The Story of the Country House
A History of Places and People
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
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Story of the Country House
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Simon Vance
-
By:
-
Clive Aslet
About this listen
The fascinating story of the evolution of the country house in Britain, from its Roman precursors to the present.
The Story of the Country House is an authoritative and vivid account of the British country house, exploring how they have evolved with the changing political and economic landscape. Clive Aslet reveals the captivating stories behind individual houses, their architects, and occupants and paints a vivid picture of the wider context in which the country house in Britain flourished and subsequently fell into decline before enjoying a renaissance in the 21st century. The genesis, style, and purpose of architectural masterpieces such as Hardwick Hall, Hatfield House, and Chatsworth are explored, alongside the numerous country houses lost to war and economic decline. We also meet a cavalcade of characters, owners with all their dynastic obsessions and diverse sources of wealth, and architects such as Inigo Jones, Sir John Vanbrugh, Robert Adam, Sir John Soane, and A. W. N. Pugin who dazzled or in some cases outraged their contemporaries. The Story of the Country House takes a fresh look at this enduringly popular building type, exploring why it continues to hold such fascination for us today.
©2021 Clive Aslet (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Time Traveler's Guide to Regency Britain
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Ian Mortimer
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
In the latest volume of his celebrated series of Time Traveler's Guides, Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history—the Regency, or Georgian England. A time of exuberance, thrills, frills, and unchecked bad behavior, it was perhaps the last age of true freedom before the arrival of the stifling world of Victorian morality. At the same time, it was a period of transition. Conveying the sights, sounds, and smells of the Regency period, this is history at its most exciting—the past not as something to be studied, but as lived experience.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
SKIP THIS BOOK
- By Lady Aristotle on 09-05-22
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Noble Ambitions
- The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Roger May
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
A delicious romp, Noble Ambitions pulls us into these crumbling halls of power, leading us through the juiciest bits of postwar aristocratic history - from Mick Jagger dancing at deb balls to the scandals of Princess Margaret. Capturing the spirit of the age, historian Adrian Tinniswood proves that the country house is not only an iconic symbol, but a lens through which to understand the shifting fortunes of the British elite in an era of monumental social change.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Story could be told in a 10th of the time
- By Peter W. on 11-12-21
-
George V
- Never a Dull Moment
- By: Jane Ridley
- Narrated by: Joanna David
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 191
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 167
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 168
The grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II, King George V reigned over the British Empire from 1910 to 1936, a period of unprecedented international turbulence. Yet no one could deny that as a young man, George seemed uninspired. As his biographer Harold Nicolson famously put it, "he did nothing at all but kill animals and stick in stamps.” The contrast between him and his flamboyant, hedonistic, playboy father Edward VII could hardly have been greater.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
great but long listen
- By aleks r on 02-23-22
By: Jane Ridley
-
The Long Weekend
- Life in the English Country House, 1918-1939
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 30
As World War I drew to a close, change reverberated through the halls of England's country homes. As the sun set slowly on the British Empire, the shadows lengthened on the lawns of a thousand stately homes. In The Long Weekend, historian Adrian Tinniswood introduces us to the tumultuous, scandalous, and glamorous history of English country houses during the years between world wars.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Informational but a little dry at times
- By Shawn Humphrey on 09-19-18
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,941
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,931
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed, Interesting and Entertaining
- By Marc-Andr? on 05-13-10
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Crown & Sceptre
- A New History of the British Monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Tracy Borman
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 152
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 135
Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England’s various kingdoms, 41 kings and queens have sat on Britain’s throne. “Shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue’s gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs,” as Tracy Borman describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book for those new to the monarchy
- By Chris Corsini on 04-05-22
By: Tracy Borman
-
The Time Traveler's Guide to Regency Britain
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Ian Mortimer
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
In the latest volume of his celebrated series of Time Traveler's Guides, Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history—the Regency, or Georgian England. A time of exuberance, thrills, frills, and unchecked bad behavior, it was perhaps the last age of true freedom before the arrival of the stifling world of Victorian morality. At the same time, it was a period of transition. Conveying the sights, sounds, and smells of the Regency period, this is history at its most exciting—the past not as something to be studied, but as lived experience.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
