Crécy cover art

Crécy

Battle of Five Kings

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Crécy

By: Michael Livingston
Narrated by: Rupert Farley
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Bloomsbury presents Crécy by Michael Livingston, read by Rupert Farley.

Like Crécy itself, this book is a triumph and the tale it tells gives an old story new life.’- Bernard Cornwell, bestselling author of The Last Kingdom series

A groundbreaking new study of the battle of Crécy, in which the outnumbered English under King Edward III won a decisive victory over the French and changed the course of the Hundred Years War.

The battle of Crécy in 1346 is one of the most famous and widely studied military engagements in history. The repercussions of this battle were felt for hundreds of years, and the exploits of those fighting reached the status of legend. Yet cutting-edge research has shown that nearly everything that has been written about this dramatic event may be wrong.

In this new study, Michael Livingston reveals how modern scholars have used archived manuscripts, satellite technologies and traditional fieldwork to help unlock what was arguably the battle’s greatest secret: the location of the now quiet fields where so many thousands died.

Crécy: Battle of Five Kings is a story of past and present. It is a new history of one of the most important battles of the Middle Ages: a compelling narrative account of the battle of Crécy that still adheres to the highest scholarly standards in its detail. It is also an account that incorporates the most cutting-edge revelations and the personal story of how those discoveries were made.

©2022 Michael Livingston Foreword © Bernard Cornwell 2022 (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Europe France Great Britain Military Royalty King England

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Never Greater Slaughter cover art
Agincourt cover art
The Hundred Years War cover art
The Hundred Years' War: A Captivating Guide to One of the Most Notable Conflicts of the Middle Ages and in European History and the Life of Joan of Arc cover art
The Thirty Years War cover art
Edward II cover art
The Burgundians cover art
The Anglo-Saxon World cover art
The Eagle and the Lion cover art
Byzantium cover art
The Anglo-Saxons at War cover art
The Wars of Alexander the Great cover art
The Dissolution of the Monasteries cover art
The History Behind Game of Thrones cover art
Conquered cover art
In the Path of Conquest cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
For those history buffs who always suspected that there were one or two details about the traditional story of Crécy that never quite added up, this is the book for you.

Some of the revisions are so well argued - like the location of the battle, or the motivations of the key players - that it seems pretty much like recent scholarship has settled those points.
And there are other famous myths - like the story of the Prince Of Wales’ Feathers, or the fate of the King Of Bohemia - that, though pretty much shown not to be true in their mythic form, still have some details about them which have yet to be settled one way or another.

To the modern listener, none of this detracts from the obvious mix of heroism, cruelty, or bone crunching, blood spurting reality of the battle. Nor does it make it any less fascinating to know the facts. If anything, the true story is a far more riveting tale, explained with scholarly patients, yet a good story teller’s sense of pace and even urgency.

Though it is read well enough, there are times when the narrator gets so slow and didactic in his tone that he (only occasionally) takes on the tone of an exasperated maths nerd, explaining to why you got your sums wrong.

But this is a very minor flaw, which only really marred one chapter of the book for me, in which the author presents his main evidence for his revised assessment of the geography and facts about this important period and in history.

Fans of medievalism and of military history will love this book. But I can see its appeal being broader than that. I thought it was wonderful, and set aside other listens to finish it. And I was rewarded with a satisfying conclusion and new knowledge, which is never a bad thing. Loved it.

A Compelling Argument, Well Put

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great listen and story. Narrator was very good and kept my interest. I would recommend

Very informative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Full of new information with sources. Was not a book just full of assumptions well read

Very good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I thought the narrator was excellent in the delivery of this book. the scale of the horror was clearly put across well. enjoyed it enormously, what a fantastic trip through medieval war fair.
thank you..

enthralling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A well researched book with a new take on the battle, debunking a lot of the myths. its well read and does not come across like other books of this ilk have done in the past. it never say this is accurate, you must believe this take but presents evidence from both sides for us to interpret. Highly Recommended.

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
if your a medieval history fan, Then this is for you! The sources and the working out is fantastic! so much info i never knew about. 10/10. I learned a lot from this!

Brilliant!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If you love medieval battles or Edward the 3rd then this is for you!!

This book goes into the the causes of the 100 year war from economics to politics. It dispels stories of herons and cowardice. Then it goes on to what Edward achieved in France prior to Crécy and attempts to understand his plans. Lastly, it breaks down the battle and under covers the fact that much of the history we think we know might not actually be true.

The book is written very well, explaining in detail but not too confusing to the average reader. It is well paced and just incredibly interesting. My favourite part was the chapter on the location. The author write its like an old fashion deceive story with clues trying to figure out the murderer, or rather trying to figure out the site of the battle.

The reader was great! He made me feel as though he was as passionate about the project as the author. He made me want to listen more and more.

I really loved this book and would recommend highly to those who love medieval history!!

Great book! Incredibly interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
With an absolute genius for understatement the author undermines many of the sacred myths that attach themselves to the battle of Crécy. The insight and realignment of historical understanding makes this a vital read plus a very entertaining one…

An historical detective

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Most excellent book, well thought out and reasoned.
New light shed on the battle
Thoroughly enjoyed it,

Brilliant.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Complex story but extremely well narrated and researched.
Would like to hear more from this author.

crécy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews