Tudors, Peter Ackroyd
Tudors, Peter Ackroyd
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Tudors
The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I

Author: Peter Ackroyd

Narrator: Clive Chafer

Unabridged: 19 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/15/2015

Synopsis

From Henry VIII's cataclysmic break with Rome to the epic rule of Elizabeth I, the age of the Tudors comes to vivid life on the page.Peter Ackroyd, one of Britain's most acclaimed writers, brings the age of the Tudors to vivid life in this monumental book in his History of England series, charting the course of English history from Henry VIII's cataclysmic break with Rome to the epic rule of Elizabeth I.Rich in detail and atmosphere, Tudors is the story of Henry VIII's relentless pursuit of both the perfect wife and the perfect heir, of how the brief royal reign of the teenage king, Edward VI, gave way to the violent reimposition of Catholicism and the stench of bonfires under "Bloody Mary." It tells, too, of the long reign of Elizabeth I, which, though marked by civil strife, plots against her, and even an invasion force, finally brought stability.Above all, it is the story of the English Reformation and the making of the Anglican Church. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, England was still largely feudal and looked to Rome for direction; at its end, it was a country where good governance was the duty of the state, not the church, and where men and women began to look to themselves for answers rather than to those who ruled them.

About Peter Ackroyd

Peter Ackroyd is an award-winning author, as well as a broadcaster, poet, and historian. He holds a CBE for services to literature.

About Clive Chafer

Clive Chafer is a professional actor, director, producer, and theater instructor. Originally from England, he has performed on stage in the United States at many theaters, including California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Magic Theater, Utah Shakespearean Festival, and American Players Theater (Wisconsin). In 1993, he founded TheatreFIRST, the San Francisco Bay Area's only internationally oriented theater. He has taught theater at the University of San Francisco and the University of Portsmouth in the UK. His audiobook credits include The Last Lion, part three of William Manchester's epic biography of Winston Churchill (for which he won an AudioFile Earphones Award), Colin Cotterill's series of crime novels set in 1970s Laos and featuring the wonderful character of Siri Paiboun, the country's only coroner, and Cornelius Ryan's seminal WWII accounts The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far. He gained his Master of Fine Arts in staging Shakespeare from Exeter University in 2000 and graduated from the Drama Studio London in 1983. He has been a member of Equity and SAG-AFTRA for over twenty-five years. He recently moved back to his native England, and continues to narrate, act, and teach theater there.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sue

This truly inclusive work of history, the second of Ackroyd's History of England series, provides a close look at the evolution of England from an insular feudal country of parts to a nation ready to participate in the greater world on its own terms at the end of the 16th century. Ackroyd takes the......more

Quotes

“Ackroyd writes with such lightly worn erudition and a deceptive ease that he never fails to engage.” Telegraph (London)

“Superbly accessible and readable.” Financial Times (London)

“As so often in Ackroyd’s books there are irresistible small details of everyday life in historic London.” Daily Express (London)

“Ackroyd clearly relishes the wicked glamor of the family which presided over the Reformation, saw off the Spanish Armada, founded the British Empire, and left the country they ruled a great European power…Fluent and colorful.” Sunday Express (London)

“Peter Ackroyd is energetic and gifted enough to have mastered his sources and produced a sparklingly fresh account of Tudor England…Ackroyd has a wonderful eye for the telling detail, cameos that stick in the mind…If you want a finely written, racy account of the monster Henry VIII and his brood, a history book that really fires your imagination and is often so exciting that you cannot put it down, you should get this book.” Weekly Standard

“Ackroyd’s love of his subject shines through every page. This is a thrilling story that will delight readers interested in this period.” San Francisco Book Review

“Ackroyd’s thoroughly researched narrative of the notorious Tudors is colorful, engaging, and highly accessible to general readers.” Choice (Australia)

“Ackroyd’s books are a celebration of Englishness. One senses that he has an immense pride in the way aspects of modern life have evolved...This is a fascinating read, an accessible history where the immense research is wittily presented and where the ideas are profound and moving.” Newtown Review of Books (Sydney)

“The Tudor era was pivotal in English history and remains of perennial interest to the general reader. Ackroyd takes on this much-written-about family history in his new, highly engaging book…[with] rich prose and careful explanations.” Booklist (starred review)

“This is an accessible account, made even more so by anecdotes revealing the personalities of the main characters.” Publishers Weekly

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