The White Ship
Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
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The White Ship
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Narrated by:
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Richard Trinder
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By:
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Charles Spencer
About this listen
THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
‘As gripping as any thriller. History doesn't get any better than this’ BILL BRYSON ’A brilliant read … Game of Thrones but in the real world’ ANTHONY HOROWITZPICKED AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 BY THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, THE GUARDIAN, THE DAILY MAIL AND THE DAILY EXPRESS.
The sinking of the White Ship in 1120 is one of the greatest disasters England has ever suffered. In one catastrophic night, the king’s heir and the flower of Anglo-Norman society were drowned and the future of the crown was thrown violently off course.
In a riveting narrative, Charles Spencer follows the story from the Norman Conquest through to the decades that would become known as the Anarchy: a civil war of untold violence that saw families turn in on each other with English and Norman barons, rebellious Welsh princes and the Scottish king all playing a part in a desperate game of thrones. All because of the loss of one vessel – the White Ship – the medieval Titanic.
‘Highly enjoyable’ Simon Heffer
‘Brilliant’ Dan Jones
‘Fascinating’ Tom Bower
The #2 Sunday Times bestseller on Sunday 18 June 2021
©2020 Charles Spencer (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
‘How a drunk teenager shipwrecked the monarchy … As colourful and racy narrative history goes, this absolutely gallops … Whips through a hundred years of complex history from the Norman Conquest to Henry II’ Daily Mail
“Vividly conjures up this half-forgotten medieval tragedy and its consequences”Daily Mail, Books of the Year
“An epic, gripping history of hubris, piety, treachery, happenstance, rebellion and slaughter.” Catholic Herald
‘Rooted in the medieval chronicles, but crafted like a Hollywood thriller. Spencer is one of the finest narrative historians around’
Mail on Sunday
‘Charles Spencer is a gifted storyteller … Pivoted on one single, tragic winter evening. It is an event and a period of history that should be better known, and now it will be’
The Times
'Spencer proves himself more than a match for the story. He guides the reader well through the dramatic twists and turns of these years, which first placed Henry on the throne, then seemed set to deny the succession of his progeny. Spencer has a particularly good eye for detail, enriching his account with vivid pen-portraits of the main players … Fast-paced and immensely enjoyable'
Literary Review
‘Neglected by popular historians, [Henry I] … has found a master storyteller in Charles Spencer … rooted in excellent historical research … a lyrical, vivid and compelling portrait. He succeeds in bringing to life huge characters from nearly a millennium ago’
Spectator
‘An exhilarating narrative full of incident and insight. Here is the story, marvellously told, of the post-Conquest kings – and one almost-queen – of England: unpredictable, violently dramatic, and never less than compelling’
Helen Castor
'Told with verve and an exceptional eye for detail, this is the story of how a single catastrophe changed the course of British history forever. Dramatic, compelling and utterly addictive’
Tracy Borman
What listeners say about The White Ship
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Susan Ryland
- 07-03-21
Good historical account
I enjoyed this history lesson about post 1066 and leading up to the Plantagenets. So much to learn and I had to turn down speed of the narrator to take it all in. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs M E Burstow
- 03-11-20
Good Hospital Reading
My father is in hospital and getting rather board. He wanted a book which was interesting, intellectually stimulating and zipped along nicely.
The White Ship fulfilled the brief rather well.
A fascinating book. Well written. Which covers a less well known period in history.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. J. Donnelly
- 22-07-21
worth reading
exceptional book, read lots of royal historical books before but this literally one of the best, so many details and well written not one bad thing I could say except it ended
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rob Fox
- 13-02-22
Great Book
A great telling of a violent and volatile part of English history. It has the build up , the sinking and the aftermath. It shows how the men and women of the age would use any means to gain more power and wealth.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jan Kaneen
- 15-09-21
Lesser know history brought brilliantly to life
This is such a tragic story brought vividly to life after having had historical events thoroughly contextualised first. Educational and enjoyable
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 17-01-22
A gripping narrative of a complex period of history
Very well told with a wry humour at times. The writer captures the brutality and vitality of the period vividly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Elke
- 20-12-22
Great book
I wanted to know more about what led to the anarchy and this answered all my questions really. I would love this in-depth book to go on! This whole time period is fascinating and as a woman totally infuriating!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- FreebieBean
- 30-10-24
Incredibly Interesting and Informative Book
This book was recommended on, of all things TikTok, so I took a bit of a punt, as I really enjoy history and had never been taught the story of The White Ship.
I found this book incredibly well written and researched, by an author with a passion for detail, who was able to bring the past to life. I wish I'd read it instead of listening to it though and that would be my advise.
Buy the book!
The narration, for me, was an entirely different story :(
Whilst I'm sure that Richard Trinder has many skills, reading an historical book does not appear to be one of them.
Every sentence felt as if he were reading the pools (for readers of a certain age) and I never forgot that he was reading,
Every. Single. Sentence.
I never felt that he was invested in the story, or that he felt any passion for it.
He could have been reading a manual on engineering.
That said, the book is great, just read it yourself. :)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 03-09-21
Great book, terrible reading.
Excellent story but the reader has the dullest most wooden delivery and I couldn’t listen to anymore than an hour. I’ve bought the book instead so as not to put me off such a fascinating moment in history.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Peter Stephenson
- 20-12-22
NOT EASY INITIALLY - BUT THERE'S A REASON FOR THIS
Just to start off with the narration is pretty bland - but some readers (like me) prefer this because books are bland as well. A demonstrative reader can put their own spin on the text and personally I don't always like that. I want to do that myself - as I would if I was reading a book through my eyes. The narration was however clear, easy to listen to and probably how a scholarly listener would prefer it. An audio book is not a radio play. I also enjoy books read like an audio play - but a bland narration is a perfectly good style for a scholarly work.
Initially I was surprised by how much of the first part of the book set the political scene. But unless you want to hear just an accident report what was happening before and what happened afterwards is the historical significance of the wrecking of the White Ship. It's not about drunken passengers and a drunken crew smashing themselves on a rock. It about the ending and changing of historically significant lives, power balances, policies, politics and all the other things that happen when a large section of the uber elite get wiped out. If you want a book about a ship disaster (like a report on the Mary Rose) this is not the book for you. But if you want know how a single event can re-shape the dynastic politics of western Europe this definitely is the book for you.
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1 person found this helpful