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Marie Therese, Child of Terror
- The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
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Publisher's summary
She emerged to an uncertain future: an orphan, exile, and focus of political plots and marriage schemes of the crowned heads of Europe. Throughout, she remained stubbornly loyal to France and to the Bourbon dynasty of which she was part. However, the horrors she had witnessed and been a victim to would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Many believe to this day that the traumatized princess was switched with her "half sister" and spirited away to live as "the Dark Countess", leaving the impostor to play her role on the political stage of Europe. Now, 200 years later, using handwriting samples, DNA testing, and a cache of Bourbon family letters, Susan Nagel finally solves this mystery.
Nagel tells a remarkable story of an astonishing woman, from her birth, to her upbringing by doting parents, through to Revolution, imprisonment, exile, Restoration, and, finally, her reincarnation as saint and matriarch.
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The name Borgia is synonymous with the corruption, nepotism, and greed that were rife in Renaissance Italy. The powerful, voracious Rodrigo Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI, was the central figure of the dynasty. Two of his seven papal offspring also rose to power and fame. The Borgias were notorious for seizing power, wealth, land, and titles through bribery, marriage, and murder. The story of the family's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to the highest position in Italian society is an absorbing tale.
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Covers the bases, but falls a little flat.
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Josephine de Beauharnais began as a kept woman of Paris and became the most powerful woman in France. She was no beauty; her teeth were rotten, and she was six years older than her husband, but one twitch of her skirt could bring running the man who terrorized Europe. The tale of Napoleon and Josephine is one of the most famous love stories in the world. With Josephine, Napoleon became the greatest man in Europe, the Supreme Emperor.
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Thrilling, romantic, fascinating, and enlightening
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Ten remarkable women. One remarkable era. In the Tudor period, 1485 to 1603, a host of fascinating women sat on the English throne. The dramatic events of their lives are told in The Turbulent Crown: The Story of the Tudor Queens.
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a very good listen
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Written with an exciting combination of narrative flair and historical authority, this interpretation of the tragic life of Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, breaks new ground in our understanding of the very young woman who became queen at a time of unprecedented social and political tension and whose terrible errors in judgment quickly led her to the executioner's block.
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Magnifent scholarly work
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The Tudors are England's most notorious royal family. But, as Leanda de Lisle's gripping new history reveals, they are a family still more extraordinary than the one we thought we knew. The Tudor canon typically starts with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 before speeding on to Henry VIII and the Reformation. But this leaves out the family's obscure Welsh origins and the ordinary man known as Owen Tudor who would fall (literally) into a queen's lap - and later her bed.
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Clear and detailed
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On 6 July 1868, when told of the birth of her seventh granddaughter, Queen Victoria remarked that the news was "a very uninteresting thing for it seems to me to go on like the rabbits in Windsor Park". Her apathy was understandable - this was her 14th grandchild, and, though she had given birth to nine children, she had never been fond of babies, viewing them as "frog-like and rather disgusting...particularly when undressed".
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Loved every minute!
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Queen Victoria's Matchmaking
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A captivating exploration of the role in which Queen Victoria exerted the most international power and influence: as a matchmaking grandmother. Queen Victoria's Matchmaking travels through the glittering, decadent palaces of Europe from London to Saint Petersburg, weaving in scandals, political machinations, and family tensions. It is at once an intimate portrait of a royal family and an examination of the conflict caused by the marriages the Queen arranged. At the heart of it all is Victoria herself: doting grandmother one moment, determined Queen Empress the next.
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Beautifully written and narrated
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The Rival Queens
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Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for 30 years. Her youngest daughter, Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.
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Definitely not a dull bio!
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To the Scaffold
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To this day Marie Antoinette remains one of history’s most misunderstood heroines. How she triumphed over the petty jealousies and backstairs rivalries of the court, how she sustained a good-hearted but malleable king, and how she was transformed from French queen to Austrian “whore,” is the story told with skill and fascinating detail.
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Davina Porter is a treasure!