SKIP THIS BOOK
- By Lady Aristotle on 09-05-22
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Noble Ambitions
- The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Roger May
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
A delicious romp, Noble Ambitions pulls us into these crumbling halls of power, leading us through the juiciest bits of postwar aristocratic history - from Mick Jagger dancing at deb balls to the scandals of Princess Margaret. Capturing the spirit of the age, historian Adrian Tinniswood proves that the country house is not only an iconic symbol, but a lens through which to understand the shifting fortunes of the British elite in an era of monumental social change.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Story could be told in a 10th of the time
- By Peter W. on 11-12-21
-
George V
- Never a Dull Moment
- By: Jane Ridley
- Narrated by: Joanna David
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 191
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 167
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 168
The grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II, King George V reigned over the British Empire from 1910 to 1936, a period of unprecedented international turbulence. Yet no one could deny that as a young man, George seemed uninspired. As his biographer Harold Nicolson famously put it, "he did nothing at all but kill animals and stick in stamps.” The contrast between him and his flamboyant, hedonistic, playboy father Edward VII could hardly have been greater.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
great but long listen
- By aleks r on 02-23-22
By: Jane Ridley
-
The Long Weekend
- Life in the English Country House, 1918-1939
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 30
As World War I drew to a close, change reverberated through the halls of England's country homes. As the sun set slowly on the British Empire, the shadows lengthened on the lawns of a thousand stately homes. In The Long Weekend, historian Adrian Tinniswood introduces us to the tumultuous, scandalous, and glamorous history of English country houses during the years between world wars.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Informational but a little dry at times
- By Shawn Humphrey on 09-19-18
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,941
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,931
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed, Interesting and Entertaining
- By Marc-Andr? on 05-13-10
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Crown & Sceptre
- A New History of the British Monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Tracy Borman
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 152
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 135
Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England’s various kingdoms, 41 kings and queens have sat on Britain’s throne. “Shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue’s gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs,” as Tracy Borman describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book for those new to the monarchy
- By Chris Corsini on 04-05-22
By: Tracy Borman
-
Unruly
- The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 709
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 639
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 638
In Unruly, David Mitchell explores how early England’s monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects’ destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky bastards who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hugely Entertaining (If You Like English History)
- By Jean Ogg on 10-09-23
By: David Mitchell
-
The Domestic Revolution
- How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything
- By: Ruth Goodman
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
No single invention epitomizes the Victorian era more than the black cast-iron range. Aware that the 21st-century has reduced it to a quaint relic, Ruth Goodman was determined to prove that the hot coal stove provided so much more than morning tea: It might even have kick-started the Industrial Revolution. Wielding the wit and passion seen in How to Be a Victorian, Goodman traces the tectonic shift from wood to coal in the mid-16th century - from sooty trials and errors during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I to the totally smog-clouded reign of Queen Victoria.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Zombie Apocalypse
- By PeachPecan on 12-25-20
By: Ruth Goodman
-
Henry ‘Chips’ Channon: The Diaries (Volume 1)
- 1918-38
- By: Chips Channon
- Narrated by: Tom Ward
- Length: 39 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
Born in Chicago in 1897, 'Chips' Channon settled in England after the Great War, married into the immensely wealthy Guinness family, and served as Conservative MP for Southend-on-Sea from 1935 until his death in 1958. His career was unremarkable. His diaries are quite the opposite. Elegant, gossipy and bitchy by turns, they are the unfettered observations of a man who went everywhere and who knew everybody.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Diary of a man on the Wrong Side of History
- By Last Lemming on 07-20-22
By: Chips Channon
-
The Architecture of Happiness
- By: Alain de Botton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 451
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 366
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 367
One of the great, but often unmentioned, causes of both happiness and misery is the quality of our environment: the kinds of chairs, walls, buildings, and streets that surround us. And yet, a concern for architecture is too often described as frivolous, even self-indulgent. Alain de Botton starts from the idea that where we are heavily influences who we can be, and argues that it is architecture's task to stand as an eloquent reminder of our full potential.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Many elegant words used for a simple topic.
