Today is Read a Book Day, and I thought it would be the perfect day to share my history audiobook list! I do know that this day is aimed at reading a physical book but I am not a fan of the idea that “audiobooks don’t count”. Any of these could be enjoyed as a physical or an ebook, but they are some of my favourite audiobooks. (Plus I’ve noticed that a lot of people are heading back into the office and need more listening material…) So, these are the 7 best history audiobooks to get lost in!
Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of Catherine Howard, the Fifth Wife of Henry VIII, Gareth Russell
On the morning of July 28, 1540, as King Henry’s VIII’s former confidante Thomas Cromwell was being led to his execution, a teenager named Catherine Howard began her reign as queen of a country simmering with rebellion and terrifying uncertainty. Sixteen months later, the king’s fifth wife would follow her cousin Anne Boleyn to the scaffold, having been convicted of adultery and high treason.
The broad outlines of Catherine’s career might be familiar, but her story up until now has been incomplete. Unlike previous accounts of her life, which portray her as a naïve victim of an ambitious family, this compelling and authoritative biography will shed new light on Catherine Howard’s rise and downfall by reexamining her motives and showing her in her context, a milieu that goes beyond her family and the influential men of the court to include the aristocrats and, most critically, the servants who surrounded her and who, in the end, conspired against her. By illuminating Catherine’s entwined upstairs/downstairs worlds as well as societal tensions beyond the palace walls, the author offers a fascinating portrayal of court life in the sixteenth century and a fresh analysis of the forces beyond Catherine’s control that led to her execution—from diplomatic pressure and international politics to the long-festering resentments against the queen’s household at court.
Including a forgotten text of Catherine’s confession in her own words, color illustrations, family tree, map, and extensive notes, Young and Damned and Fair changes our understanding of one of history’s most famous women while telling the compelling and very human story of complex individuals attempting to survive in a dangerous age.
Why You Should Listen to This…
Obviously, any book related to the wives of Henry VIII is popular. (Especially thanks to Six the Musical!) However, Gareth Russell’s biography of Catherine Howard is no simple retelling of the young Tudor queen’s life. Russell is an incredibly talented historian, and I cannot imagine a better one to dig into Catherine’s life. She is often dismissed as stupid or even a whore, but she led a complex life and Russell’s use of rarely seen sources adds even more to this tragic story. And I’ve got to say, Jenny Funnell is a wonderful narrator- she infuses emotion and tension perfectly into her reading without being over-the-top, a must-listen.
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Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them, Siân Evans (NetGalley)
During the early twentieth century, transatlantic travel was the province of the great ocean liners. It was an extraordinary undertaking made by many women, whose lives were changed forever by their journeys between the Old World and the New. Some traveled for leisure, some for work; others to reinvent themselves or find new opportunities. They were celebrities, migrants and millionaires, refugees, aristocrats and crew members whose stories have mostly remained untold—until now.
Maiden Voyages is a fascinating portrait of these women as they crossed the Atlantic. The ocean liner was a microcosm of contemporary society, divided by class: from the luxury of the upper deck, playground for the rich and famous, to the cramped conditions of steerage or third class travel. In first class you’ll meet A-listers like Marlene Dietrich, Wallis Simpson, and Josephine Baker; the second class carried a new generation of professional and independent women, like pioneering interior designer Sibyl Colefax. Down in steerage, you’ll follow the journey of émigré Maria Riffelmacher as she escapes poverty in Europe. Bustling between decks is a crew of female workers, including Violet “The Unsinkable Stewardess” Jessop, who survived the Titanic disaster.
Entertaining and informative, Maiden Voyages captures the golden age of ocean liners through the stories of the women whose transatlantic journeys changed the shape of society on both sides of the globe.
Why You Should Listen to This…
Thank you NetGalley for providing an Advanced Listening Copy in exchange for an honest review.