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Victoria
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The longest reigning British monarch and female sovereign in history, Queen Victoria was a figure of profound paradox who has mystified historians for over a century. Now in this magisterial biography, A.N. Wilson rebukes the conventional wisdom about her life - that she was merely a "funny little woman in a bonnet" who did next to nothing - to show she was in fact intensely involved in state affairs despite a public façade of inaction.
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This book has old and new info
- By Dr. A. on 10-29-14
By: A. N. Wilson
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What listeners say about Marie Therese, Child of Terror
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- Adeliese Baumann
- 03-07-13
Essential reading for students of Bourbon history
The life of Marie Thérèse de France, or "Madame Royale," as she would be known, is brought to life in this fascinating biography. Nagel takes us from our heroine's birth as an adored and pampered "Daddy's girl" to her unspeakable experiences during the revolution, then into adult life, her travels in exile, and her marriage to Louis-Antoine, duc d'Angoulême. There is never a dull moment in this well-researched, beautifully written biography of a subject who has too often been forgotten.
For those who have studied the Bourbon monarchy and the revolution, most of what is written up to Chapter 10, "Two Orphans," may be a review. However, it is essential background in such a biography. It will be accessible to those who are new to the subject, although it would be helpful if the audio had a PDF download of the geneaology charts included with the hardcover to help one keep track of the labrynthine royal inter-relationships.
Nagel makes a strong case against the "Dark Countess theory." The Dunkelgräfin as she is known in her German home, was the comtesse des Ténèbres, around whom controversy continues to the present day. It was said she was substituted for Madame Royale, and her unusually secretive and eccentric behavior masked her true identity.
Whatever one might conclude about Madame Royale, one would have to have a heart of stone not to grieve for any person of any station who would have lived through such tumult and terror. For me, Nagel revivified a memorable and heart-breaking character who will stay with me for a very long time.
Also recommended: "The Lost King of France: How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son on Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette" by Deborah Cadbury.
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14 people found this helpful
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- Celina
- 02-21-16
Extreme Detail
it is clear that the author did EXTENSIVE research and although listening to this took me about 2 months, I very much enjoyed all that I learned about the Bourbon family.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Mary Elizabeth Reynolds
- 04-07-14
Child of Terror, indeed
I know little about the French Revolution being a geeky anglophile, but I certainly did learn a lot from this book since I just came in knowing that the monarchs had lost their heads. I didn't know that they had a child to survive the terror, but they did. Although I found out it very hard to relate to the whole divine right of king's thing, I did see why it had worked at one time and why it failed.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Candace
- 06-06-15
My Kind of History Class
Excellent listen!! The story and narrator were top notch and this is the way I like to study history!
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6 people found this helpful
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- Little Willow
- 11-27-12
Even with all my European history
Would you listen to Marie Therese, Child of Terror again? Why?
No but that is not to be considered a negative reaction, although I enjoyed listening to it I like to move onto other biographies or nonfiction titles. So many so little time!
What was one of the most memorable moments of Marie Therese, Child of Terror?
For me when her mother had to leave her young children to face her death not knowing what fate awaited her children. As tender and loving a mother as she was that had to be the worst kind of torture.
Which character – as performed by Rosalyn Landor – was your favorite?
I think her mother. MA showed herself to be very perceptive in knowing how, with her Austrian background, that many elements in French society including her own husband's family were willing to vilify her to use the enraged and irrational masses to gain popularity. She taught her children to be mindful of others which many parents aristocratic or peasant did not do and yet she and her husband paid for their lives unfortunately living in such a political whirlwind they could not control or defend themselves against.
I believe because of her influence and her father's Marie Therese was able to overcome the terrible experiences of her youth to remain a decent and caring human being and not use it as an excuse to hate when to the reader she almost deserved to after the treatment she witnessed . Inspiring to all of us as to true "Christian" witness which is difficult for any to live up to but few of us experience the horrors she did. By reading it it makes you feel a little ashamed at not trying harder.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It was very good but I knew it was long and wanted to enjoy it over a week or so.
Any additional comments?