- By Spirit on 08-15-17
By: Alain de Botton
-
Venice
- Pure City
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 78
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 75
The Venetians' language and way of thinking set them aside from the rest of Italy. They are an island people, linked to the sea and to the tides rather than the land. This latest work from the incomparable Peter Ackroyd, like a magic gondola, transports its listeners to that sensual and surprising city. His account embraces facts and romance, conjuring up the atmosphere of the canals, bridges, and sunlit squares, the churches and the markets, the festivals and the flowers.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
An endless droning list.....
- By jack on 03-15-11
By: Peter Ackroyd
-
Behind the Throne
- A Domestic History of the British Royal Household
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 218
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 198
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 197
In Behind the Throne, historian Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking the listener on a remarkable journey from one Queen Elizabeth to another and exploring life as it was lived by clerks and courtiers and clowns and crowned heads: the power struggles and petty rivalries, the tension between duty and desire, the practicalities of cooking dinner for thousands and of ensuring the king always won when he played a game of tennis.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very Worthwhile
- By G. Cole on 12-13-18
-
Servants
- A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times
- By: Lucy Lethbridge
- Narrated by: Helen Stern
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 134
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 133
From the immense staff running a lavish Edwardian estate and the lonely maid-of-all-work cooking in a cramped middle-class house to the poor child doing chores in a slightly less poor household, servants were essential to the British way of life. They were hired not only for their skills but also to demonstrate the social standing of their employers - even as they were required to tread softly and blend into the background. More than simply the laboring class serving the upper crust - as popular culture would have us believe - they were a diverse group that shaped and witnessed major changes in the modern home, family, and social order.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting but gaps in info, narration difficult
- By redsrule1 on 01-11-15
By: Lucy Lethbridge
-
The Fabric of Civilization
- How Textiles Made the World
- By: Virginia I. Postrel
- Narrated by: Caroline Cole
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 161
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 161
The story of humanity is the story of textiles - as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture. In The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel synthesizes groundbreaking research from archaeology, economics, and science to reveal a surprising history. From Minoans exporting wool colored with precious purple dye to Egypt, to Romans arrayed in costly Chinese silk, the cloth trade paved the crossroads of the ancient world.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Pop journalism article lengthened into a book
- By Anonymous User on 02-05-22
-
Dress Codes
- How the Laws of Fashion Made History
- By: Richard Thompson Ford
- Narrated by: Bill Andrew Quinn
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 25
For centuries, clothing has been a wearable status symbol; fashion, a weapon in struggles for social change; and dress codes, a way to maintain political control. Dress codes evolved along with the social and political ideals of the day, but they always reflected struggles for power and status.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Unlistenable
- By Lauren on 08-01-23
-
At Home
- A Short History of Private Life
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,496
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,743
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,727
Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.”
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bryson does it again
- By Robert on 10-15-10
By: Bill Bryson
-
Chaucer's People
- Everyday Lives in Medieval England
- By: Liza Picard
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Chaucer wrote about everyday people outside the walls of the English court-men and women who spent days at the pedal of a loom, or maintaining the ledgers of an estate, or on the high seas. In Chaucer's People, Liza Picard transforms The Canterbury Tales into a masterful guide for a gloriously detailed tour of medieval England, from the mills and farms of a manor house to the lending houses and Inns of Court in London. In Chaucer's People, we meet, again, the motley crew of pilgrims on the road to Canterbury.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A delight
- By Tad Davis on 05-10-19
By: Liza Picard
-
The Last Castle
- The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Denise Kiernan
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 988
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 880
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 876
Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage from one of New York's best known families. She grew up in Newport and Paris, and her engagement and marriage to George Vanderbilt was one of the most watched events of Gilded Age society. But none of this prepared her to be mistress of Biltmore House. Before their marriage, the wealthy and bookish Vanderbilt had dedicated his life to creating a spectacular European-style estate on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Very factual
- By Jennifer on 11-28-17
By: Denise Kiernan
Related to this topic
-
Paris to the Past
- Traveling Through French History by Train
- By: Ina Caro
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 85
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 77
In one of the most inventive travel books in years, Ina Caro invites listeners on 25 one-day train trips that depart from Paris and transport us back through 700 years of French history. Whether taking us to Orléans to evoke the visions of Joan of Arc or to the Place de la Concorde to witness the beheading of Marie Antoinette, Caro animates history with her lush descriptions of architectural splendors and tales of court intrigue. "[An] enchanting travelogue" (Publishers Weekly), Paris to the Past has become one of the classic guidebooks of our time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Day Trip From Paris?... Look No Further!
