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A Talent for Trouble
- The Dorset Boy, Book 1
- Narrated by: Grant Stimpson
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
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A Talent for Trouble
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Publisher's summary
In the late 18th century, life was cheap and you had fight to survive.
Martin Stockley at 12 years old was underfed and undersized as the youngest of nine in a Dorset clay miner's family and was probably doomed to die, worn out and broken at a very young age in the clay mines of Dorset. But he had a sharp mind, had learned to read, write, and do his numbers and had a fascination for maps.
A stroke of good fortune sees him escape that destiny and be taken on as a ship's boy and under steward to the captain in the Royal Navy frigate the Falcon. What follows is a chronicle of his talent for getting into and out of trouble at Gibraltar, the siege of Toulon, and against Barbary pirates.
Luck and a lot of Dorset courage sees him at the center of a series of adventures. Blood, guts, a beautiful Contessa and prize money. What more could a young lad from Dorset ask for?
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-
Mr Midshipman Hornblower
- By: C. S. Forester
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,834
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,642
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,626
Shaking off this label, a shy and lonely 17-year-old, Horatio Hornblower, embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy on HMS Justinian. In action, adventure, and battle he is forged into one of the most formidable junior officers in the service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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First rate historical fiction
- By Jason on 04-30-17
By: C. S. Forester
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Bloody Jack
- By: L. A. Meyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,435
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,745
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,748
Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of 18th-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Sometimes it clicks
- By Terry on 12-09-09
By: L. A. Meyer
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Under Enemy Colors
- By: S. Thomas Russell
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 611
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 452
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 452
At the time of the French Revolution, one of Britain's most skillful naval officers, Charles Saunders Hayden, is a young lieutenant, the son of an English father and a French mother. His abilities and his loyalty to the king of England are beyond dispute, yet his career seems doomed by his "mixed" heritage and lack of political connections. Consequently, Hayden is assigned to an aging frigate, the Themis, under the command of Captain Josiah Hart, a man known as "Faint Hart" throughout the service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect for first timer
- By Blackmac on 08-07-08
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James Cook
- The Story Behind the Man Who Mapped the World
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 21 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 245
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 205
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Story5 out of 5 stars 206
The name Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in Australian history - an almost mythic figure who is often discussed, celebrated, reviled and debated. But who was the real James Cook? This Yorkshire farm boy would go on to become the foremost mariner, scientist, navigator and cartographer of his era, and to personally map a third of the globe. His great voyages of discovery were incredible feats of seamanship and navigation.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great. But...
- By Virgil Tracy on 05-01-21
By: Peter FitzSimons
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Two Years Before the Mast
- By: Richard Henry Dana
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
Two Years Before the Mast is an American classic published in 1840. This is the account of Richard Henry Dana’s two-year adventure as a sailor. Throughout his time sailing around Cape Horn on the brig Pilgrim, Dana kept a diary, and on his return to Massachusetts, he wrote this now-loved classic. While attending Harvard College, Dana was stricken with measles, which would ultimately have a detrimental effect on his eyesight.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant
- By scott m on 03-12-19
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The Bright and Breaking Sea
- Kit Brightling Series, Book 1
- By: Chloe Neill
- Narrated by: Danielle Cohen
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
Kit Brightling, rescued as a foundling and raised in a home for talented girls, has worked hard to rise through the ranks of the Isles' Crown Command and become one of the few female captains in Queen Charlotte's fleet. Her ship is small, but she's fast - in part because of Kit's magical affinity to the sea. But the waters become perilous when the queen sends Kit on a special mission with a partner she never asked for. Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe, may be a veteran of the Continental war, but Kit doesn't know him or his motives....
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4 out of 5 stars
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It's really good, but not quite great
- By Mariya Joldzic on 11-29-20
By: Chloe Neill
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Mutiny on the Bounty
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 789
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 684
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Story5 out of 5 stars 680
The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
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5 out of 5 stars
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You don't know the whole story.
- By Justin Sluyter on 05-01-19
By: Peter FitzSimons
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Pirate of the Prophecy
- Empress of the Endless Sea, Book 1
- By: Jack Campbell
- Narrated by: Caitlin Davies
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 467
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 407
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 408
On the world of Dematr, the Emperor and his legions rule over the lands on the eastern side of the Sea of Bakre, and the Great Guilds rule over the Emperor and his subjects. The Mechanics Guild, whose members claim they came from the stars, controls technology far beyond that of the swords and sailing ships of the common people, while the Mage Guild wields strange powers. Jules, an orphan, has fought her way up to become an officer in training with the Emperor’s fleet. But her life is shattered when a Mage prophesizes that her bloodline will one day overthrow the Great Guilds.
