This Sceptred Isle, Vol. 3: The Black Prince to Henry VIII 1327-1547

This Sceptred Isle #3

by Christopher Lee

The award-winning story of Britain, from the arrival of Julius Caesar to the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, specially written for BBC Radio 4 by Christopher Lee, narrated by Anna Massey and featuring extracts from Sir Winston Churchill's History of the English Speaking Peoples read by Paul Eddington.

King Edward III was only 14 years old when he succeeded to the throne of England in 1327. His reign was to last for 50 years bringing with it the start of the Hundred Years' War with France and the famous triumphs for his son Edward, the Black Prince, at Crecy and Poitiers.

Edward was succeeded by Richard II - the start of a period of history perhaps most familiar from Shakespeare's versions: the Peasants' Revolt, Wat Tyler, Owen Glendower, Henry IV, Hotspur, Henry V, Agincourt, Henry VI, Joan of Arc, the Wars of the Roses culminating in the deaths of the Princes in the Tower and Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. It was also the beginning of the Tudor period with first, King Henry VII and then his larger-than-life son, Henry VIII

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook

3 pages, Audio CD

First published April 15, 1996

About the author

Christopher Lee was a British writer, historian, and broadcaster, best known for creating and writing the acclaimed BBC Radio 4 documentary series This Sceptred Isle. His career spanned journalism, academia, military service, and historical writing.
After an early life at sea, he studied history at London University before joining the BBC as a defence and foreign affairs correspondent, with postings in Moscow and the Middle East. He later transitioned into academia, becoming the first Quatercentenary Fellow in Contemporary History at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and conducting research at Birkbeck College. He also served in the Royal Navy's Joint Intelligence Reserve Branch, reaching the rank of captain.
Lee’s This Sceptred Isle, originally broadcast in 1995, chronicled British history from Roman times to the 20th century and was expanded with additional series covering the 20th century and the British Empire. His historical works include 1603, Nelson and Napoleon, and Monarchy, Past, Present… and Future?, as well as an abridgment of Winston Churchill's A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. He was also a prolific radio playwright, penning over 100 plays and series for BBC Radio 4.
Beyond writing, he served as a defence and foreign affairs adviser to the British Forces Broadcasting Service for 30 years and was involved in policy analysis.
He divided his time between Sussex and Florence, Italy, and was married to portrait painter Fiona Graham-Mackay. Lee passed away in 2021 at the age of 79.

Reviews

[Fern A · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third instalment of Britain throughout history. Interesting and informative but various biases are starting to creep through.

[Brian Eshleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has the tone of passing on English heritage mainly to kids, but, especially in this volume, there are some thought-provoking phrases that will give adults pause beyond the particular concerns of these two centuries.

[Alethea Hammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume zips through the 100 Years War and careens past the Wars of the Roses ending in the middle of the Tudors. Highly recommend this series as either an intro to British History or a quick review. It moves along fast, but it is fun.

[Clare Kirwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brisk history of Britain on audio packs a lot in.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This chunk of the ongoing series covers the Hundred Years War, the Wars of the Roses, and Henry VIII. Not the easiest chunk of British history to follow in such a compressed time frame - I'm afraid I lost track of the players in the Wars of the Roses despite the narrator's best efforts to sort Lancastrians from Yorkists.

Still, an entertaining installment, and one which provides great dinner party conversation.

[Pamela Sweezy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll never retain all of the information from this brief summary of England's history but maybe I'll remember the gist of it. Entertaining BBC radio broadcast. I can't wait to get to the next one...