The Fens
Discovering England's Ancient Depths
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The Fens
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Narrated by:
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Francis Pryor
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By:
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Francis Pryor
About this listen
Whenever I travel somewhere else, in upland Britain, I find the hills and the horizon are leaning towards me, as if trying to cover me over; to blinker my gaze and stifle my imagination. It's always a huge relief to get back to the infinite vistas of the Fens.
The Fens is Britain's most distinctive, complex, man-made and least understood landscape. Francis Pryor has lived in, excavated, farmed, walked and loved the Fen Country for more than 40 years: its levels and drains, its soaring churches and magnificent medieval buildings.
In The Fens, he counterpoints the history of the Fenland landscape and its transformation - the great drainage projects that created the Old and New Bedford Rivers, the Ouse Washes and Bedford Levels, the rise of prosperous towns and cities, such as King's Lynn, Cambridge, Peterborough, Boston and Lincoln - with the story of his own discovery of it as an archaeologist.
©2019 Francis Pryor (P)2019 Head of ZeusListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Pryor feels the land rather than simply knowing it." (Guardian)
"Francis Pryor brings the magic of the Fens to life in a deeply personal and utterly enthralling way." (Tony Robinson)
What listeners say about The Fens
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- N G Bowling
- 24-09-20
Entrancing
I was familiar with Francis Pryor through his TV work but woefully ignorant of his background. This beautifully read book lays bare his deep roots with the Fens, it’s archaeology, and the people of Fenland. As you would expect the archaeology forms a large part of the book but it is far more than that. I found the changing attitudes to the Fenlands over history fascinating, how attempts at changing it have led to what we see today. It is one area of the UK that I am completely unfamiliar with but this book guarantees that situation won’t last for much longer.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Janet Sturman
- 27-12-22
So good 👍
Loved this and the authors reference to John.Clare took me back to my classroom of the 60's. I have now listened to this 37 times and counting.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- H
- 13-04-21
Interesting
Although sometimes I felt the flow of the book suffered from the style of narration I enjoyed it. Have worked in the vicinity and never knew much about the area so I better informed and want to find out more.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- ross
- 30-08-24
Captivating
I have lived in the fens from the south to the north and have always loved the big skies and wildlife and after listening to this book I now love the history. A fascinating and enlightening listen. I could feel the authors love and passion for the fen landscape and it's history ooze from this book which made it all the more enjoyable
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- JAMES W A WAGG
- 21-06-20
Wonderful
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. Having grown up in an around the Fens myself, there are so many things mentioned that I could relate to. But I was unaware of the archeological history of the area, and this book presents it in a very interesting and understandable way. It has opened my eyes to things in way I didn’t think was possible, hence my title of wonderful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- J A Pendred
- 03-12-21
The Fens
amazing. it's a journey that sweeps you away. I love it. I feel inspired to visit every thing that is described.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Squirrelborn
- 03-05-20
The Fens
A very informative, comfortable journey through an area of national historic significance, which Pryor knows in the kind of way that can only stem from a lifetime of work, exploration and intrigue.
Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- EA Reader
- 05-12-23
Featureless Fens ?
I always thought the Cambridgeshire Fens a boring and featureless place and would never fail to tell other people how boring it was, this state of mind wasn't helped much by the fact that my mother in law lived in Spalding. As I've grown older my viewpoint has changed a little but not much. However having picked up this book in Waterstones I found it offered a little more of an insight into the region from a totally different perspective. I picked this book up in Waterstones and I'm so glad I did as it is a wonderful read and I would fully recommend it to those who know the area and want to find out much more about it. Also to those who don't but may have some pre-conceived ideas about this landscape. I also brought the Audio book to listen to when I next make the long trip along the A16.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- C
- 05-03-20
Fantastic book
Really interesting book covering landscape, archaeology, history and a little bit of autobiography. It’s left me with a real desire to visit the Fens.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- K. Lawton
- 17-02-21
Really enjoyable and personality driven
I am enjoying listening to this— he has had such a remarkable personal experience. The description of what the book is like it's quite accurate so do read that. it is not a general history and it's very much assuming that you like Francis Pryor (for example, based on seeing him on Time Team), and want to know more about the realities of archaeological discovery, and how serendipitous that can be at times. I do find he takes more focus than the average narrator, but it is content-rich and worth rewinding if necessary.
The only improvement I would make is to include the images that are in the book as a downloadable, I did look some of them up on the internet because they were not so easy to visualise.
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1 person found this helpful