- By Simone on 11-19-13
By: Ina Caro
-
A Brief History of Life in Victorian Britain
- By: Michael Paterson
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 105
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 87
The Victorian era has dominated the popular imagination like no other period, but these myths and stories also give a very distorted view of the 19th century. The early Victorians were much stranger than we usually imagine, and their world would have felt very different from our own. It was only during the long reign of the Queen that a modern society emerged in unexpected ways.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Brief, But Insightful
- By Troy on 07-17-13
By: Michael Paterson
-
The Last Castle
- The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Denise Kiernan
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 988
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 880
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 876
Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage from one of New York's best known families. She grew up in Newport and Paris, and her engagement and marriage to George Vanderbilt was one of the most watched events of Gilded Age society. But none of this prepared her to be mistress of Biltmore House. Before their marriage, the wealthy and bookish Vanderbilt had dedicated his life to creating a spectacular European-style estate on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Very factual
- By Jennifer on 11-28-17
By: Denise Kiernan
-
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
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 60
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.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Historical Tidbits
- By Troy on 08-03-15
By: Debra Brown, and others
-
Life in Ancient Rome
- By: Lionel Casson
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Lionel Casson paints a vivid portrait of life in ancient Rome - for slaves and emperors, soldiers and commanders alike - during the empire's greatest period, the first and second centuries AD.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Informative
- By Iván on 11-17-24
By: Lionel Casson
-
At Home
- A Short History of Private Life
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,496
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,743
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,727
Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.”
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bryson does it again
- By Robert on 10-15-10
By: Bill Bryson
-
Paris to the Past
- Traveling Through French History by Train
- By: Ina Caro
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 85
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 77
In one of the most inventive travel books in years, Ina Caro invites listeners on 25 one-day train trips that depart from Paris and transport us back through 700 years of French history. Whether taking us to Orléans to evoke the visions of Joan of Arc or to the Place de la Concorde to witness the beheading of Marie Antoinette, Caro animates history with her lush descriptions of architectural splendors and tales of court intrigue. "[An] enchanting travelogue" (Publishers Weekly), Paris to the Past has become one of the classic guidebooks of our time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Day Trip From Paris?... Look No Further!
- By Simone on 11-19-13
By: Ina Caro
-
A Brief History of Life in Victorian Britain
- By: Michael Paterson
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 105
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 87
The Victorian era has dominated the popular imagination like no other period, but these myths and stories also give a very distorted view of the 19th century. The early Victorians were much stranger than we usually imagine, and their world would have felt very different from our own. It was only during the long reign of the Queen that a modern society emerged in unexpected ways.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Brief, But Insightful
- By Troy on 07-17-13
By: Michael Paterson
-
The Last Castle
- The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Denise Kiernan
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 988
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 880
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 876
Orphaned at a young age, Edith Stuyvesant Dresser claimed lineage from one of New York's best known families. She grew up in Newport and Paris, and her engagement and marriage to George Vanderbilt was one of the most watched events of Gilded Age society. But none of this prepared her to be mistress of Biltmore House. Before their marriage, the wealthy and bookish Vanderbilt had dedicated his life to creating a spectacular European-style estate on 125,000 acres of North Carolina wilderness.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Very factual
- By Jennifer on 11-28-17
By: Denise Kiernan
-
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
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 60
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.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Historical Tidbits
- By Troy on 08-03-15
By: Debra Brown, and others
-
Life in Ancient Rome
- By: Lionel Casson
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 5 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Lionel Casson paints a vivid portrait of life in ancient Rome - for slaves and emperors, soldiers and commanders alike - during the empire's greatest period, the first and second centuries AD.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Informative
- By Iván on 11-17-24
By: Lionel Casson
-
At Home
- A Short History of Private Life
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,496
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,743
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,727
Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.”
