AS ONE OF THEIR BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF 2024
'Compulsive . . . A wonderful display of how modern archaeology can bring hidden histories to life' Daily Telegraph
'Gripping . . . I found it hard to put down' Evening Standard
'Another really good book from archaeologist Alice Roberts . . . Helps you understand the facts on a technical level, but also makes you feel them in your bones' New Scientist
'Robert's reflections on Thomas Becket and Canterbury Cathedral are especially entertaining . . . Fascinating' Spectator
The new book by Sunday Times bestselling author of Ancestors and Buried - the final instalment in Professor Alice Roberts' acclaimed trilogy.
We can unlock secrets from bones preserved for centuries in tombs, graves and crypts.
The history of the Middle Ages is typically the story of the rich and powerful, there’s barely a written note for most people’s lives. Archaeology represents another way of interrogating our history. By using cutting-edge science to examine human remains and burials, it is possible to unearth details about how individuals lived and died that give us a new understanding of the past – one that is more intimate and inclusive than ever before.
The seven stories in Crypt are not comforting tales. We meet the patients at one of the earliest hospitals in England and the victims of the St Brice’s Day Massacre. We see a society struggling to make sense of disease, disability and death, as incurable epidemics sweep through medieval Europe. We learn of a protracted battle between Church and State that led to the murder of Thomas Becket and the destruction of the most famous tomb in England. And we come face to face with the archers who went down with Henry VIII’s favourite ship, the Mary Rose.
Beautifully written and expertly researched by Professor Alice Roberts, Crypt is packed with thrilling discoveries that will make you see the history of Britain afresh.©2023 Alice Roberts (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, UK
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Ancestors
- A Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials
- By: Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Alice Roberts
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We often think of Britain springing from nowhere with the arrival of the Romans. But in Ancestors, pre-eminent archaeologist, broadcaster and academic Professor Alice Roberts explores what we can learn about the very earliest Britons – from their burial sites. Although we have very little evidence of what life was like in prehistorical times, here their stories are told through the bones and funerary offerings left behind, preserved in the ground for thousands of years.
-
-
Current narrative
- By James on 06-26-21
By: Alice Roberts
-
Buried
- An Alternative History of the First Millennium in Britain
- By: Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Alice Roberts
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Funerary rituals show us what people thought about mortality; how they felt about loss; what they believed came next. From Roman cremations and graveside feasts, to deviant burials with heads rearranged, from richly furnished Anglo Saxon graves to the first Christian burial grounds in Wales, Buried provides an alternative history of the first millennium in Britain.
-
-
Archaeology offers a different history of Britain
- By Laura Harley on 04-27-25
By: Alice Roberts
-
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being
- Evolution and the Making of Us
- By: Dr Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Dr Alice Roberts
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes - including why as embryos we have what look like gills - to those visible in your anatomy. This is a tale of discovery, exploring why and how we have developed as we have. This is your story, told as never before.
-
-
Evolutionary Anatomy
- By Gram1950 on 03-28-25
By: Dr Alice Roberts
-
Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party
- How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World
- By: Edward Dolnick
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrated storyteller and historian Edward Dolnick leads us through a compelling true adventure as the paleontologists of the first half of the 19th century puzzled their way through the fossil record to create the story of dinosaurs we know today. The tale begins with Mary Anning, a poor, uneducated woman who had a sixth sense for finding fossils buried deep inside cliffs; and moves to a brilliant, eccentric geologist named William Buckland.
-
-
Wonderful narration of an awesome history
- By BB on 09-26-24
By: Edward Dolnick
-
The Rival Queens
- Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal That Ignited a Kingdom
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for 30 years. Her youngest daughter, Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.
-
-
Definitely not a dull bio!
- By Nella on 07-04-15
By: Nancy Goldstone
-
Ancient Christianities
- The First Five Hundred Years
- By: Paula Fredriksen
- Narrated by: Rachel Perry
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ancient Mediterranean teemed with gods. For centuries, a practical religious pluralism prevailed. How, then, did one particular god come to dominate the politics and piety of the late Roman Empire? In Ancient Christianities, Paula Fredriksen traces the evolution of early Christianity—or rather, of early Christianities—through five centuries of Empire, mapping its pathways from the hills of Judea to the halls of Rome and Constantinople.
-
-
Among the best
- By Jacob Kilgore on 04-17-25
By: Paula Fredriksen
-
Ancestors
- A Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials
- By: Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Alice Roberts
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We often think of Britain springing from nowhere with the arrival of the Romans. But in Ancestors, pre-eminent archaeologist, broadcaster and academic Professor Alice Roberts explores what we can learn about the very earliest Britons – from their burial sites. Although we have very little evidence of what life was like in prehistorical times, here their stories are told through the bones and funerary offerings left behind, preserved in the ground for thousands of years.
