King John
Treachery and Tyranny in Medieval England: The Road to Magna Carta
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Narrated by:
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Ralph Lister
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By:
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Marc Morris
About this listen
King John is familiar to everyone as the villain from the tales of Robin Hood - greedy, cowardly, despicable, and cruel. But who was the man behind the legend? Was he a monster or a capable ruler cursed by bad luck? In this new book, best-selling historian Marc Morris draws on contemporary chronicles and the king's own letters to bring the real King John vividly to life. John was dynamic, inventive, and relentless but also a figure with terrible flaws. In two interwoven stories, we see how he went from being a youngest son with limited prospects to the ruler of the greatest dominion in Europe, an empire that stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. His rise to power involved treachery, rebellion, and murder. His reign saw oppression on an almost unprecedented scale: former friends hounded into exile and oblivion; Wales, Scotland, and Ireland invaded; and the greatest level of financial exploitation since the Norman Conquest. John's tyrannical rule climaxed in conspiracy and revolt, and his leading subjects famously forced him to issue Magna Carta, a document binding him and his successors to behave better in future.
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By: Nancy Goldstone
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Four Queens
- The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Set against the backdrop of the turbulent 13th century, a time of chivalry and crusades, poetry, knights, and monarchs, comes the story of the four beautiful daughters of the count of Provence, whose brilliant marriages made them the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily.
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Interesting, informative
- By Eunice on 12-06-07
By: Nancy Goldstone
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The Greatest Knight
- The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones
- By: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Greatest Knight, renowned historian Thomas Asbridge draws upon the thirteenth-century biography and an array of other contemporary evidence to present a compelling account of William Marshal's life and times. Asbridge charts the unparalleled rise to prominence of a man bound to a code of honor yet driven by unquenchable ambition.
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The Biography of a Legend
- By Troy on 04-02-15
By: Thomas Asbridge
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Four Princes
- Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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John Julius Norwich - whom the Wall Street Journal called "the very model of a popular historian" - has crafted a big, bold tapestry of the early 16th century, when Europe and the Middle East were overshadowed by a quartet of legendary rulers, all born within a 10-year period. Against the vibrant background of the Renaissance, these four men laid the foundations for modern Europe and the Middle East, as they collectively impacted the culture, religion, and politics of their respective domains.
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For the most part, very informative.
- By Paula on 02-05-18
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The Borgias
- The Hidden History
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Enn Reitel
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of The Tudors and A World Undone. Sweeping aside the gossip, slander, and distortion that have shrouded the Borgias for centuries, G. J. Meyer offers an unprecedented portrait of the infamous Renaissance family and their storied milieu.
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Marvelous !
- By Cinders on 08-02-13
By: G. J. Meyer
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Francis I
- The Maker of Modern France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Catherine de Medici's father-in-law, King Francis of France, was the perfect Renaissance knight, the movement's exemplar and its Gallic interpreter. An aesthete, diplomat par excellence, and contemporary of Machiavelli, Francis was the founder of modern France, whose sheer force of will and personality molded his kingdom into the first European superpower. Arguably the man who introduced the Renaissance to France, Francis was also the prototype Frenchman - a national identity was modeled on his character.
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Rekindling salamandrine fires...
- By Adeliese Baumann on 09-29-18
By: Leonie Frieda
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The Black Prince
- England's Greatest Medieval Warrior
- By: Michael Jones
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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As a child, he was given his own suit of armor; at the age of 16, he helped defeat the French at Crecy. At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England's dominance in the Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but unruly Gascon nobility. He was Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to posterity as "the Black Prince".
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Outstanding history
- By Scott on 02-17-19
By: Michael Jones
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Sicily
- An Island at the Crossroads of History
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Michael Healy
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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"Sicily," said Goethe, "is the key to everything." It is the largest island in the Mediterranean, the stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the link between the Latin West and the Greek East. Sicily's strategic location has tempted Roman emperors, French princes, and Spanish kings. The subsequent struggles to conquer and keep it have played crucial roles in the rise and fall of the world's most powerful dynasties.
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DISAPPOINTING
- By SRdto on 11-22-16
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Imprudent King
- A New Life of Philip II
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Philip II is not only the most famous king in Spanish history, but one of the most famous monarchs in English history: the man who married Mary Tudor and later launched the Spanish Armada against her sister Elizabeth I. This compelling biography of the most powerful European monarch of his day begins with his conception (1526) and ends with his ascent to Paradise (1603), two occurrences surprisingly well documented by contemporaries. Eminent historian Geoffrey Parker draws on four decades of research on Philip as well as a recent, extraordinary archival discovery - a trove of 3,000 documents in vaults in New York City....
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Great, but I jumbled
- By Missee on 03-18-19
By: Geoffrey Parker
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Heretic Queen
- Queen Elizabeth I and the Wars of Religion
- By: Susan Ronald
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed biographer Susan Ronald delivers a stunning account of Elizabeth I that focuses on her role in the Wars of Religion - the battle between Protestantism and Catholicism that tore Europe apart in the sixteenth century. Elizabeth’s 1558 coronation procession was met with an extravagant outpouring of love. Only 25 years old, the young queen saw herself as the nation’s Protestant savior, aiming to provide new hope, prosperity, and independence from the foreign influence that had plagued her sister Mary’s reign. Given the scars of the Reformation, Elizabeth would need all of the powers of diplomacy and tact she could summon.
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a thorough history of a great lady
- By Angelus56 on 07-24-18
By: Susan Ronald
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Detailed and compelling
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Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings.
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A Balanced, Entertaining, and Informative History
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I really wanted to enjoy this -
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From acclaimed historian Chris Skidmore comes the authoritative biography of Richard III, England's most controversial king, a man alternately praised as a saint and cursed as a villain.
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Glad I read it now that it is over
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From 1337 to 1453 England repeatedly invaded France on the pretext that her kings had a right to the French throne. Though it was a small, poor country, England for most of those "100 years" won the battles, sacked the towns and castles, and dominated the war. Desmond Seward's critically acclaimed account of the Hundred Years War brings to life all of the intrigue, beauty, and royal to-the-death-fighting of that legendary century-long conflict.
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Superb narrator and fascintating history
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The Tudors are England's most notorious royal family. But, as Leanda de Lisle's gripping new history reveals, they are a family still more extraordinary than the one we thought we knew. The Tudor canon typically starts with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 before speeding on to Henry VIII and the Reformation. But this leaves out the family's obscure Welsh origins and the ordinary man known as Owen Tudor who would fall (literally) into a queen's lap - and later her bed.
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Each Tudor monarch made their name with a Dudley by their side—or by crushing one beneath their feet. The Dudleys thrived at the court of Henry VII but were sacrificed to the popularity of Henry VIII. Rising to prominence in the reign of Edward VI, the Dudleys lost it all by advancing Jane Grey to the throne over Mary I. That was until the reign of Elizabeth I, when the family was once again at the center of power and would do anything to remain there . . . With three generations of felled favorites, what was it that caused this family to keep rising so high and falling so low?
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Somewhere in the dim void between the departure from Britain of the Roman legions at the start of the fifth century and the days of the venerable Bede, the kingdoms of Early Medieval Britain were formed. But by whom? And out of what? Max Adams scrutinises the narrative handed down to us by later historians and chronicles, stripping away the most lurid nonsense about Arthur and synthesising the research of the last 40 years to tease out strands of reality from myth.
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Very interesting, but not in my truck
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Henry V
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This insightful look at the life of Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt casts new light on a period in history often held up as legend. A great English hero, Henry V was lionized by Shakespeare and revered by his countrymen for his religious commitment, his sense of justice, and his military victories. Here, noted historian and biographer Ian Mortimer takes a look at the man behind the legend and offers a clear, historically accurate, and realistic representation of a ruler who was all too human.
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Accessible, grounded, enjoyable
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The Wars of the Roses
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The 15th century saw the longest and bloodiest series of civil wars in British history. The crown of England changed hands five times as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. Now, celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains in history were thrown together in these turbulent times.
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No Need for a Score Card
- By Troy on 01-16-15
By: Dan Jones
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The Lady Queen
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- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
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The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial - and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages. On March 15, 1348, 22-year-old Joanna I, queen of Naples, stood trial for the murder of her husband before the pope and his court in Avignon. Determined to defend herself, Joanna won her acquittal against overwhelming odds. Victorious, she returned to Naples and ruled over one of Europe's most prestigious courts for the next three decades - until she herself was killed.
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Terrible mispronunciation of words
- By Amelie on 12-03-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
What listeners say about King John
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Wiz&Rib
- 10-25-23
Not The King John from Robin Hood
Let’s face it, John was a bad, bad king and you’ll certainly believe if after listening to this one.
Very good indeed.
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- Jill
- 02-14-22
Informative, not entertaining
I started this thinking that it was an historical fiction (like war of the roses), but it’s really a narrative of the life of King John and lays out the background to the creation of the Magna Carta. It was interesting enough to complete the book, but just barely. The performance was good, but the reader speaks in a bit of a halting pattern which grated on my nerves at times.
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-04-24
Loved it
First of all, the narrator was superb. There was so much information and with it being read to me I enjoyed it immensely.
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- TheoBabe
- 12-30-23
Outstanding narration makes it compelling
Well researched nonfiction and historical import are often read dryly. Lister’s narration of this thorough and fair assessment of a difficult king and his reign presents a solid and mostly lively presentation of all the issues.
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- Matt
- 03-12-17
The biased King John
Awkward organization, and very biased. Overall though, another solid effort by Marc Morris. Ralph Lister is very good.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jeff Lacy
- 10-14-20
Illuminating and intelligent
Excellent biography of this medieval king. Well sourced, clearly written, entertaining and illuminating. Ralph Lister is an excellent narrator.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ian
- 11-22-16
Great Overview of King John
Enjoyed the book overall, but it was a little distracting, especially in an audiobook, at the beginning. the book jumps from his early reign to the reign of his father and brother. I don't think this would have been quite as detracting in print form.
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2 people found this helpful
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- M. A Newman
- 09-19-21
A Medieval Narcissist
Possibly not until 2016 has there been a greater example of one who is totally unsuited to rule than King John. As is the case with his modern counterpart, John abused the competent people around him, disgraced the state he led and ultimately undermined it. When he assumed the throne in 1199, after the death of King Richard the Lion Hearted, King John possessed most of the territory of the British Isles. Scotland was definitely a second rate power, the Welsh and the Irish were in the Angevin orbit and continental possessions included Normandy, Anjou, Brittany, Gascony and the Aquitaine. It was the mightiest country in Europe.By the end of John’s reign, the country faced civil war, foreign invasion from Scotland and France with rumblings from Wales and Ireland. Continental territory was largely lost.
How did this happen in only 17 years? Personality and character played a great deal in this decline. John was devious, but not so devious as to be cleaver to overcome the obstacles he faced. He was also easily manipulated by the vastly smarter foreign rival Philip Augustus, who whittled away at the empire that John was ultimately unable to hold onto. Some things never change! In the end, John’s profound cruelty and lack of impulse control were his undoing, with Magna Carta, intended to limit tyranny by the monarch, his signature accomplishment.
Marc Morris has done an exceptional job in reproducing the actions of a really evil man and monarch. I had a low opinion of John before I read this book, if anything reality was even more so.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jesse
- 04-06-21
Thorough but narrow
Very detailed blow-by-blow account of John's life and reign. Could have used more analysis of underlying causes.
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- J.Brock
- 07-15-20
Great Review of a Terrible King
There's no disputing that King John was treachery defined. Marc Morris's "King John" goes into all of the details. Sometimes he gives John an abundance of the benefit of the doubt, while other times he truly puts his life in perspective. There isn't much positive to say about King John. The fact that his rule was so awful that it lead to the Magna Carta says all. All told, the book is balanced when it counts. Ralph Lister's narration is excellent.
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