Hark!
The Biography of Christmas
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Narrated by:
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Paul Kerensa
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By:
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Paul Kerensa
About this listen
In this delightful sleigh ride through Christmas history, Paul Kerensa answers the festive questions you never thought to ask....
Did Cromwell help shape the mince pie?
Was St Nicholas the first to use an automatic door?
Which classic Christmas crooners were inspired by a Hollywood heatwave?
And did King Herod really have a wife called Doris?
Whether you mull on wine or enjoy the biggest turkey, the biggest tree, or the biggest credit card bill, unwrap your story through our twelve dates of Christmas past. From Roman revelry to singing Bing, via Santa, Scrooge, and a snoozing saviour, this timeless tale is perfect trivia fodder for the Christmas dinner table.
©2017 Paul Kerensa (P)2019 Lion Hudson IP LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
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In Essential Asatru, renowned author and priestess Diana Paxson demystifies an ancient, rich, and often misunderstood religion, and offers a practical guide for its modern followers. Filled with clear, concise instructions on living Asatru every day, this truly accessible guide takes you on a journey from Asatru's origins in Scandinavian and German paganism to its recognition as an official religion in the 1970s and its widespread acceptance today.
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A most excellent introduction
- By Steven Kok on 04-22-21
By: Diana L. Paxson, and others
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A Pilgrimage to Eternity
- From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: Timothy Egan
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Moved by his mother's death and his Irish Catholic family's complicated history with the church, Timothy Egan decided to follow in the footsteps of centuries of seekers to force a reckoning with his own beliefs. He embarked on a thousand-mile pilgrimage through the theological cradle of Christianity, exploring one of the biggest stories of our time: the collapse of religion in the world that it created. The goal: walking to St. Peter's Square, in hopes of meeting the galvanizing pope who is struggling to hold together the church through the worst crisis in half a millennium.
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Adventures while in quarantine! ❤️
- By Mandi Lee on 03-25-20
By: Timothy Egan
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Castles, Customs, and Kings
- True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors
- By: Debra Brown, M.M. Bennetts
- Narrated by: Ruth Golding
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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A compilation of essays from the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, this book provides a wealth of historical information from Roman Britain to early 20th-century England. Over 50 different authors share hundreds of real life stories and tantalizing tidbits discovered while doing research for their own historical novels.
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Historical Tidbits
- By Troy on 08-03-15
By: Debra Brown, and others
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Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms
- Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East
- By: Gerard Russell
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms, former diplomat Gerard Russell ventures to the distant, nearly impassable regions where these mysterious religions still cling to survival. He lives alongside the Mandaeans and Ezidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran, the Copts of Egypt, and others. He learns their histories, participates in their rituals, and comes to understand the threats to their communities.
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Increase your understanding of the Middle East
- By Shaun on 03-17-15
By: Gerard Russell
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Religions of the World
- By: Neil Wenborn
- Narrated by: Adrian Grove
- Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Religion is central to the lives of millions of people around the globe. But how did the great religions begin, and what do their followers believe? Religions of the World tells the remarkable story of some of the faiths which have helped to shape the way we live today. Aimed at younger listeners, it introduces the history and scriptures, beliefs and customs of some of humanity’s most enduring religious traditions, and looks at their place in the lives of men, women and children across the world.
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Good, Concise- Should be mandatory reading for all
- By Gregory on 05-28-12
By: Neil Wenborn
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The Germans and Europe
- A Personal Frontline History
- By: Peter Millar
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on a lifetime living in and reporting on Germany and Central Europe, award-winning journalist and author Peter Millar tackles the fascinating and complex story of the people at the heart of our continent. Focussing on nine cities (only six of which are in the Germany of today), he takes us on a zigzag ride back through time via the fall of the Berlin Wall through the horrors of two world wars and the patchwork states of the Middle Ages to the splendour of Charlemagne and the fall of Rome.
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One of the best books I have listened to on here
- By Shaun on 05-17-18
By: Peter Millar
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God’s Secretaries
- The Making of the King James Bible
- By: Adam Nicolson
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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It is the greatest work of English prose ever written, and it is no coincidence that the translation was made at the moment “Englishness” and the English language had come into its first passionate maturity. Boisterous, elegant, subtle, majestic, finely nuanced, sonorous, and musical, the English of Jacobean England has a more encompassing idea of its own reach and scope than any before or since. It is a form of the language that drips with potency and sensitivity. The age, with all its conflicts, explains the book.
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Not what I was expecting
- By Greg on 12-29-13
By: Adam Nicolson
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J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Making of a Legend
- By: Colin Duriez
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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J.R.R. Tolkien's creations, imagination, and characters captured the attention of millions of readers. But who was the man who dreamt up the intricate languages and perfectly crafted world of Middle-earth? Tolkien had a difficult life, for many years: orphaned and poor, his guardian forbade him to communicate with the woman he had fallen in love with, and he went through the horrors of the First World War. An intensely private and brilliant scholar, he spent over 50 years working on the languages, history, peoples, and geography of Middle-earth,
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Very insightful
- By Luke B. on 10-27-20
By: Colin Duriez
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A Very British Christmas
- Twelve Days of Discomfort and Joy
- By: Rhodri Marsden
- Narrated by: Rhodri Marsden, Helen Keeley, Paul Tyreman
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Have Yourself a Very British Christmas is a 12-stage sleigh ride through the best, worst, strangest and funniest aspects of the Christmas holiday, with cultural icons saluted, national habits dissected and personal reminiscences from those who've eaten all the mince pies and lived to tell the tale. The essential Christmas stocking filler for every Brit who's ever found themselves on a deflating airbed wedged up against the washing machine in their parents' spare room come Christmas Eve.
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Great Christmas Fun
- By Robin L Childs on 11-13-20
By: Rhodri Marsden
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Consider the Women
- A Provocative Guide to Three Matriarchs of the Bible
- By: Debbie Blue
- Narrated by: Sheri Beth Dusek
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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A timely and compelling new look at three key women in the biblical narrative. Among the mostly male-dominated narratives in Scripture, the stories of women can be game-changing. In this book Debbie Blue looks closely at Hagar (mother of Islam), Esther (Jewish heroine), and Mary (Christian matriarch) - and finds in them unexpected and inviting new ways of navigating faith and life.
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The Full Spectrum Nature Of God Extolled
- By C. C. Dawn on 05-26-19
By: Debbie Blue