Agincourt – Bernard Cornwell
Feb 20th, 2010 by Ashley
This is the first time that I read (okay, listen to) a book simply because I like the reader. Agincourt is read by Charles Keating, who read The Lighthouse and The Murder Room and Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James. His voice is affectionate without being to sentimental, authoritative yet kind and his reading is always engaging.
Agincourt is about the battle took place in 1415 that shocked Christendom. The Battle of Agincourt, or Azincourt in French, was of little real significance in the hundred year war. For Henry V, it had not been a successful campaign since he marched his army onto Upper Normandy. However, the fact that the sickness stricken and exhausted English army was able to defeat the healthy, well-equipped French who outnumbered the English probably 4 to 1 (even 6 to 1) makes the battle fascinating. Shakespeare’s play Henry V which centers the battle doesn’t hurt, either.
In Agincourt, Cornwell tells the story not from the King, not from the gallant Sir John Cornewaille, who was a real Agincourt hero, but from an archer’s point of view. Because of that, we are able to experience the battle in closeup. Not on a horseback in shiny armor, but really see the nastiness and fear of the battlefield. While telling the riveting story, Cornwell manages to delivering a great deal knowledge on battlefield maneuver and medieval war technology, which doesn’t interrupt the story but make it even more engaging.
I thoroughly love it.