Maiden Voyages is a welcome study of women on the water. Much of what I’ve read and seen focuses on men, especially those in the Navy or on board a ship during the First and Second World Wars. And while both wars are certainly discussed in Maiden Voyages, they aren’t the focal point. Evans looks at the women who worked on ships, the women who took passage on them, and even those that performed on them. I was expecting a fairly light book about rich passengers on ocean liners (a la The Titanic) but this is far more wide-ranging and thoughtful. I have to say, I was a little worried when The Titanic came up early on- a lot of books fixate on it- but she discussed it and then moved on to equally interesting ships and women. And Jilly Bond’s narration was perfect- she handled many different figures/characters deftly. You are never confused as to who is who without any brutal accents.
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Scourge of Henry VIII: Life of Marie de Guise, Melanie Clegg
Although Mary, Queen of Scots continues to fascinate both historians and the general public alike, the story of her mother, Marie de Guise, is much less well known. A political power in her own right, she was born into the powerful and ambitious Lorraine family, spending her formative years at the dazzling and licentious court of Francois I. Although briefly courted by Henry VIII, she instead married his nephew, James V of Scotland, in 1538.
James’ premature death four years later left their six day old daughter, Mary, as Queen and presented Marie with the formidable challenge of winning the support of the Scottish people and protecting her daughter’s threatened birthright. Content until now to remain in the background and play the part of the obedient wife, Marie spent the next eighteen years effectively governing Scotland, devoting her considerable intellect, courage and energy to safeguarding her daughter’s inheritance by using a deft mixture of cunning, charm, determination and tolerance.
The last serious biography of Marie de Guise was published in 1977 and whereas plenty of attention has been paid to the mistakes of her daughter’s eventful but brief reign, the time has come for a fresh assessment of this most fascinating and underappreciated of sixteenth century female rulers.”
Why You Should Listen to This…
Marie de Guise is one of those fascinating historical figures that deserves far more attention but is often ignored for those around her (her daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, her would-be-suitor, Henry VIII, or Mary’s mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici, to start with…). Melanie Clegg is another young but dedicated historian whose interests and work span several countries and five centuries, and this book is one of her best. Sixteenth century Scotland was a complex and competitive kingdom, with continual struggles for power. Marie’s time as regent of Scotland are interesting on its own, but is incredibly useful in understanding the Scotland that Mary returned to.
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Restoration London: Everyday Life in the 1660s, Liza Picard
Making use of every possible contemporary source diaries, memoirs, advice books, government papers, almanacs, even the Register of Patents Liza Picard presents a picture of how life in London was really lived in the 1600s: the houses and streets, gardens and parks, cooking, clothes and jewellery, cosmetics, hairdressing, housework, laundry and shopping, medicine and dentistry, sex, education, hobbies, etiquette, law and crime, religion and popular beliefs.
Why You Should Listen to This…
Liza Picard’s four books on life in London are some of my favourites, and I’ve listened to them countless times. (The other three are Dr. Johnson’s London, Elizabeth’s London, and Victoria’s London, covering nearly five centuries.) All of them are fantastic, but the Restoration period is such an exciting period in London’s history. The book moves through each area of life; it is thorough but also very conversational in tone. Picard doesn’t assume that you know anything and gives the basics, but also gets into the details for those who do know it. She walks a fine line, and does it well!
♠
Twilight of Empire: Tragedy at Mayerling and the End of the Habsburgs, Greg King and Penny Wilson
On a snowy January morning in 1889, a worried servant hacked open a locked door at the remote hunting lodge deep in the Vienna Woods. Inside, he found two bodies sprawled on an ornate bed, blood oozing from their mouths. Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary appeared to have shot his seventeen-year-old mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera as she slept, sat with the corpse for hours and, when dawn broke, turned the pistol on himself.
A century has transformed this bloody scene into romantic tragedy: star-crossed lovers who preferred death together than to be parted by a cold, unfeeling Viennese Court. But Mayerling is also the story of family secrets: incestuous relationships and mental instability; blackmail, venereal disease, and political treason; and a disillusioned, morphine-addicted Crown Prince and a naïve schoolgirl caught up in a dangerous and deadly waltz inside a decaying empire. What happened in that locked room remains one of history’s most evocative mysteries: What led Rudolf and mistress to this desperate act? Was it really a suicide pact? Or did something far more disturbing take place at that remote hunting lodge and result in murder?
