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Henry V

The Astonishing Rise of England's Greatest Warrior King

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Henry V

By: Dan Jones
Narrated by: Dan Jones
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About this listen

'A historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist.' – Observer

Henry V reigned over England for only nine years and four months, and died at the age of just 35, but he looms over the landscape of the late Middle Ages and beyond. The victor of Agincourt was remembered as the acme of kingship, a model to be closely imitated by his successors. William Shakespeare deployed Henry V as a study in youthful folly redirected to sober statesmanship. In the dark days of World War II, Henry’s victories in France were presented by British filmmakers as exemplars for a people existentially threatened by Nazism. Churchill called Henry ‘a gleam of splendour in the dark, troubled story of medieval England’, while for one modern medievalist, Henry was, quite simply, ‘the greatest man who ever ruled England’.

For Dan Jones, Henry is one of the most intriguing characters in all medieval history, but one of the hardest to pin down. He was a hardened, sometimes brutal, warrior, yet he was also creative and artistic, with a bookish temperament. He was a leader who made many mistakes, who misjudged his friends and family members, yet always seemed to triumph when it mattered. As king, he saved a shattered country from economic ruin, put down rebellions and secured England’s borders; in foreign diplomacy, he made England a serious player once more. Yet through his conquests in northern France, he sowed the seeds for three generations of calamity at home, in the form of the Wars of the Roses.

Dan Jones’s life of Henry V stands out for the generous amount of space it allots to the critical first 26 years of his life before he became king. Both standalone biography and a completion of Dan’s sequence of English medieval histories that began with The Plantagenets and The Hollow Crown, Henry V is a thrilling and unmissable life of England’s greatest king from our best-selling medieval historian.

©2024 Dan Jones (P)2024 Head of Zeus
Historical Royalty England King Winston Churchill France War
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Dan Jones doesn't miss!

Excellent account of one of England's greatest Kings and his rise to the throne. Dan knows how to bring history to life.

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A masterpiece as usual from Dan Jones

Any Dan Jones book is worth a listen, especially one he narrates and this is no exception. Fantastic Listen

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Warrior and strategist

Shakespeare wrote mostly favourably about Henry 5. Churchill by contrast, damned the winner at Agincourt. Dan Jones reads and writes between the lines of these and other sources to present a fascinating view of England’s most successful warrior, strategist, politician and king.

(Historians will be far less kind to Chas-3, I suspect.)

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The factual content

Fantastic listen!! Excellent content and very well read. Kept me hooked on a few car journeys.

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A thriller of a history book!

love Dan Jones' style of writing and really like that he narrates his books. He gives such a clear narrative of Henry V pre and post kingship and doesn't skimp on fleshing out the other important players of the time. This was a very enjoyable listen and not a dull moment to be had.

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Everything

Dan jones at it again what a book best medieval historian out there must listen

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Wow just wow

Have learned so much from this book!Felt you really got close to Henry V as a man and the time he lived in. Great job again Dan!!!!!

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Dan never misses

Once again, Dan never misses. terrific, easy to follow and how I like his stories being very linear .

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A cold warrior king seemingly endorsed by God.

True to his times , King Henry was a bloodthirsty leader who believed he had been chosen by God to succeed. He was both brave and chaste and seemed to have luck on his side whether surviving an arrow to the face or being triumphant in battle. Also true to the medieval period he had a short life, dying in his thirties.

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Excellent

Another excellent book from one of the finest medieval historians. Jones has clearly done his research but avoids overwhelming the reader with too much minute detail. His story of Henry is captivating, exhilarating, and assesses his subject by the standards of his own age. Highly recommended.

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