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1 out of 5 stars
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I had to stop listening
- By Budgiegrower on 03-31-20
By: Jack Campbell
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In the Wake of Madness
- The Murderous Voyage of the Whaleship Sharon
- By: Joan Druett
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 164
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 120
Commanded by Captain Howes Norris, the Sharon headed for the whaling grounds of the northwestern Pacific. At Pohnpei Island, 12 men from the Sharon deserted the ship, leaving her critically shorthanded. After steering for New Zealand to recruit more crew, the men on lookout raised a school of sperm whales. Two boats gave chase, each with a crew of six. Five men were left on board the Sharon: Norris, three pacific Islanders, and a Portuguese boy named Manuel.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Love this author.
- By David H. on 07-15-17
By: Joan Druett
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Flint & Silver
- A Prequel to Treasure Island
- By: John Drake
- Narrated by: Tim Gregory
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 128
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 114
A swashbuckling triumph of storytelling, Flint and Silver provides a thrilling ride back to the rich and wondrous world of Long John Silver and his fiendish nemesis Joseph Flint in this prequel to the beloved classic Treasure Island.
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4 out of 5 stars
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where are the other two books in the series??
- By Scott Pruitt on 05-31-18
By: John Drake
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The House of the Four Winds
- One Dozen Daughters, Book 1
- By: Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory
- Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 356
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 317
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Story4 out of 5 stars 318
The rulers of tiny, impoverished Swansgaard have twelve daughters and one son. While the prince’s future is assured, his twelve sisters must find their own fortunes. Disguising herself as Clarence, Princess Clarice intends to sail to the New World. When the crew rebels, Clarice/Clarence, an expert with rapier and dagger, sides with the handsome navigator, Dominick, and kills the cruel captain. Dominick leads the now - outlawed crew in search of treasure in the secret pirate haven known as The House of the Four Winds.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Solid story, but this one is popcorn
- By Phillip on 09-19-14
By: Mercedes Lackey, and others
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A Beautiful Blue Death
- Charles Lenox Mysteries Series #1
- By: Charles Finch
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,253
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,109
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,108
Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I like cozy
- By Sheryl on 05-21-12
By: Charles Finch
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Give Me a Fast Ship
- The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
America in 1775 was on the verge of revolution - or, more likely, disastrous defeat. After the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord, England's King George sent hundreds of ships westward to bottle up American harbors and prey on American shipping. Colonists had no force to defend their coastline and waterways until John Adams of Massachusetts proposed a bold solution: The Continental Congress should raise a navy. Meticulously researched and masterfully told, Give Me a Fast Ship is the definitive history of the American Navy during the Revolutionary War.
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4 out of 5 stars
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I learned so much
- By William on 05-08-17
By: Tim McGrath
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Iron Dawn
- The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle That Changed History
- By: Richard Snow
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 440
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 386
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 386
No single sea battle has had more far-reaching consequences than the one fought in the harbor at Hampton Roads, Virginia, in March 1862. The Confederacy, with no fleet of its own, built an iron fort containing 10 heavy guns on the hull of a captured Union frigate named the Merrimack. The North got word of the project when it was already well along, and, in desperation, commissioned an eccentric inventor named John Ericsson to build the Monitor, an entirely revolutionary iron warship.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good book about an underreported area of the civil war
- By Brian on 11-09-16
By: Richard Snow
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Badge of Glory
- By: Douglas Reeman
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
It was an age of empire, an age of contrast, and an age of dramatic change - and one which would determine the destinies of nations as well as of men. Captain Philip Blackwood of the Royal Marines rejoins his ship, HMS Audacious, in August of 1850, anxious to get back into action. "Per Mare - Per Terram" is the marines' motto. In the torturous heat of Africa, where they are sent to stamp out the remaining strongholds of slavery, and later, in the bitter war of the Crimea, Philip Blackwood and his men learn to obey it without question.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good story
- By Thomas Crawford on 05-29-23
By: Douglas Reeman
What listeners say about A Talent for Trouble
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mike Pierdon
- 10-25-23
Good choice for kids
I love this genre but the “classics” like Aubrey Maturin are too advanced for my kids. This is a a great intro to the genre appropriate for preteens and teens. Excellent work. Look forward to listening to the next books.
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