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bryson does it again
- By Robert on 10-15-10
By: Bill Bryson
-
Turner
- The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J. M. W. Turner
- By: Franny Moyle
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 17 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
J. M. W. Turner is one of the most important figures in Western art, and his visionary work paved the way for a revolution in landscape painting. Over the course of his lifetime, Turner strove to liberate painting from an antiquated system of patronage. Bringing a new level of expression and color to his canvases, he paved the way for the modern artist.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Balanced biography of a complex artist
- By Thomas S. on 05-05-17
By: Franny Moyle
-
The Mistresses of Cliveden
- Three Centuries of Scandal, Power, and Intrigue in an English Stately Home
- By: Natalie Livingstone
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 143
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 124
Overlooking the Thames, the Cliveden mansion is flanked by two wings and surrounded by lavish gardens. Throughout its storied history, Cliveden has been a setting for misbehavior, intrigue, and passion - from its salacious, deadly beginnings in the 17th century to the 1960s Profumo affair, the sex scandal that toppled the British government. Now, in this immersive chronicle, the manor's current mistress, Natalie Livingstone, opens the doors to this prominent house and lets the walls do the talking.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
disappointed
- By Galina M. on 11-14-16
-
Venice
- Pure City
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 78
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 75
The Venetians' language and way of thinking set them aside from the rest of Italy. They are an island people, linked to the sea and to the tides rather than the land. This latest work from the incomparable Peter Ackroyd, like a magic gondola, transports its listeners to that sensual and surprising city. His account embraces facts and romance, conjuring up the atmosphere of the canals, bridges, and sunlit squares, the churches and the markets, the festivals and the flowers.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
An endless droning list.....
- By jack on 03-15-11
By: Peter Ackroyd
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,941
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,931
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed, Interesting and Entertaining
- By Marc-Andr? on 05-13-10
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Henry VIII: King and Court
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 25 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 467
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 419
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 415
This magnificent biography of Henry VIII is set against the cultural, social and political background of his court - the most spectacular court ever seen in England - and the splendour of his many sumptuous palaces. An entertaining narrative packed with colourful description and a wealth of anecdotal evidence, but also a comprehensive analytical study of the development of both monarch and court during a crucial period in English history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A concise focus with tremendous detail
- By kwdayboise (Kim Day) on 05-24-17
By: Alison Weir
-
Castles
- Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
Beginning with their introduction in the 11th century, and ending with their widespread abandonment in the 17th, Marc Morris explores many of the country's most famous castles, as well as some spectacular lesser-known examples. At times this is an epic tale, driven by characters like William the Conqueror, King John, and Edward I, full of sieges and conquest on an awesome scale.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book!
- By B Hart on 06-21-18
By: Marc Morris
-
Paris Reborn
- Napoléon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Quest to Build a Modern City
- By: Stephane Kirkland
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
Traditionally known as a dirty, congested, and dangerous city, 19th Century Paris was transformed in an extraordinary period from 1848 to 1870, when the government launched a huge campaign to build streets, squares, parks, churches, and public buildings. The Louvre Palace was expanded, Notre-Dame Cathedral was restored and the French masterpiece of the Second Empire, the Opra Garnier, was built.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Why Paris looks the way it does today
- By Neil Chisholm on 11-28-13
-
The Time Traveler's Guide to Regency Britain
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Ian Mortimer
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 146
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
In the latest volume of his celebrated series of Time Traveler's Guides, Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history—the Regency, or Georgian England. A time of exuberance, thrills, frills, and unchecked bad behavior, it was perhaps the last age of true freedom before the arrival of the stifling world of Victorian morality. At the same time, it was a period of transition. Conveying the sights, sounds, and smells of the Regency period, this is history at its most exciting—the past not as something to be studied, but as lived experience.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
SKIP THIS BOOK
- By Lady Aristotle on 09-05-22
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Natasha's Dance
- A Cultural History of Russia
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 29 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 141
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 122
Beginning in the 18th century with the building of St. Petersburg - a 'window on the West' - and culminating with the challenges posed to Russian identity by the Soviet regime, Figes examines how writers, artists, and musicians grappled with the idea of Russia itself - its character, spiritual essence and destiny. He skillfully interweaves the great works - by Dostoevsky, Stravinsky, and Chagall - with folk embroidery, peasant songs, religious icons and all the customs of daily life, from food and drink to bathing habits to beliefs about the spirit world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Kaleidescopic panorama of an enigmatic culture.
