Audiobooks narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon

Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Rome Audiobook

A fascinating and often-funny look into Romans' private (or not-so-private) lives, exploring the truth behind the empire's salacious reputation. From emperors to empresses, poets to prostitutes, slaves to plebs, ancient Rome was a wealth of different experiences and expectations—nowhere more so than around the subject of sex and sexuality. The image of ancient Rome that has come down to us is one of sexual excess: emperors gripped by perversion partaking in pleasure with whomever and whatever they fancied during weeklong orgies. But how true are these tales of depravity? Was it really a sexual free-for-all? What were the laws surrounding sexual engagement? How did these vary according to gender and class? And what happened to those who transgressed the rules? We invite you to climb into bed with the Romans to discover some very odd contraceptive devices, gather top tips on how to attract a partner, and learn why you should avoid poets as lovers at all costs. Along the way we'll stumble across potions and spells, emperors and their favorites, and some truly eye-popping interior decor choices.

L J Trafford (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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They Were Here Before Us: Stories from Our First Million Years

This is not a book about archaeological sites. We shall come across flint tools, bones, skulls, surprising structures, and layers of earth that we can date to different periods-but they are not the heart of the matter. This book is about us, human beings, and about our place in the world. About what we have done, where we came from, which other humans used to be here, why they are no longer with us, and how and why our lives have changed. It's also about where we went wrong. What did early humans do because they had no choice and what is the price we are paying for this now? Taking as the focus ten sites in Israel, the land corridor through which the human species passed on its journey from Africa to Europe, the story ranges far and wide from France, Spain, Turkey, and Georgia to Morocco and South Africa, North America, Columbia, and Peru. The authors follow the footsteps of our ancestors, describing the tools they used, the animals they hunted and the monuments they built. This provocative and panoramic book shows listeners what they can learn from their ancestors, and how the unwavering ability of prehistoric people to survive and thrive can continue into the present.

Eyal Halfon, Ran Barkai (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Traces of Magic

As long as she lived, Elizabeth would never forget the look on Darcy's face when he saw her coming towards him. Elizabeth and Darcy are finally settling down at the Netherfield Royal Mages Academy when a mysterious flare of magic sends them scampering to discover what is happening. But they are soon left with more questions than answers. Why has Elizabeth's sister Lydia gone missing? Who is the mysterious gentleman they encountered at an inn? And more importantly, why have they been summoned to London to attend to the Prince Regent himself? As Elizabeth and Darcy grapple with unsettling revelations, they find themselves caught up in a web of deception that could lead to the downfall of the Kingdom itself. If you enjoy your Pride and Prejudice with a twist of magic and a hint of Harry Potter, you will love following Darcy and Elizabeth's romance in this rollicking Jane Austen fantasy adventure set in the Regency world.

Monica Fairview (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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The Huxleys: An Intimate History of Evolution

This momentous biography tells the story of the Huxleys: the Victorian natural historian T. H. Huxley ('Darwin's Bulldog') and his grandson, the scientist, conservationist, and zoologist Julian Huxley. Between them, they communicated to the world the great modern story of the theory of evolution by natural selection. In The Huxleys, celebrated historian Alison Bashford writes about these omnivorous intellects together, almost as if they were a single man whose long, vital life bookended the colossal shifts in world history from the age of sail to the Space Age, and from colonial wars to world wars to the cold war. The Huxleys' specialty was evolution in all its forms-at the grandest level of species, deep time, the Earth, and at the most personal and intimate. They illuminated the problems and wonders of the modern world and they fundamentally shaped how we see ourselves. But perhaps their greatest subject was themselves. Bashford's engaging, brilliantly ambitious book interweaves the Huxleys' momentous public achievements with their private triumphs and tragedies. The result is the history of a family, but also a history of humanity grappling with its place in nature. This book shows how much we owe-for better or worse-to the unceasing curiosity, self-absorption, and enthusiasms of a small, strange group of men and women.

Alison Bashford (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought; 3rd Edition

Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought traces the development of Christian theology from its earliest days to the present. This authoritative, accessible textbook introduces the major theological movements, key ideas, and individual theologians of the Patristic Period, the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the Reformation and Post-Reformation, and the Modern Era up to the present day. Now in its third edition, Historical Theology includes substantial new sections on theodicy, modern African Christologies, and postcolonial theology. This fully updated new edition: provides a general overview of each period covered, including historical background and main theological developments; features individual case studies and excerpts from primary texts; defines the fundamental theological vocabulary necessary for engaging with other works; highlights the importance of the discipline of historical theology and its place in wider Christian theology; contains references to further readings in each chapter and full glossaries of important words, names, phrases, and theological developments. Written by one of the most renowned theologians in the field, Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought, Third Edition remains the perfect textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses.

Alister E. Mcgrath (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Female Network of Power in the Middle Ages

The lives of the sons of Eleanor of Aquitaine are the stuff of legend. Her daughters, however, are less well known, and the fascinating personalities of her daughters-in-law have been almost entirely overlooked, as have those of the daughters she bore Louis VII of France. The Families of Eleanor of Aquitaine redresses this balance and showcases the lives, travels, and careers of these ten very different women, who formed a great international network of political alliances that linked their parents, siblings, husbands, and children all across Europe and the Holy Land. Some of these women found happiness; others endured lives of turmoil and conflict. Some of them were close; others never met. But two things linked them all: their connection to Eleanor and to the kingdoms over which she reigned-and their determination to exert authority on their own terms in a male-dominated world.

