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Fortune's Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora
- The Theodora Duology, Book One
- Narrated by: James Gillies
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
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Fortune's Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora
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Publisher's summary
Theodora: Actress, prostitute, mistress, feminist. And Byzantine Empress of the civilized world. Stephen: Handsome Syrian boy, wizard's apprentice, palace eunuch. And Secretary to the Empress. How does this unlikely pair become such allies that one day Empress Theodora asks Stephen to write her biography?
From a very young age, Theodora, daughter of a circus bearkeeper in Constantinople, sets her sights well above her station in life. Her exquisite beauty sets her apart on stages and in the eyes of men.
Stephen, a Syrian lad of striking good looks, is sold by his parents to a Persian wizard, who teaches him a skill in languages that will serve him well.
By the time Destiny brings them together in Antioch, Theodora has undergone heart-rending trials and a transformation, while Stephen has been sold again...and castrated.
Discover the enduring bond that, however imperfect, prompts Theodora - as Empress - to request palace eunuch Stephen to write her biography.
Critic reviews
"A meticulously researched historical account presented in the form of a thrilling political drama". (Kirkus Reviews)
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
It's Rome, 44 BC, and the Ides of March are approaching. Julius Caesar has been appointed dictator for life by the Roman Senate. Having pardoned his remaining enemies and rewarded his friends, Caesar is now preparing to leave Rome with his army to fight the Parthian Empire. Gordianus the Finder, after decades of investigating crimes and murders involving the powerful, has set aside enough that he's been raised to the Equestrian rank and has firmly and finally retired. On the morning of March 10th, though, he's first summoned to meet with Cicero and then with Caesar himself.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Oh, How Disappointing!
- By Gillian on 03-01-18
By: Steven Saylor
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Hand of Isis
- By: Jo Graham
- Narrated by: Gigi Shane
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Charmian is handmaiden to Cleopatra. She is also an oracle, gifted with ancient memories that may hold the key to preserving Egypt. Through blood and fire, war and peace, love and death, she will face a desperate struggle that will remake the future of the world.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Reader does not know how to pronounce words
- By Gail N. on 07-31-19
By: Jo Graham
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Echo in Onyx
- Uncommon Echoes, Book 1
- By: Sharon Shinn
- Narrated by: Emily Bauer
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 140
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 128
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Story4 out of 5 stars 128
Brianna loves her new job as maid to Lady Marguerite. Like many high nobles, Marguerite is attended by echoes, silent creatures who look exactly like her and move in perfect synchronicity. News soon comes that Marguerite has been invited to the royal city as a potential bride for the crown prince. Brianna is delighted to accompany Marguerite to the city - and perhaps get a chance to continue her own flirtation with Nico, one of the king’s inquisitors. Then, disaster strikes on the road when they come under attack.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Skipped ahead
- By Scarlettleigh on 03-24-19
By: Sharon Shinn
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The Bard's Blade
- The Sorcerer's Song, Book 1
- By: Brian D. Anderson
- Narrated by: Andrew Kingston, Tamsin Kennard
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 141
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 124
Mariyah enjoys a simple life in Vylari, a land magically sealed off from the outside world, where fear and hatred are all but unknown. There, she's a renowned wine maker, and her betrothed, Lem, is a musician of rare talent. Their destiny has never been in question. Whatever life brings, they will face it together. Then, a stranger crosses the wards into Vylari for the first time in centuries, bringing a dark prophecy that forces Lem and Mariyah down separate paths. How far will they have to go to stop a rising darkness and save their home?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Something new
- By Blaise Ancona on 02-20-20
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A Shadow in Summer
- Long Price Quartet, Book 1
- By: Daniel Abraham
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 296
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 263
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Story4 out of 5 stars 260
The powerful city-state of Saraykeht is a bastion of peace and culture, a major center of commerce and trade. Its economy depends on the power of the captive spirit Seedless, an and at bound to the poet-sorcerer Heshai for life. Enter the Galts, an empire committed to laying waste to all lands with their ferocious army. Saraykeht has always been too strong for the Galts to attack, but now they see an opportunity.
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4 out of 5 stars
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REALLY Hard to Rate!