- By Tarquin on 02-13-19
By: Orlando Figes
-
Germania
- In Wayward Pursuit of the Germans and Their History
- By: Simon Winder
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 138
Propelled by a wish to reclaim the brilliant, chaotic, endlessly varied German civilization that the Nazis buried and ruined, and that so many Germans have worked to rebuild, Germania was recorded to enlighten us on serious topics, curiosities, and on the limits of language, the meaning of culture, and the pleasure of townscape.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Very Droll but Almost Entirely Uninformative
- By Timothy Verseput on 03-13-19
By: Simon Winder
-
Leonardo and the Last Supper
- By: Ross King
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 171
Early in 1495, Leonardo da Vinci began work in Milan on what would become one of history's most influential and beloved works of art - The Last Supper. After a dozen years at the court of Lodovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, Leonardo was at a low point personally and professionally: at 43, in an era when he had almost reached the average life expectancy, he had failed, despite a number of prestigious commissions, to complete anything that truly fulfilled his astonishing promise.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Informative yet creative
- By Isabellabasil on 05-27-15
By: Ross King
-
The Judgment of Paris
- The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism
- By: Ross King
- Narrated by: Tristan Layton
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 476
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 344
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 339
While the Civil War raged in America, another very different revolution was beginning to take shape across the Atlantic, in the studios of Paris. The artists who would make Impressionism the most popular art form in history were showing their first paintings amid scorn and derision from the French artistic establishment. Indeed, no artistic movement has ever been, at its inception, quite so controversial.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Try this!
- By Robert on 10-28-08
By: Ross King
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
If Walls Could Talk
- An Intimate History of the Home
- By: Lucy Worsley
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 430
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 378
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 377
Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two "dirty centuries?" Why did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? Why, for centuries, did rich people fear fruit?In her brilliantly and creatively researched book, Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Compelling.
- By Kirsten on 06-05-12
By: Lucy Worsley
-
Serving Victoria
- Life in the Royal Household
- By: Kate Hubbard
- Narrated by: Kate Hubbard
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
During her 63-year reign, Queen Victoria gathered around herself a household dedicated to her service. For some, royal employment was the defining experience of their lives; for others it came as an unwelcome duty or as a prelude to greater things. Serving Victoria follows the lives of six members of her household, from the governess to the royal children, from her maid of honor to her chaplain and her personal physician.
By: Kate Hubbard
-
Noble Ambitions
- The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Roger May
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
A delicious romp, Noble Ambitions pulls us into these crumbling halls of power, leading us through the juiciest bits of postwar aristocratic history - from Mick Jagger dancing at deb balls to the scandals of Princess Margaret. Capturing the spirit of the age, historian Adrian Tinniswood proves that the country house is not only an iconic symbol, but a lens through which to understand the shifting fortunes of the British elite in an era of monumental social change.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Story could be told in a 10th of the time
- By Peter W. on 11-12-21
-
The Regency Years
- During Which Jane Austen Writes, Napoleon Fights, Byron Makes Love, and Britain Becomes Modern
- By: Robert Morrison
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
The Victorians are often credited with ushering in our current era, yet the seeds of change were planted in the years before. The Regency (1811-1820) began when the profligate Prince of Wales - the future King George IV - replaced his insane father, George III, as Britain's ruler. Around the regent surged a society steeped in contrasts: evangelicalism and hedonism, elegance and brutality, exuberance and despair. The arts flourished at this time with a showcase of extraordinary writers and painters such as Jane Austen, Lord Byron, the Shelleys, John Constable, and J. M. W. Turner.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
What a time!