J.F. Andrews (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Family: The Despensers

The Despensers were a baronial English family who rose to great prominence in the reign of Edward II (1307-27) when Hugh Despenser the Younger became the king's chamberlain, favorite, and perhaps, lover. He and his father Hugh the Elder wielded great influence, and Hugh the Younger's greed and tyranny brought down a king for the first time in English history and almost destroyed his own family. The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Family tells the story of the ups and downs of this fascinating family from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, when three Despenser lords were beheaded and two fell in battle. We begin with Hugh, Chief Justiciar of England, who died rebelling against King Henry III and his son in 1265, and end with Thomas Despenser, summarily beheaded in 1400 after attempting to free a deposed Richard II, and Thomas's posthumous daughter Isabella, a countess twice over and the grandmother of Richard III's queen. From the medieval version of Prime Ministers to the (possible) lovers of monarchs, the aristocratic Despenser family wielded great power in medieval England. Drawing on the popular intrigue and infamy of the Despenser clan, Kathryn Warner's book traces the lives of the most notorious, powerful, and influential members of this patrician family over a 200 year span.

Kathryn Warner (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Why Baby Boomers Turned from Religion: Shaping Belief and Belonging, 1945-2021

Mocked, vilified, blamed, and significantly misunderstood-the 'Baby Boomers' are members of the generation of post-WWII babies who came of age in the 1960s. Parents of the 1940s and 1950s raised their Boomer children to be respectable church-attendees, and yet in some ways demonstrated an ambivalence that permitted their children to spurn religion and eventually to raise their own children to be the least religious generation ever. The Baby Boomers studied here, living in the UK and Canada, were the last generation to have been routinely baptized and taken regularly to mainstream, Anglican churches. So, what went wrong-or, perhaps, right? This study, based on in-depth interviews, is the first to offer a sociological account of the sudden transition from religious parents to non-religious children and grandchildren, focusing exclusively on this generation of ex-Anglican Boomers. The Boomers featured here make sense of their lives and the world they helped create. They discuss how they continue to disbelieve in God yet have an easy relationship with ghosts, and how they did not, as theologians often claim, fall into an immoral self-centered abyss. They also reveal here the values, practices, and beliefs they transmitted to the future generations, helping shape the nonreligious identities of Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z.

Abby Day (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year

Interweaving literature, history, and religion, an exquisite meditation on the turning of the seasons in medieval England. Winters in the World is a beautifully observed journey through the cycle of the year in Anglo-Saxon England, exploring the festivals, customs, and traditions linked to the different seasons. Drawing on a wide variety of source material, including poetry, histories, and religious literature, Eleanor Parker investigates how Anglo-Saxons felt about the annual passing of the seasons and the profound relationship they saw between human life and the rhythms of nature. Many of the festivals celebrated in the United Kingdom today have their roots in the Anglo-Saxon period, and this book traces their surprising history while unearthing traditions now long forgotten. It celebrates some of the finest treasures of medieval literature and provides an imaginative connection to the Anglo-Saxon world.

Eleanor Parker (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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The True History of Merlin the Magician

A medieval historian examines what we really know about the man who was 'Merlin the Magician' and his impact on Britain. The historical Merlin was no rough magician: he was a learned figure from the cutting edge of medieval science and adept in astrology, cosmology, prophecy, and natural magic, as well as being a seer and a proto-alchemist. His powers were convincingly real-and useful, for they helped to add credibility to the 'long-lost' history of Britain which first revealed them to a European public. Merlin's prophecies reassuringly foretold Britain's path, establishing an ancient ancestral line and linking biblical prophecy with more recent times. Merlin helped to put British history into world history. Anne Lawrence-Mathers also explores the meaning of Merlin's magic across the centuries, arguing that he embodied ancient Christian and pagan magical traditions, recreated for a medieval court and shaped to fit a new moral framework. Linking Merlin's reality and power with the culture of the Middle Ages, this remarkable book reveals the true impact of the most famous magician of all time.

Anne Lawrence-Mathers (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Aesop's Animals: The Science Behind the Fables

Despite originating more than two-and-a-half thousand years ago, Aesop's Fables are still passed on from parent to child, and are embedded in our collective consciousness. The morals we have learned from these tales continue to inform our judgements, but have the stories also informed how we regard their animal protagonists? If so, is there any truth behind the stereotypes? Are wolves deceptive villains? Are crows insightful geniuses? And could a tortoise really beat a hare in a race? In Aesop's Animals, zoologist Jo Wimpenny turns a critical eye to the fables to discover whether there is any scientific truth to Aesop's portrayal of the animal kingdom. She brings the tales into the twenty-first century, introducing the latest findings on some of the most fascinating branches of ethological research-the study of why animals do the things they do. In each chapter she interrogates a classic fable and a different topic-future planning, tool use, self-recognition, cooperation and deception-concluding with a verdict on the veracity of each fable's portrayal from a scientific perspective. By sifting fact from fiction in one of the most beloved texts of our culture, Aesop's Animals explores and challenges our preconceived notions about animals, the way they behave, and the roles we both play in our shared world.

Jo Wimpenny (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Two Houses, Two Kingdoms: A History of France and England, 1100-1300

An exhilarating, accessible chronicle of the ruling families of France and England, showing how two dynasties formed one extraordinary story The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were a time of personal monarchy, when the close friendship or petty feuding between kings and queens could determine the course of history. The Capetians of France and the Angevins of England waged war, made peace, and intermarried. The lands under the control of the English king once reached to within a few miles of Paris, and those ruled by the French house, at their apogee, crossed the Channel and encompassed London itself. In this lively, engaging history, Catherine Hanley traces the great clashes, and occasional friendships, of the two dynasties. Along the way, she emphasizes the fascinating and influential women of the houses-including Eleanor of Aquitaine and Blanche of Castille-and shows how personalities and familial bonds shaped the fate of two countries. This is a tale of two intertwined dynasties that shaped the present and the future of England and France, told through the stories of the people involved.

Catherine Hanley (Author), Jennifer M. Dixon (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon