Agincourt audiobook

A very well told story of the advance of Henry V on France, culminating with the battle of Agincourt. Our protagonist is Nicolas Hook, a fictional Welsh bastard of a minor Lord, who is a Forester and an archer. After hitting a priest, he becomes an outlaw and joins a mercenary company, headed to the front. Eventually he ends up as an archer for Lord John Cornwell. Nic Hook is the eyes the author uses to show us the life and motivations of the regular soldiers, as well as giving us glimpses of the same for Henry V and his retinue. As usual, this author doesn't spare our sensibilities and the book can get difficult to read when it comes to rape, pillaging, and slaughter, but none of it is gratuitous or out of place. History is about facts, or at least as close as we can get, but it is not pretty. Despite all that, the author is a master of telling the military tale in a compelling and engaging way. I didn't put the book down once I started it and it is a very quick read. Is it the most accurate or complete look upon that famous battle - no. But it is in its way just enough to spark your interest and encourage you to find out more about it. Recommend it for all interested in the history of the time (1415 c. e.), as well as those who love a good story of a low-born lad kicking some noblemen down a bit 😃👍

The tale of the battle of Agincourt told through the eyes of an archer, Nicholas Hooks.Cornwell is a master of captured the drama of history from different perspective and making the story come alive. And in that, he's very successful here. It's clear he's done his research and knows his history. He knows the nuances of the period and ably weaves them into the story.He does this by creating a character we can follow and genuinely care about. Nick is an archer in training who quickly becomes an outlaw. He strikes a priest, trying to do the right thing and is forced to flee England. He becomes a mercenary in France, but is forced to return home. There he comes under the sovreign of the king and is put back into the archer core to fight and take back the throne of France. Along the way, he saves a nun from being raped and eventually takes her as his wife (Cornwell points out that convents were used to "hide" women to prevent noble men from taking advantage of them and producing bastard offspring.).The best parts of the story are the battles. Cornwell excels in creating vivid, realistic and compelling battle sequences that will draw you in and keep the pages turning. Where the novel loses a bit of steam is during the moments in between where we have to set things up for the next battle. I can understand why they must be done and they do make the history of the period and events come more alive. But they just pale in comparison to the battle sequences. Whether this is a fair criticism or not, I will leave to fellow readers to decide.

Bernard Cornwell must be the most obsessive novelist of English military history that lives (or maybe that ever lived). While this may seem a boring or potentially monochromatic palette, in his hands it is an amazing canvas. Here he deals with the battle that made Henry V the stuff of legends. Though we get a very interesting portrait of him, the story (as is typical of Cornwell) is told from the perspective of a “mere” archer. We learn how he got to be one of the king’s archers and the medieval system that existed in England with all of its petty privileges and burdens. This has to be one of his best and it, unlike some others, is complete in itself. A brilliant tour de force.

I just love good historical fiction! It brings history to life for me in a way that those boring history lessons at school never did. My favourite writers in this genre are Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell, although there are many others who light up all of my lights.There are many books about the Battle of Agincourt, but this has to rate as one of the best. That is unless you want the non-fiction, factual version of events. But who is to say what is factual? There is even much disagreement amongst the scholars of the period.The story, as told by Cornwell, follows the life of an archer, Nick Hook. He is outlawed early in the narration for hitting a priest. The priest deserved much more than a punch in the stomach for what he did, but Hook would've been caught and hung had he meted out the correct justice.Nick is a brilliant archer, and soon finds himself in France, in Soissons, where he witnesses some horrendous betrayal and violence, but those events lead to one positive outcome: he meets the lady who is eventually to become his wife. I can't say much more without giving away the whole story, and I don't want to spoil it for you.There is a lot of graphic violence in this book, but it is, I believe, the reality of that age.(view spoiler)[One totally unbelievable episode in the book comes towards the end. Sir Martin eventually manages to corner Hook's wife, Melisande, and attempts to rape her. Whilst pinned down by her assailant, she manages to reach into her personal sack with one hand, load her crossbow, jam it between her body and his (wouldn't it be too big?), and pull the trigger. Ridiculous! If she'd stabbed him in the neck with a crossbow bolt, or a small dagger, I could've swallowed that, but this version of events was just impossible! (hide spoiler)]The narrative was generally fast flowing, but there were occasions when there was just too much detail, and that slowed the whole story down and irritated me somewhat.I also felt that the book could really have benefited from the inclusion of a glossary of definitions of armoury, clothing, weaponry and other terms of the age. I don't wish to interrupt my enjoyment of the story by breaking off to consult my dictionary or encyclopaedia.This small criticism aside, this is a really great read, and I would recommend it to all fans of historical fiction and Bernard Cornwell.Note: You may well ask, "Why Azincourt rather that Agincourt?" The answer is that this is, and was, the correct spelling of the name of the nearby village which gave its name to the famous battle.

