Crypt cover art

Crypt

Life, Death and Disease in the Middle Ages and Beyond

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Crypt

By: Alice Roberts
Narrated by: Alice Roberts
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About this listen

THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER
CHOSEN BY WATERSTONES AS ONE OF THEIR BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF 2024

'Compulsive . . . A wonderful display of how modern archaeology can bring hidden histories to life' Daily Telegraph

'Gripping . . . I found it hard to put down' Evening Standard

'Another really good book from archaeologist Alice Roberts . . . Helps you understand the facts on a technical level, but also makes you feel them in your bones' New Scientist

'Robert's reflections on Thomas Becket and Canterbury Cathedral are especially entertaining . . . Fascinating' Spectator

The new book by Sunday Times bestselling author of Ancestors and Buried - the final instalment in Professor Alice Roberts' acclaimed trilogy.

We can unlock secrets from bones preserved for centuries in tombs, graves and crypts.

The history of the Middle Ages is typically the story of the rich and powerful, there’s barely a written note for most people’s lives. Archaeology represents another way of interrogating our history. By using cutting-edge science to examine human remains and burials, it is possible to unearth details about how individuals lived and died that give us a new understanding of the past – one that is more intimate and inclusive than ever before.

The seven stories in Crypt are not comforting tales. We meet the patients at one of the earliest hospitals in England and the victims of the St Brice’s Day Massacre. We see a society struggling to make sense of disease, disability and death, as incurable epidemics sweep through medieval Europe. We learn of a protracted battle between Church and State that led to the murder of Thomas Becket and the destruction of the most famous tomb in England. And we come face to face with the archers who went down with Henry VIII’s favourite ship, the Mary Rose.

Beautifully written and expertly researched by Professor Alice Roberts, Crypt is packed with thrilling discoveries that will make you see the history of Britain afresh.©2023 Alice Roberts (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, UK
Archaeology Great Britain Thought-Provoking

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A great final

A great final to her triptych of books about ancient disease, death and burial rites.

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Fascinating tale that brings the past to life

I loved the details setting things in context and the explanation of disease. Following each skeleton and grave site through a process which explains the effects on function and the social context of an illness or skeletal deformation.

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A fascinating read

The author grabs your attention and holds it to the last page with interesting facts and stories

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Absolutely incredible!

Alice Roberts is such a great storyteller and provides the depth of knowledge needed for this sort of book but in a way that is easy to understand and follow.

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