Creator: Patricia Hodge
Publication date: 2003-01-20
Dewey code: 920
RRP: £13.98
Price: £8.52
Review Elizabeth / HarperCollins Audio:The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Good Queen Bess; Elizabeth I holds a unique place in the English imagination as one of the nation's most powerful, charismatic and successful monarchs. Elizabeth is usually imagined as the icy, untouchable figure memorably recreated on screen by Bette Davis and Judi Dench, but that vision of Elizabeth ignores the turbulent years of her early life, from her birth as the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in 1533, until her accession to the throne in 1558 following the death of her sister Mary. It is these early years which are the subject of David Starkey's fascinating Elizabeth I, written to accompany his television series about the life of Elizabeth. Starkey argues that in her first 25 years Elizabeth "had experienced every vicissitude of fortune and ever extreme of condition. She had been Princess and inheritrix of England, and bastard and disinherited; the nominated successor to the throne and an accused traitor on the verge of execution; showered with lands and houses and a prisoner in the Tower". He draws on his skills as a respected Tudor historian to produce a deft account of the religious, political and dynastic maelstrom of mid-16th century England that reads "like a historical thriller". The book carefully picks its way through the finer points of contemporary religious conflict and the peculiarities of Tudor court ceremony, whilst also exploring the formation of Elizabeth's character in relation to a murdered mother, a charismatic father, a tortured sister, and a predatory guardian. Highly readable and written with verve and pace, this is a fascinating account of the young Elizabeth. -Jerry Brotton.
Publication date: 2003-09-29
RRP: £19.99
Price: £19.73
Review Pronti...via Rapid@Mente / European Schoolbooks:
Publication date: 2005-10-03
RRP: £14.67
Price: £14.67
Review Bring on the Empty Horses / Headline:
Edition: Abridged edition
Publication date: 2008-11-17
Dewey code: 158
RRP: £13.00
Price: £5.88
Review Conquering Procrastination: How to Stop Stalling and Start Achieving! / Simon & Schuster Audio:
Creator: William Hootkins
Edition: Unabridged
Publication date: 2005-09
Dewey code: 813
RRP: £61.75
Price: £57.00
Review Moby-Dick: Unabridged (Naxos Complete Classics) / Naxos AudioBooks:
Creator: Heather Chivers
Publication date: 2005-05-12
Dewey code: 398
RRP: £9.87
Price: £4.85
Review Playtime Rhymes (Book/CD): All Our Favourite Rhymes (Book & CD) / Orion:
Edition: Unabridged
Publication date: 2007-04-30
Dewey code: 211
RRP: £25.00
Price: £8.46
Review 1-2-3 of God / Sounds True Inc.,U.S.:
Publication date: 2004-07-19
RRP: £12.99
Price: £6.43
Review How to be Young and Other Shows (Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation) / HarperCollins Audio:
Publication date: 2004-06-07
RRP: £9.99
Price: £7.18
Review Sleepy Time Playsongs: Baby's Restful Day in Songs and Pictures (Playsongs) / A & C Black Publishers Ltd:
Creator: Alex Jennings
Edition: Abridged edition
Publication date: 2005-12-26
RRP: £15.99
Price: £7.26
Review Emperor: The Gods of War / HarperCollins Audio:
Creator: Martin Jarvis
Publication date: 2006-10-16
RRP: £19.56
Price: £16.09
Review A Dicken's Trilogy 2 / CSA WORD:
Creator: Robert Powell
Publication date: 2007-09-06
RRP: £16.63
Price: £13.87
Review The Secret History of the World / Quercus Publishing Plc:
Creator: Martin Jarvis
Edition: Abridged
Publication date: 2002-09-30
RRP: £13.99
Price: £7.64
Review The Wind in the Willows (Junior Classics) / Naxos AudioBooks:
Authors
- Sir Bobby Robson
- Paul Hayward
Dewey code: 796
RRP: £14.99
Price: £7.99
Review Bobby Robson: Farewell But Not Goodbye - My Autobiography / Hodder & Stoughton Audio Books:Bobby Robson is a legend in British football, and his autobiography, Farewell but not Goodbye, is a lively and dramatic picture of a life lived in and for the Beautiful Game. While Robson has been granted almost godlike status in Newcastle and the North East, his career has touched on every aspect of the national sport. The book describes his days as a player for Fulham and West Brom in the 50s and 60s, the 20 England caps he collected over the years and (of course) his spectacularly successful career in management (all 40 years of it); there is no career quite like this in English football. We all know, of course, that sportsmen's autobiographies are customarily written with a little 'hidden assistance', and Paul Hayward's contribution here should not be overlooked. With the latter's subtle help, the opening chapters detailing Robson's childhood and early years in the North-East have a vividness and texture worthy of such writers as John Braine. But most readers will be keen to get to Robson's sporting career, and if they do a little judicious skipping of these early chapters, they can be forgiven. Soon, we're presented with some of the historic sporting achievements which have been part of Robson's stellar career. There is the `Hand of God' story, the ill-starred Paul Gascoigne's emotional breakdowns (which so endeared him to the nation) and the high tension of Robson's squiring the England team through two dramatic World Cups. Too many autobiographies have cheated the reader by drawing a discreet veil over the very things that we most wish to read about - but Robson will have no truck with such mealy-mouthed evasion; for the first time he describes the real story behind his sacking as Newcastle manager in 2004, and his five turbulent years at St James's Park is treated with similar frankness. -Barry Forshaw.
