Essex Dogs Audiobook By Dan Jones cover art

Essex Dogs

A Novel

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Essex Dogs

By: Dan Jones
Narrated by: Ben Miles
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A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2023

The New York Times bestselling historian makes his historical fiction debut with an explosive novel set during the Hundred Years' War.

July 1346. Ten men land on the beaches of Normandy. They call themselves the Essex Dogs: an unruly platoon of archers and men-at-arms led by a battle-scarred captain whose best days are behind him. The fight for the throne of the largest kingdom in Western Europe has begun.

Heading ever deeper into enemy territory toward Crécy, this band of brothers knows they are off to fight a battle that will forge nations, and shape the very fabric of human lives. But first they must survive a bloody war in which rules are abandoned and chivalry itself is slaughtered.

Rooted in historical accuracy and told through an unforgettable cast, Essex Dogs delivers the stark reality of medieval war on the ground–and shines a light on the fighters and ordinary people caught in the storm.

©2023 Dan Jones (P)2023 Penguin Audio Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Medieval Military Thriller & Suspense War & Military Fiction Middle Ages War

Interview: Dan Jones’s Foray into Fiction Portrays the Middle Ages Like We’ve Never Heard Before

Essex Dogs
'Historical fiction is the gateway drug to history.'
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  • Essex Dogs
  • 'Historical fiction is the gateway drug to history.'
Compelling Characters • Historical Authenticity • Vivid Battle Scenes • Emotional Depth • Engaging Performance
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Very much enjoyed this tale and becoming friends with the characters. Looking forward to book in the series.

Wonderfully written

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I loved this book’s take on the historical time period and how the ordinary soldiers would have experienced them.

Realistic portrayal of the harsh times

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Enigmatic chunk of history brought to life with wonderful description, dialogue and details and anchored in firsthand sources. Real -feeling men. Felt I was there with all the hard asses in the raw and oddly ordered chaos. Fabulous delivery.

Raw and Real

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Swashbuckling entertainment, unfettered by character development. I would’ve appreciated had historical characters been identified as this does make a difference in how one appreciates a novel. Also, it was not clear that this is part one of an intended trilogy, which I would have not begun until the entire series had been released.

Swashbuckling

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This was my favorite book in a long time. I can’t wait for the next one!

Amazing

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This book's a great reminder that before D Day there were other invasions on those beaches. A great story and a fresh perspective following a band of man at arms at the start of the Hundred Years War.

Highly recommend!

A wonderful piece of historical fiction.

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It is quite an intense listen. It took me 6 months of on and off listening (I’m a painter and can easily finish a book this length in 2-3 days), but I am so so so glad I hung in for the whole of it. It was a lot and I needed breaks but I appreciated the attention to detail and historical accuracy Dan Jones brought to his (first?) novel. Throughly worth it.

Took 6 months but worth it

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I heard Dan on a History Hit podcast and knew this book would be interesting and funny… it didn’t disappoint! The narration is great, which is key when specific accents play a large part in character’s personalities.

Excellent!

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Not sure what I expected from my favorite historian but I was pleasantly surprised by this story. I loved how Mr. Jones infused reality (events as we know them to have happened) with our fearless band of Essex boys. I enjoyed the narrator as well (after I sped up the playback). All in all it was a great listen and I look forward to the sequel!

Quite good

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I’ve enjoyed much of Dan Jones’s highly readable history books so I was eager to see how he’d do at fiction. I’m pleased to say he’s taken his talent for building narratives and describing the medieval world and created an enjoyable (and educational) tale.

A superb exercise in historical fiction

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