I have read The Grail Quest series, The first two books of the Starbucks Chronicles, The Winter King, Stonehenge, Gallows Thief and the Saxon series. Bernard Cornwell is master of historical fiction and provides a crackling good read, as well as being a must for enthusiasts of military history and war gamers.Cornwell tells the story of an archer in the English army, Nicholas Hook, from a common background, having fled England as an outlaw, and haunted by his failing of having rescued a Lollard girl. Sarah, who is burned to death during Henry V's mass burning of the Lollard religious dissidents.Cornwell recounts the sieges of Harfleur and Soissons, where Nick rescues a beautiful young nun from being raped and murdered. The horror of the mass murder at Soissons of both English archers and the murder French civilians, is graphically recounted her by an author who knows how to bring the re-inaction historical atrocities to vivid life. His enmity with the evil sir Martin and the Perrill brothers, his love of the beautiful Melisande, the camaraderie with fellow archers and a kindly monk, Father Christopher are all well illustrated as are lots of action and suspense. A nuanced portrayal of Henry V and above all Nick's communication with Saint Crispinian and Saint Crispin , who speak to him and guide him are central features of a crackling good read, and well studied historical recreation of the invasion of France by Henry and its finale in the Battle of Agincourt where 9 000 English archers and soldiers beat a 30 000 strong French army. Cornwell is certainly a master of historical fiction.

As always, Cornwell delivered a wonderful story that was impeccably researched and moved along well. I have to say that Bastard is my new favorite insult after reading this. It's annoying my dog I think but everyone in this book was a bastard!

St. Crispin’s DayThen will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,And say "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."Henry V, William Shakespeare All I knew about Agincourt (coo) was from seeing Henry V performed on stage by the RSC in Stratford, England and from watching the excellent movie of the play.What I find fascinating with Cornwell is the detail. Thus and thus is how swordplay really happened. Thus and thus is how a longbow of yew wood, with a draw weight well in excess of 100 pounds, was fired. (As much as 130, 140, 150 - so next time you see a fantasy epic, and they have slender-armed and slender-shouldered men and women, bereft of well-muscled arms and shoulders, firing longbows and sending arrows through enemy armor, the strings drawn back to their ears, don’t you believe it.) Thus and thus is what all was involved when you put on a suit of armor and this is what you had to wear under the armor.The hard part of reading any Cornwell work, as with many authors of any genre involving copious bloodshed, is the carnage. Accurate to its times, yes. Nevertheless, pour moi, to read scores of pages of it without letup, even if I fast read the slaughter portions, is tedious and difficult.

I have read 10 other Bernard Cornwell books and needless to say, I am a fan. Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell is one of his standalone novels. This novel introduces Nick Hook who has a family feud with another local family and well as the local priest. This feud has him banished to France. He ends up being part of a company in the town of Soissons. However, the siege of Soissons is devastating. Nick saves a novice named Melisande from rape. They manage to escape. Now, King Henry V is bringing his army to reclaim what is rightfully his. Nick Hook finds himself an Archer under the command of Sir John Cornewaille. Everything leads up to St. Crispin’s Day in Agincourt.“No!” Sir John thrust a gauntleted hand to strike Hook’s shoulder. “You fight my battles, Hook,” he punched Hook’s shoulder again, “that’s what I pay you for. But if you fight mine, then I fight yours, you understand? We are a company!”AGINCOURT, SIR JOHN CORNEWAILLEThis book is not for those who want something fast-paced and superficial. This book is what I would consider an epic. There are many things that make this book special and one of those is the detail. Having read Bernard Cornwell before, I know how intense his battle scenes are, and he does not disappoint in this book. The siege and battle are written with such detail you feel as if you are fighting in the mud along with the soldiers.Agincourt is one of those battles that has been immortalized by William Shakespeare and just in history in general. Based on the statistics of the battle, the English shouldn’t have won. –And if anyone screams spoilers…come on, this battle happened 600 years ago. But I digress. Bernard Cornwell has a deep understanding of this battle. Every detail leads up to Agincourt. The win could be attributed to a couple of things. The first is that it supposedly rained so much that the mud was almost impossible to fight in. The second, the archers. Making the main character an archer just really brings this book to life.This book is one of the most richly detailed historical fiction books I have ever read. Be prepared, this battle is devastating. DO NOT GET ATTACHED. That is all I will say on the matter. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