-
-
Current narrative
- By James on 06-26-21
By: Alice Roberts
-
Buried
- An Alternative History of the First Millennium in Britain
- By: Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Alice Roberts
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Funerary rituals show us what people thought about mortality; how they felt about loss; what they believed came next. From Roman cremations and graveside feasts, to deviant burials with heads rearranged, from richly furnished Anglo Saxon graves to the first Christian burial grounds in Wales, Buried provides an alternative history of the first millennium in Britain.
-
-
Archaeology offers a different history of Britain
- By Laura Harley on 04-27-25
By: Alice Roberts
-
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being
- Evolution and the Making of Us
- By: Dr Alice Roberts
- Narrated by: Dr Alice Roberts
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes - including why as embryos we have what look like gills - to those visible in your anatomy. This is a tale of discovery, exploring why and how we have developed as we have. This is your story, told as never before.
-
-
Evolutionary Anatomy
- By Gram1950 on 03-28-25
By: Dr Alice Roberts
-
Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party
- How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World
- By: Edward Dolnick
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrated storyteller and historian Edward Dolnick leads us through a compelling true adventure as the paleontologists of the first half of the 19th century puzzled their way through the fossil record to create the story of dinosaurs we know today. The tale begins with Mary Anning, a poor, uneducated woman who had a sixth sense for finding fossils buried deep inside cliffs; and moves to a brilliant, eccentric geologist named William Buckland.
-
-
Wonderful narration of an awesome history
- By BB on 09-26-24
By: Edward Dolnick
-
The Rival Queens
- Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal That Ignited a Kingdom
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for 30 years. Her youngest daughter, Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.
-
-
Definitely not a dull bio!
- By Nella on 07-04-15
By: Nancy Goldstone
-
Ancient Christianities
- The First Five Hundred Years
- By: Paula Fredriksen
- Narrated by: Rachel Perry
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ancient Mediterranean teemed with gods. For centuries, a practical religious pluralism prevailed. How, then, did one particular god come to dominate the politics and piety of the late Roman Empire? In Ancient Christianities, Paula Fredriksen traces the evolution of early Christianity—or rather, of early Christianities—through five centuries of Empire, mapping its pathways from the hills of Judea to the halls of Rome and Constantinople.
-
-
Among the best
- By Jacob Kilgore on 04-17-25
By: Paula Fredriksen
-
A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages
- The World Through Medieval Eyes
- By: Anthony Bale
- Narrated by: Esh Alladi
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this vivid and alluring history, medievalist Anthony Bale invites listeners on an odyssey across the medieval world. Journeying alongside scholars, spies, and saints, from Western Europe to the Far East, the Antipodes and the ends of the earth, Bale provides indispensable information on the exchange rate between Bohemian ducats and Venetian groats, medieval cures for seasickness, and how to avoid extortionist tour guides and singing sirens.
-
-
Bit Academic
- By PG on 05-06-25
By: Anthony Bale
-
Embers of the Hands
- Hidden Histories of the Viking Age
- By: Eleanor Barraclough
- Narrated by: Eleanor Barraclough
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In imagining a Viking, a certain image springs to mind: a barbaric warrior, leaping ashore from a longboat, and ready to terrorize the hapless local population of a northern European town. Yet while such characters define our imagination of the Viking Age today, they were in the minority. Instead, in the time-stopping soils, water, and ice of the North, Eleanor Barraclough excavates a preserved lost world, one that reimagines a misunderstood society.
-
-
Author is an excellent reader!
- By K on 02-11-25
-
The Waiting Game
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens
- By: Nicola Clark
- Narrated by: Nicola Clark, Karen Cass
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every Tudor Queen had ladies-in-waiting. They were her confidantes and her chaperones. Only the Queen's ladies had the right to enter her most private chambers, spending hours helping her to get dressed and undressed, caring for her clothes and jewels, listening to her secrets. But they also held a unique power. A quiet word behind the scenes, an appropriately timed gift, a well-negotiated marriage alliance were all forms of political agency wielded expertly by women.
-
-
One of the best!
- By Patt LaPierre on 01-13-25
By: Nicola Clark
-
Mavericks
- Life Stories and Lessons of History's Most Extraordinary Misfits
- By: Jenny Draper
- Narrated by: Jenny Draper
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her first book, popular TikTok historian J Draper uses her characteristic wit and intellect to introduce us to extraordinary figures marginalized by history, and the lessons we can learn from them. Witty and engaging TikTok historian J.D. Draper digs out unusual stories of individuals that have shaped the world, and discovers the lessons their unique experiences can teach us. Breaking away from history as told through the lens of kings, queens and nobles, this book instead lifts the lid on 24 fascinating stories of little-known underdogs, mavericks, trailblazers and oddballs.