- By BK on 06-18-19
By: Robert Morrison
-
1939
- The Last Season
- By: Anne deCourcy
- Narrated by: Maggie Ollerenshaw
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 24
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 19
The season of 1939 brought all those "in Society" to London. The young debutante daughters of the upper classes were presented to the king and queen to mark their acceptance into the new adult world of their parents. They sparkled their way through a succession of balls and parties and sporting events. The season brought together influential people not only from society but also from government at the various events of the social calendar.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Costume, Movement and Manners...
- By Elisa R. Goodman on 04-19-22
By: Anne deCourcy
-
Minding the Manor
- The Memoir of a 1930s English Kitchen Maid
- By: Mollie Moran
- Narrated by: Veida Dehmlow
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 197
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 198
Mollie left school at age fourteen and became a scullery maid for a wealthy gentleman with a mansion house in London's Knightsbridge and a Tudor manor in Norfolk. Even though her days were long and grueling and included such endless tasks as polishing doorknobs, scrubbing steps, and helping with all of the food prep in the kitchen, Mollie enjoyed her freedom and had a rich life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Delightful little tale
- By E. Mathur on 03-25-15
By: Mollie Moran
-
If Walls Could Talk
- An Intimate History of the Home
- By: Lucy Worsley
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 430
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 378
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 377
Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two "dirty centuries?" Why did gas lighting cause Victorian ladies to faint? Why, for centuries, did rich people fear fruit?In her brilliantly and creatively researched book, Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Compelling.
- By Kirsten on 06-05-12
By: Lucy Worsley
-
Serving Victoria
- Life in the Royal Household
- By: Kate Hubbard
- Narrated by: Kate Hubbard
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
During her 63-year reign, Queen Victoria gathered around herself a household dedicated to her service. For some, royal employment was the defining experience of their lives; for others it came as an unwelcome duty or as a prelude to greater things. Serving Victoria follows the lives of six members of her household, from the governess to the royal children, from her maid of honor to her chaplain and her personal physician.
By: Kate Hubbard
-
Noble Ambitions
- The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Roger May
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
A delicious romp, Noble Ambitions pulls us into these crumbling halls of power, leading us through the juiciest bits of postwar aristocratic history - from Mick Jagger dancing at deb balls to the scandals of Princess Margaret. Capturing the spirit of the age, historian Adrian Tinniswood proves that the country house is not only an iconic symbol, but a lens through which to understand the shifting fortunes of the British elite in an era of monumental social change.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Story could be told in a 10th of the time
- By Peter W. on 11-12-21
-
The Regency Years
- During Which Jane Austen Writes, Napoleon Fights, Byron Makes Love, and Britain Becomes Modern
- By: Robert Morrison
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 128
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
The Victorians are often credited with ushering in our current era, yet the seeds of change were planted in the years before. The Regency (1811-1820) began when the profligate Prince of Wales - the future King George IV - replaced his insane father, George III, as Britain's ruler. Around the regent surged a society steeped in contrasts: evangelicalism and hedonism, elegance and brutality, exuberance and despair. The arts flourished at this time with a showcase of extraordinary writers and painters such as Jane Austen, Lord Byron, the Shelleys, John Constable, and J. M. W. Turner.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
What a time!
- By BK on 06-18-19
By: Robert Morrison
-
1939
- The Last Season
- By: Anne deCourcy
- Narrated by: Maggie Ollerenshaw
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 24
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 19
The season of 1939 brought all those "in Society" to London. The young debutante daughters of the upper classes were presented to the king and queen to mark their acceptance into the new adult world of their parents. They sparkled their way through a succession of balls and parties and sporting events. The season brought together influential people not only from society but also from government at the various events of the social calendar.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Costume, Movement and Manners...