Drawing interviews with members of the Habsburg family and archival sources in Vienna, Greg King and Penny Wilson reconstruct this historical mystery, laying out evidence and information long ignored that conclusively refutes the romantic myth and the conspiracy stories.
Why You Should Listen to This…
Mayerling is one of those episodes in history that doesn’t come up as often as you think it would, as crazy as it is. And listening to Twilight of Empire is like listening to a period drama slash soap opera, but it is very much real. King and Wilson handle a complicated and heartbreaking moment in history with confidence and skill, and I could not stop listening to this audiobook. I can honestly say, I knew little about Austrian society before listening to this book but it is crucial to Rudolf’s story- they paint the picture so well, it truly feels like you are there watching it. (And yes, this moment in history is what the ballet Mayerling is based on!)
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Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet, Jennifer Homans
For more than four hundred years, the art of ballet has stood at the center of Western civilization. Its traditions serve as a record of our past. A ballerina dancing The Sleeping Beauty today is a link in a long chain of dancers stretching back to sixteenth-century Italy and France: Her graceful movements recall a lost world of courts, kings, and aristocracy, but her steps and gestures are also marked by the dramatic changes in dance and culture that followed. Ballet has been shaped by the Renaissance and Classicism, the Enlightenment and Romanticism, Bolshevism, Modernism, and the Cold War. Apollo’s Angels is a groundbreaking work—the first cultural history of ballet ever written, lavishly illustrated and beautifully told.
Ballet is unique: It has no written texts or standardized notation. It is a storytelling art passed on from teacher to student. The steps are never just the steps—they are a living, breathing document of a culture and a tradition. And while ballet’s language is shared by dancers everywhere, its artists have developed distinct national styles. French, Italian, Danish, Russian, English, and American traditions each have their own expression, often formed in response to political and societal upheavals.
From ballet’s origins in the Renaissance and the codification of its basic steps and positions under France’s Louis XIV (himself an avid dancer), the art form wound its way through the courts of Europe, from Paris and Milan to Vienna and St. Petersburg. It was in Russia that dance developed into the form most familiar to American audiences: The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker originated at the Imperial court. In the twentieth century, émigré dancers taught their art to a generation in the United States and in Western Europe, setting off a new and radical transformation of dance.
Why You Should Listen to This…
This is the book on the history of ballet. At over 23 hours, this is an investment of time, but if you are interested in ballet, it is a must-listen/ must-read. As an American dancer, Homans does veer into hero-worship when it comes to Balanchine and American ballet (as you might expect), but the earlier chapters on the origins and early development of ballet are impeccable. Something to note with Apollo’s Angels, though- you will want to have a basic understanding of ballet technique to follow this. You don’t need to have decades of training, but a familiarity with what you see dancers do.
♠
Mary, Queen of Scots (Abridged), Antonia Fraser
She was the quintessential queen: statuesque, regal, dazzlingly beautiful. Her royal birth gave her claim to the thrones of two nations; her marriage to the young French dauphin promised to place a third glorious crown on her noble head. Instead, Mary Stuart became the victim of her own impulsive heart, scandalizing her world with a foolish passion that would lead to abduction, rape, and even murder. Betrayed by those she most trusted, she would be lured into a deadly game of power, only to lose to her envious and unforgiving cousin, Elizabeth I. Here is her story, a queen who lost a throne for love, a monarch pampered and adored even as she was led to her beheading, the unforgettable woman who became a legend for all time.
Why You Should Listen to This…
I normally don’t love abridged audiobooks, but this Antonia Fraser biography had to be on my list. Mary, Queen of Scots is one of my favourite historical figures- she gets slandered and forgotten for her English cousin to this day (thanks to English propaganda and continual decrying of Mary’s “female” and “emotional” ways…), and it is baffling. Mary’s life is tragic, yes, but also full of excitement- dynastic politics, warring factions at multiple courts, chases, battles, murders, and more. There hasn’t been an unabridged version of this biography produced yet, but the book is a hefty tome, so an abridged version may appeal to more people anyways!
Now that you’ve seen my 7 best history audiobooks, what are yours?
Cheers,
The Historian
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