If you wear linen undergarments and scrub your armpits briskly each morning, you won't smell as bad after a month without bathing as you might imagine. Historian and author Ruth Goodman knows this because she tried it out, saving us potential social embarrassment while providing both entertainment and education. Narrator Heather Wilds starts out rapid-fire and overenunciated, as if she's determined to make listeners sit up straight. But within a few chapters, Goodman's humor and enthusiasm, and the factual delights--no underpants!--loosen Wilds's delivery. After that, listeners benefit from her pleasant, even voice and the knowledge that in the 1500s archery practice after church on Sunday was considered a man's patriotic duty.
Pub Date: 2016
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
GENERAL HISTORY | MODERN | WORLD | HISTORY
If you associate the Jane Austen you learned about in school with the words "prim" and "proper," then you need to listen to what one of the leading scholars of Austen's work has to say about the famous writer. This audiobook, which covers Austen's full body of work--the early short stories, as well as the published novels--adds greatly to the existing literature around the mystery of her persona. Marisa Calin's pleasant British accent is perfect for this exploration of Regency-era social codes and wild-hearted women. The pacing slows a bit in the last third as Looser tracks Austen's reputation into contemporary discourse, but Calin's buoyant narration maintains an informative and utterly joyful audio experience.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781250418753
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Never underestimate the value of a pleasing voice, especially when the subject is history--in particular, a topic as obtuse as the English Civil War. Mark Meadows's light British accent is an enhancement and a defining feature of this well-told narrative, a sequel of sorts to Oxford scholar Jonathan Healey's THE BLAZING WORLD. That narrative surveyed the entire revolutionary 17th century in Britain. This one focuses on a few momentous months when King Charles I and his Parliament split irrevocably, and England spiraled into civil war. As a case study in government deadlock and division, these events draw numerous parallels to contemporary scenarios. As an audiobook experience, Meadows delivers a lucid, arresting analysis of the how and why of England's most tragic era.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217165612
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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