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This Rough Ocean
- Narrated by: Philip Battley
- Length: 23 hrs and 57 mins
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This Rough Ocean
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Summary
It is December, 1648, and England faces one of the greatest crises in its history. Bands of renegade soldiers and broken men roam the countryside, looting, burning, and raping. In Parliament, former allies are torn apart after six years of bloody conflict. Will there be peace instead of war, or a military takeover of the country?
John Swynfen, a rising young MP and one of the leaders of the moderate party, is working for peace, but only if safeguards can be established to protect Parliament and control the powers of the king. Ranged against him and his friends are Oliver Cromwell and his son-in-law Henry Ireton, intent on seizing power by the sword and destroying not only the monarchy but the elected government. Within a few weeks, London is occupied by Cromwell's army, parliamentary government is in ruins, the king is executed. And John Swynfen is a prisoner.
Anne Swynfen travels home from Westminster to Staffordshire with her young children through a desperate winter. There, uncertain whether she will ever see her husband again, she takes charge of the large estate, where starvation looms due to bad harvests, and violent danger threatens from outlaws and the armies of both sides. While she struggles against prejudice to do a man's job, John is shot, beaten, shackled, humiliated, and tortured. Tempted by golden promises if he recants, threatened with death if he does not, he tries to cling to his sanity and his beliefs. When he finally escapes, he begins a terrible journey home across war-torn England to find his wife.
This is a story about keeping faith - many kinds of faith - in the face of terror, anguish, and despair.
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What listeners say about This Rough Ocean
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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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SMC
- 14-11-18
A great storyteller, thoroughly enjoyed it
Loved this tale, it was a great eyeopener on the historical time period, and the description of the characters and their lives was vivid.
It takes quite a lot to keep me interested in an almost 24 hour listen as it is in-car commute mostly, and at first the narrator's style did not suit me, however by adjusting the speed to 1,25 it soon became familiar and I couldn't wait for my next "episode"
Nothing negative for me, if you love historical novels with a basis on fact and real characters you will love this book and end up knowing a bit more about the tumultuous Cromwellian era.
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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
- Erika
- 20-06-20
Very enjoyable blend of history and fiction
This book kept my interest from beginning to end, with no dull patches. Phillip Battley narrated at a good (suitable) pace and gave an appropriate voice to each character. Set in the time of the English civil wars this book is both informative and entertaining (not haha, just enjoyable pass time). The story has a solid historical base and left me better informed on some aspects of that period, but without presenting as a history book. I particularly liked the author's erudite linguistic style and whilst the book is placed in the fiction section and is essentially a novel (that's how I see it) the reader/listener does not have the feeling that it was written for a 12-year-old, which I have found to be the case for some fiction works on audible and which is great for 12-year-olds, or 50-year-olds who want to just zone out, but us grown-ups sometimes want to zone out with a slightly more literary piece and this is a great example. Very enjoyable and I recommend this audiobook
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