This is a thrilling, moving, informative and entertaining narrative of the battle of Agincourt (of Shakespeare's Henry V fame). I was completely addicted to the audiobook for days on end. Could not stop listening.And I simply cannot recommend it to anyone else to read.Unless, of course, you already live on a diet of blood, gore and profanity, and will therefore not be deeply disturbed by the all-to-real imagery of life and war in the 15th century. I've struggled to understand if the degree of gruesomeness presented in this book was simply gratuitous or if it was necessary to accurately convey the conditions of the time. I think I've concluded that softening the blows (so to speak) would indeed have reduced some of the book's power. The story is primarily told through the eyes of a single lowly English archer who is possessed of great strength and prowess in battle, but who grows in honor and compassion as the book develops. This growth places him in stark contrast to the crass, cruel world in which he lives and fights.There are other very appealing characters as well: a tenacious love interest from the enemy side; her brutal, yet oddly caring nobleman father; and Sir John Cornwall, the archer's commander, whose ferocity and acrid leadership is matched only by his unyielding loyalty to his men.If you lack stomach for vivid descriptions of they myriad ways in which 15th century soldiers slaughtered and avenged themselves on their enemies, read Henry V instead. Or go watch the 1989 movie of the same by Kenneth Branagh, which I haven't seen but my very tasteful wife highly recommends. But if you're not prone to a queasy stomach or bad dreams, this book may be well worth it. It left me feeling unusually grateful to have a 21st century desk job.

Read this book in 2008, and this standalone book is a tremendous retelling about the ferocious Battle of Agincourt (french for Azincourt), by the author, Bernard Cornwell.This story about the Battle of Agincourt is set before and on the 25th October AD 1415, St Crispin's Day, and of course its aftermath.The story is historically very well researched and brought to us in a meticulously and breathtaking manner, that it will take you across that battlefield of chaos and bloodshed.It was also the first battle won by the longbow for the English of King Henry V, a weapon that will dominate the rest of the Century.All in all a gripping tale about a Battle fought by noblemen, peasants, horsemen and archers, and a one that was crippled with disease, and that was decided in the end with bravery of the highest kind by English soldiery.Highly recommended, for this a fantastic retelling of one of the momentous events in history, and that's why I want to call this book: "A Wonderful Depiction Of Agincourt"!

Listened to this on Audible and it was just as good as I remembered. Colourful characters - and curses - and excellent build up to the famous battle. In true Bernard style, the story follows an English archer and the people around him, friend and foe. Highly recommended for history buffs and action fans alike - the fights and battles are visceral and brutal and face to face personal.

Reviewed on my blog - Books by Proxy4.5 StarsThe 25th October marks the 600th anniversary of the battle of Agincourt, and what better way to remember the occasion than to read a highly evocative and remarkably convincing novel based on the battle itself. My first foray into the writings of Bernard Cornwell turned out to be a gut-wrenching, breath-taking and truly mesmerising experience. This is not a book for the faint of heart, Cornwell wields his pen like an axe, severing limbs from men left, right and centre until the pages are saturated in blood. Azincourt is disturbingly real and horrific in its truth; bloody, brutal and brilliant.-This novel tells the story of Henry V’s invasion of Normandy, from the prolonged siege of Harfleur and the subsequent march to Calais, to the battle of Agincourt itself. This is a tale of war and blood and death – of the rape and slaughter of civilians, of soldiers cut down in their thousands, and of men dying in true ignoble glory – hacked out in vivid and utterly convincing detail.Cornwell has quite obviously done a considerable amount of research; the manner of warfare – the weaponry, the armour, the battles – are all described in incredible (and somewhat bloody) detail. Azincourt is simultaneously a lovesong to the English longbow. Told through the narrative of the protagonist, Nick Hook, Cornwell describes its use and implementation as the powerhouse of medieval warfare in rich detail. This depth of research creates a narrative which has all the action and drama of a movie whilst remaining true to the history.If you like your characters in shades of grey, and splattered in blood, gore and shit, then Azincourt has a whole legion to supply. Cornwell creates characters who are either brilliantly psychotic or horrifically deranged, and even our protagonist Nick Hook makes a hard job of conjuring up any rapport. Strength and heroism are not exclusive to the good and just after all. But don’t let that put you off; this isn’t a novel about likeability, this is about one battle – this is about death and glory and the utter futility of both.Azincourt is a novel written with gritty eloquence, fast-paced and to the point, whilst throwing in some of the most evocative passages of description I’ve ever read; both disturbingly realistic and eminently readable. Cornwell doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war, and neither does he pluck at the heartstrings – this is war; violent, bloody and terrible – brutal lives conveyed in brutal prose.-If you like your historical fiction like your grimdark fantasy, unflinchingly violent and bloody (and incredibly grim and dark), then I heartily recommend you read Azincourt. This is a fast paced and bloodthirsty tale which is supremely well researched. Bernard Cornwell is an incredible writer whose reputation as the master of historical fiction is well earned, I am only ashamed it took me so long to pick up one of his novels.