-
-
excellent writing
- By Anonymous User on 05-04-25
By: Jenny Draper
-
The Rest Is History
- From Ancient Rome to Ronald Reagan—History's Most Curious Questions, Answered
- By: Goalhanger Podcasts Ltd
- Narrated by: Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This entertaining companion to the massively popular history podcast tackles everything from Alexander the Great to Agatha Christie, the Wars of the Roses to Watergate—with a unique blend of wit, wisdom, and good old-fashioned banter. Featuring an introduction from podcast hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, this book cleverly demonstrates that the past—from modern to ancient and every time in between—is both closer to us than we might realize and bafflingly strange, all at once.
-
-
History is fun!
- By Brent Orrell on 03-10-24
-
Populus
- Living and Dying in Ancient Rome
- By: Guy de la Bédoyère
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frenzied crowds, talking ravens, the stench of the Tiber River: life in ancient Rome was stimulating, dynamic, and often downright dangerous. The Romans relaxed and gossiped in baths, stole precious water from aqueducts, and partied and dined to excess. From the smells of fragrant cookshops and religious sacrifices to the cries of public executions and murderous electoral mobs, Guy de la Bedoyere's Populus draws on a host of historical and literary sources to transport us into the intensity of daily life at the height of ancient Rome.
-
-
Narration is excellent!
- By Richard Curry on 08-10-24
-
The Gilded Page
- The Secret Lives of Medieval Manuscripts
- By: Mary Wellesley
- Narrated by: Mary Wellesley
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Medieval manuscripts can tell us much about power and art, knowledge and beauty. Many have survived because of an author’s status - part of the reason we have so much of Chaucer’s writing, for example, is because he was a London-based government official first and a poet second.
-
-
Not suited for audio
- By Secutor on 05-27-22
By: Mary Wellesley
-
Blood and Mistletoe
- The History of the Druids in Britain
- By: Ronald Hutton
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Crushed by the Romans in the first century A.D., the ancient Druids of Britain left almost no reliable evidence behind. Historian Ronald Hutton shows how this lack of definite information has allowed succeeding British generations to reimagine, reinterpret, and reinvent the Druids. Hutton's captivating book is the first to encompass two thousand years of Druid history and to explore the evolution of English, Scottish, and Welsh attitudes toward the forever ambiguous figures of the ancient Celtic world.
By: Ronald Hutton
-
In Search of the Dark Ages
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Search of the Dark Ages is an unrivalled exploration of the origins of English identity, and the best-selling book that established Michael Wood as one of Britain's leading historians. Now, on the book's 40th anniversary, this fully revised and expanded edition illuminates further the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest.
-
-
Michael Woods Narration makes it more enchanting to listen to
- By Little Willow on 11-23-23
By: Michael Wood
-
How to Survive in Medieval England
- By: Toni Mount
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Imagine you were transported back in time to Medieval England and had to start a new life there. Without mobile phones, iPads, internet, and social media networks, when transport means walking or, if you're fortunate, horseback, how will you know where you are or what to do? Where will you live? What is there to eat? What shall you wear? All these questions and many more are answered in this new guidebook for time-travelers. This lively and engaging book will help the listener deal with the new experiences they may encounter and the problems that might occur.
-
-
I love Toni Mount!
- By Kindle Customer on 01-08-25
By: Toni Mount
-
Foundation
- The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors: The History of England, Book 1
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Foundation the chronicler of London and of its river, the Thames, takes us from the primeval forests of England's prehistory to the death of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, in 1509. He guides us from the building of Stonehenge to the founding of the two great glories of medieval England: common law and the cathedrals. He shows us glimpses of the country's most distant past - a Neolithic stirrup found in a grave, a Roman fort, a Saxon tomb, a medieval manor house.
-
-
The Most Annoying Narrator EVER
- By JudieBee on 12-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
-
The Final Year of Anne Boleyn
- By: Natalie Grueninger
- Narrated by: Polly Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are few women in English history more famous or controversial than Queen Anne Boleyn. In this vivid and engaging account of the triumphant and harrowing final year of Queen Anne Boleyn's life, the author reveals a very human portrait of a brilliant, passionate, and complex woman.
-
-
About time
- By Naomi on 03-31-24
What listeners say about Crypt
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ben
- 02-16-25
Information
Professor Roberts is an excellent teacher and makes learning fun and exciting. Learned so much.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- NandMsMom
- 03-21-24
Wonderfully detailed
Prof. Roberts tells the most detailed stories! I’ve read her other two books, Ancestors and Buried, and Crypt is a wonderful continuation. I love how she gets into deep explanations behind the material she’s covering. Well worth the read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!