If you like biographies or history it is very good, I am picky about narrators and was afraid at the start she was too stilted ( I am Irish and my accent gets mistaken for a Brit so it wasn't that, and my family lived there) but she was very good and I enjoyed her reading thoroughly. Her french pronunciation of names or quotations was perfect.
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6 people found this helpful
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- EJJ
- 04-01-15
Riveting and Highly Recommended.
An excellent book, and one dealing with the Bourbon side of the political upheavals in France from the 1780s through the rise of Napoleon III. While I was listening to this book, I happened to be teaching a history course on the French Revolution and Napoleonic Era, as well as spending a little time in Paris. The account led me to revisit many locations connected to the 1789 French Revolution and the Terror, and it gave these locations increased signifance. In addition, The narration is very well-done.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Lindsey
- 02-14-17
HistroNerds will be pleased, but isn't thrilling
If you could sum up Marie Therese, Child of Terror in three words, what would they be?
Admirable
Biographical
Anticlimactic
Who was your favorite character and why?
Marie Therese is someone to be admired, for sure, but the author gives the reader no other option for protagonist/hero.
What about Rosalyn Landor’s performance did you like?
Her accents were fluid and natural, communicating changes in age, gender, and nationality easily.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I think, if done right, this would be a good TV series. It didn't make me laugh or cry, but as I was listening, I could picture the book's scenes in the style of "The Borgias" or "The Tudors." Certainly not enough popular attention has been given to Marie Therese's legacy.
Any additional comments?
If, like me, you've ever been confused about the order of events during, after the French Revolution, this is a good book for information. Marie Therese's unrelenting loyalty to the French made their major events her own, so Nagel covered them well.
This is a very personable account, and Nagel has tried to make part of it a mystery. I understand why she made that move, but it felt anticlimactic considering Marie Therese's life post-Revolution. No mind-blowing information was given, though she trumped up the Dark Countess and other Marie Therese scandals.
Drags a bit in the 12-17 chapters.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Splendifermoose
- 06-04-15
Just okay
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
As an enthusiastic reader of history, a biography of Marie Therese is an engaging idea-- to find out what happened to the last child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette during such a tumultuous time in European history? It would be difficult to make such a story uninteresting. Unfortunately, this audiobook struggles with both her historical irrelevancy and lack of personal voice. Upon fleeing France, Marie Therese's life becomes a plodding series of background roles in the shadow of marginally significant male relations.
There are some potentially interesting tidbits of information that other narratives of this era don't cover, mainly details of the royalist and emigre groups scattered across Europe, which are glossed over in favor of listless summaries of Marie Therese's dry marital negotiations.
There is also a rather tedious ongoing recounting of the "Black Countess," some unnamed woman rumored to be the actual Marie Therese who occasionally pops up in the narrative, but whose presence in the book goes nowhere.
I actually listened to this audiobook twice, because I could not remember much after the first listen, and I desperately wanted this story to be engrossing. Ultimately it wasn't. As a historical work, it's difficult to maintain interest in a figure with no agency who is also on the wrong side of history, for whom the most anyone seemed to be able to say about her was that she carried herself well in public . As a biography, it might has been saved by any insight into her responses to the trauma and uncertainty of her life, because surely she had an incredibly rich inner experience, but apparently her letters are not available so the book is primarily a summary of fawning second hand accounts.
There is only a disappointing glimmer of the book that might have been, not all of which is the fault of the author, but also the challenges of available material.
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- GranolaTwin1
- 10-04-12
Too detailed for me
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
People who like a lot of details about the period and family.
Has Marie Therese, Child of Terror turned you off from other books in this genre?
No.
What three words best describe Rosalyn Landor’s voice?
Steady, clear, and appropriate.
Any additional comments?
Very detailed. If it was a bit shorter, I would have rated this a lot higher. I couldn't even finish it!
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- Lyn
- 08-03-18
A unique viewpoint of the French Revolution
There are plenty of books about the French Revolution. Some books are purely historical and some are purely fictional but this book has it all. It tells historical facts in a story format based upon a real woman who lived through it. It was well written and well narrated. I was sorry when it ended.
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