Review in Portuguese from Desbravando Livros:Recheado com todos os ingredientes necessários para se fazer um romance histórico, Azincourt está, a partir de hoje, na minha lista dos melhores livros de Bernard Cornwell. É simplesmente intrigante a facilidade que o autor tem em narrar os acontecimentos de épocas passadas e ao mesmo tempo nos transportar para dentro da narrativa.O livro nos apresenta Nicholas Hook, arqueiro inglês especialista em criar problemas desde que nasceu. Hook, assim como vários outros arqueiros, é enviado por seu senhor para Londres a fim de acabar com uma rebelião. Lá, nosso protagonista se mete em uma briga e é declarado fora-da-lei, tendo que buscar refúgio na França. Em Soissons, cidade francesa guarnecida pelos ingleses, o arqueiro conhece como é uma guerra de verdade: mortes, estupro, violência descontrolada e traições que mudam o destino de pessoas.Apesar de toda essa brutalidade mostrada na guerra, o livro também é recheado de passagens sarcásticas e conversas muito bem-humoradas entre os personagens:"- Briga de família, garoto, é o pior tipo de briga que existe – dissera John Wilkinson."Ao longo da narrativa, Nicholas se encontra com diversos personagens marcantes em sua vida, como a freira Melisande, outros bons arqueiros como ele e, principalmente, Sir John Cornwaille. O cavaleiro é imprescindível no desenvolvimento de Hook como pessoa e também como guerreiro, pois o ensina a lutar com outros tipos de arma além do arco longo e também lhe dá algumas lições de vida que ficarão para sempre em sua memória:"... Mate ou seja morto, dizia sempre Sir John, e Hook correu para o homem, com a acha levantada, o cabo seguro com as duas mãos, ignorou o débil golpe defensivo de espada que o homem ofereceu e estocou com a ponta da lança contra a cintura do francês."E eu também não posso esquecer de deixar aqui para vocês um quote com uma clara demonstração de como são as descrições minuciosas do autor: "O marechal não usava elmo. Seu cabelo era castanho-escuro, cortado muito curto e ficando grisalho nas têmporas, e emoldurava um rosto de tamanha ferocidade que Hook ficou pasmo. Era um rosto quadrado, rijo, com cicatrizes e quebrado, sofrido em batalha e pela vida, mas não derrotado. Um rosto duro, rosto de homem, rosto de guerreiro, com olhos escuros penetrantes que examinavam homens e cavalos em busca de sinais de suas condições. Sua boca estava fixa numa linha séria, mas de repente ele sorriu ao ver o padre Christopher, e no sorriso Hook viu um homem capaz de inspirar outros homens a grande lealdade e vitórias."Vocês irão gostar muito desse livro, tenho certeza! A rixa da família Hook com a família Perrill se estende por todas as páginas e rende vários momentos de apreensão. O prólogo é sensacional, digno de uma obra de Bernard Cornwell. A única coisa que eu "não gostei" foi da narrativa em terceira pessoa, mas isso é algo mínimo comparado com a grandiosidade do livro.E só para constar: eu nunca me canso de ler os livros do Bernard Cornwell. São muitos detalhes, são tantas batalhas e reviravoltas que é muito difícil MESMO não gostar do estilo do autor e da sua narrativa. Azincourt é mais um livro na minha lista de favoritos!Pontos fortes: batalhas, descrições dos cenários e dos acontecimentos, intrigas... Enfim, tudo que deve existir em um romance histórico.Pontos fracos: o fato do leitor já saber que os ingleses venceriam essa batalha histórica.