- By Elisa R. Goodman on 04-19-22
By: Anne deCourcy
-
Minding the Manor
- The Memoir of a 1930s English Kitchen Maid
- By: Mollie Moran
- Narrated by: Veida Dehmlow
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 197
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 198
Mollie left school at age fourteen and became a scullery maid for a wealthy gentleman with a mansion house in London's Knightsbridge and a Tudor manor in Norfolk. Even though her days were long and grueling and included such endless tasks as polishing doorknobs, scrubbing steps, and helping with all of the food prep in the kitchen, Mollie enjoyed her freedom and had a rich life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Delightful little tale
- By E. Mathur on 03-25-15
By: Mollie Moran
-
Chaucer's People
- Everyday Lives in Medieval England
- By: Liza Picard
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Chaucer wrote about everyday people outside the walls of the English court-men and women who spent days at the pedal of a loom, or maintaining the ledgers of an estate, or on the high seas. In Chaucer's People, Liza Picard transforms The Canterbury Tales into a masterful guide for a gloriously detailed tour of medieval England, from the mills and farms of a manor house to the lending houses and Inns of Court in London. In Chaucer's People, we meet, again, the motley crew of pilgrims on the road to Canterbury.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A delight
- By Tad Davis on 05-10-19
By: Liza Picard
-
The Long Weekend
- Life in the English Country House, 1918-1939
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 30
As World War I drew to a close, change reverberated through the halls of England's country homes. As the sun set slowly on the British Empire, the shadows lengthened on the lawns of a thousand stately homes. In The Long Weekend, historian Adrian Tinniswood introduces us to the tumultuous, scandalous, and glamorous history of English country houses during the years between world wars.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Informational but a little dry at times
- By Shawn Humphrey on 09-19-18
-
Society's Queen
- The Life of Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry
- By: Anne de Courcy
- Narrated by: Charlotte Strevens
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 13
At the age of 21, Edith Chaplin married one of the most eligible bachelors of the day, the eldest son of the sixth marquess of Londonderry. Her husband served in the Ulster cabinet and was air minister in the National Government of 1934-5. Edith founded the Women's Legion during the First World War and was also an early campaigner for women's suffrage. She created the renowned Mount Stewart Gardens in County Down that are now owned by the National Trust.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Etoile NEOhio on 02-02-22
By: Anne de Courcy
-
Black Diamonds
- The Downfall of an Aristocratic Dynasty and the Fifty Years That Changed England
- By: Catherine Bailey
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
When the sixth Earl Fitzwilliam died in 1902, he left behind the second largest estate in 20th-century England, valued at more than three billion dollars in today's money - a lifeline to the tens of thousands of people who worked either in the family's coal mines or on their expansive estate. The earl also left behind four sons, and the family line seemed assured. But was it?
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Could use a good editor...
- By Phyllis on 04-30-18
By: Catherine Bailey
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,941
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,931
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed, Interesting and Entertaining
- By Marc-Andr? on 05-13-10
By: Ian Mortimer
-
A Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England
- By: Sue Wilkes
- Narrated by: Christine Rendel
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 16
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 12
Immerse yourself in the vanished world inhabited by Jane Austen's contemporaries. Packed with detail and anecdotes, this is an intimate exploration of how the middle and upper classes lived from 1775, the year of Austen's birth, to the coronation of George IV in 1820. Sue Wilkes skillfully conjures up all aspects of daily life within the period, drawing on contemporary diaries, illustrations, letters, novels, travel literature, and archives.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A fantastic companion to Regency novels
- By Nicole on 07-08-24
By: Sue Wilkes
What listeners say about The Story of the Country House
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- movielover
- 05-11-24
Fascinating to hear!
Anyone who is interested in country house life and historical backgrounds about them and the people who used to own them will love this book! Takes you right up until Covid so it covers a lot of ground — but so interesting that time flies!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Luccia
- 09-28-24
if you love houses
explains the evolution of house styles and style in general in England with an engaging voice
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ladyethyme
- 07-19-23
Very thorough
Very thorough overview of the country house from its medieval great hall to 2020 and the impact of Covid.
Some ppl complain about ‘it’s too architectural’ and yes, there’s large amounts dedicated to architecture and architects-but there’s a LOT of information about use/servants/politics/use/society etc.
Ppl that think it’s simply about architecture must not have read past the second chapter.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Tara K. Morrison
- 06-22-22
Good but not quite great
Enjoyed the narrator and the stories. Wasn’t quite as much history of the houses as I would have liked.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!