From the Publisher
Beautifully written, careful and thorough in its scholarship . . . What Ms. Tuchman does superbly is to tell how it was. . . . No one has ever done this better.”—The New York Review of Books
“A beautiful, extraordinary book . . . Tuchman at the top of her powers . . . She has done nothing finer.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Wise, witty, and wonderful . . . a great book, in a great historical tradition.”—Commentary
APR/MAY 07 - AudioFile
Tuchman’s history of the latter half of the fourteenth century features Enguerrand de Coucy VII, a French noble who survived wars, crusades, plagues, and all manner of religious, civil, and social strife. Nadia May renders interesting even Tuchman’s most pedantic moments of scene-setting and listing of people, supplies, deaths, etc. De Coucy, at 15, takes control of one of France’s largest estates following the death of his parents and even marries into the English royal family. May’s reading, with impeccable French and English accents, immerses the reader in the lengthy narrative, mixing the political with the personal. Humorous asides, especially commentary from peasantry, and a wry tone, especially in the accounts of both heroic and ordinary women, enliven the telling. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