Publication date: 2007-06-01
RRP: £4.99
Price: £2.02
Review My First Book of Nursery Songs (Book & CD) / The Five Mile Press:
Creator: Emilia Fox
Edition: Abridged edition
Publication date: 2008-02-04
RRP: £16.99
Price: £9.49
Review The Other Boleyn Girl / HarperCollins Audio:Everyone knows the fate of Anne Boleyn, but not many know the story of her rise to majesty and the part played by her rival and sister, Mary, who was Henry's mistress and mother to two of his bastard children before the dazzling older Boleyn girl even caught his eye. Philippa Gregory, whose own role as the Queen of historical romance grows more secure with each new novel, has surpassed her self with this epic tale of lust, jealousy and betrayal. The Other Boleyn Girl charts the lives of both Boleyns-each in their turn "the other Boleyn Girl"-and their fiercely ambitious, conniving family who used the girls as pawns to advance their own positions at the court of Henry VIII. At 13, Mary is little more than a child when she is presented to Henry, ordered by her scheming family to serve her King and country by opening her legs whenever commanded, or doing anything else the great monarch desires. And while his loins are satisfied, life at court is sweet for the unofficial Queen and her pushy coterie. Inevitably though, the King's eyes soon begin to wander and Mary is overlooked, helpless to do anything but aid her family's plot to advance their fortunes, replace her with Anne and give Henry the greatest gift of all: a son and heir. So good a job has Ms Gregory done at portraying the Boleyns and Howards as selfish, scheming, treacherous manipulators however, that it becomes increasingly hard to feel empathy for any of them. While Mary is merely hapless, Anne is the most ruthless of them all, so that instead of feeling cheated by knowing the outcome of her story, it only serves to help digest her unpalatable rise. Such a gruesome destiny was never more deserved. Ms Gregory has worked hard at researching her historical references. [+]Daily life at court is described in fascinating detail-from the relentless leisure pursuits, masques and banquets laid on for the easily bored King to the complex hierarchies and machinations of the courtiers. However, the fall of Queen Katherine of Aragon and her only child, the Princess Mary, and the politics of the competing European courts and the break with Rome are seen only as a backdrop to the bawdy goings-on of the Boleyns and their fateful race for the crown. -Carey Green.
Creator: Peter Purves
Publication date: 2000-06-05
Dewey code: 813
RRP: £13.70
Price: £9.98
Review Doctor Who Missing Stories: Galaxy Four / BBC Audiobooks Ltd:
Creator: Simon Callow
Publication date: 2007-09-06
RRP: £13.70
Price: £8.51
Review The Thames: Mirror of History Pt. 1: Sacred River / Random House Audiobooks:
Creator: Rosamund Pike
Publication date: 2009-02-05
RRP: £16.63
Price: £10.97
Review The Magician's Apprentice / Hachette Audio:
Edition: Abridged edition
Publication date: 2007-08-02
RRP: £12.72
Price: £3.98
Review Speeches That Changed the World / Quercus Publishing Plc:
| Browse Audio CDs:
Models & Brands:
Elizabeth, Pronti...via Rapid@Mente, Bring on the Empty Horses, Conquering Procrastination: How to Stop Stalling and Start Achieving!, Moby-Dick: Unabridged (Naxos Complete Classics), Playtime Rhymes (Book/CD): All Our Favourite Rhymes (Book & CD), 1-2-3 of God, How to be Young and Other Shows (Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation), Sleepy Time Playsongs: Baby's Restful Day in Songs and Pictures (Playsongs), Emperor: The Gods of War, A Dicken's Trilogy 2, The Secret History of the World, The Wind in the Willows (Junior Classics), Bobby Robson: Farewell But Not Goodbye - My Autobiography, My First Book of Nursery Songs (Book & CD), The Other Boleyn Girl, Doctor Who Missing Stories: Galaxy Four, The Thames: Mirror of History Pt. 1: Sacred River, The Magician's Apprentice, Speeches That Changed the World |