- By Trip Williams on 04-27-15
By: Daniel Abraham
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The Book of Longings
- A Novel
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò, Sue Monk Kidd
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,823
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,090
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,059
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with 18-year-old Jesus changes everything.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Made me cringe
- By Joan on 05-08-20
By: Sue Monk Kidd
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The Chocolate Maker's Wife
- By: Karen Brooks
- Narrated by: Willow Nash
- Length: 20 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 109
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 110
Born into poverty, brutalised and ignored by her family, it is only when she is married off to a nobleman that her life undergoes a transformation, as her husband recognises in Rosamund a magic she does not know she possesses but which affects almost all who encounter her. Presiding over a luxurious chocolate house where men go to be seen, exchange news and indulge in the sweet and heady drink to which they have become addicted, Rosamund feels blessed. But disaster strikes, and Rosamund stands on the brink of losing all she has worked so hard to achieve.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Loved the history....
- By Kim Tyler on 01-20-20
By: Karen Brooks
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In the Name of the Family
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Dunant
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 356
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 326
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Story4 out of 5 stars 324
It is 1502, and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, age 22 - already three times married and a pawn in her father's plans - is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, brilliant, ruthless, and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with Machiavelli that gives the Florentine diplomat a master class in the dark arts of power and politics.
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4 out of 5 stars
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One of the best historical fiction novels
- By GrandmaNurseHeather on 04-13-17
By: Sarah Dunant
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Mademoiselle Boleyn
- By: Robin Maxwell
- Narrated by: Suzan Crowley
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 86
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4 out of 5 stars 78
When her father is assigned the task of spying on the French Court, the charming and sweetly innocent Anne Boleyn is delighted by the thought of a new adventure. And she is not to be disappointed, for her beautiful sister, Mary, has been handed a mission: to let herself be seduced by the King of France in order to uncover his secrets. Mesmerized by the thrilling passion, intrigue, and betrayal that unfolds, Anne discovers the power of being a woman who catches the eye of a powerful king.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Intriguing
- By Anonymous User on 11-10-18
By: Robin Maxwell
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The Seven Wonders
- A Novel of the Ancient World
- By: Steven Saylor
- Narrated by: Stephen Plunkett
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 196
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 170
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Story4 out of 5 stars 169
USA Today hails Steven Saylor as a “modern master of historical fiction.” Rich in intrigue and period detail, his novels set in ancient Rome have garnered acclaim the world over. A prequel to his epic Roma Sub Rosa series, The Seven Wonders follows series star Gordianus the Finder as an 18-year-old traveling the Mediterranean to witness the wonders of that fabled age. At each stop, the young investigator finds a beguiling mystery that pushes his powers of deduction to the limit.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Interesting History, Not much of a story
- By Mark on 08-10-12
By: Steven Saylor
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Dreamers
- Legacies of the Ancient River, Book 1
- By: Angela Hunt
- Narrated by: Stina Nielsen
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 59
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Story5 out of 5 stars 59
In the land of Pharaoh, Tuya has always been a slave. As a little girl, she was sold as a playmate to a wealthy child who became her best friend. But as she approaches womanhood, beautiful Tuya is betrayed and cast out. Now she belongs to Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Yet her heart is owned by handsome Joseph, sold into slavery by his own brothers. Proud, arrogant Joseph dreams of freedom, of his own household, of Tuya as his queen.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I was so immersed in the story I couldn’t sleep until done.
- By Micah70 on 05-17-23
By: Angela Hunt
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The Secret History
- A Novel of Empress Theodora
- By: Stephanie Marie Thornton
- Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 55
In sixth-century Constantinople, one woman, Theodora, defied every convention and all the odds and rose from common theater tart to empress of a great kingdom - the most powerful woman the Roman Empire would ever know. The woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told....
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3 out of 5 stars
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How very hard to sympathize with a narcissist
- By DrBon on 03-15-22
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Cleopatra's Daughter
- A Novel
- By: Michelle Moran
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 668
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 470
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Story4 out of 5 stars 476
The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony's vengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome; only two---the 10-year-old twins Selene and Alexander---survive the journey.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A pretty engaging story
- By Annette on 12-23-09
By: Michelle Moran
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Equal of the Sun
- A Novel
- By: Anita Amirrezvani
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 733
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 658
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Story4 out of 5 stars 661
Iran in 1576 is a place of peace, wealth, and dazzling beauty. But when the Shah dies without having named an heir, the court is thrown into tumult. Princess Pari, the Shah's daughter and closest adviser, knows more about the inner workings of the state than almost anyone, but the princess's maneuvers to instill order after her father's sudden death incite resentment and dissent. Pari and her trusted servant, a eunuch able to navigate the harem as well as the world beyond the palace walls, are in possession of an incredible tapestry....
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Woman in a Man's World
- By JGrace on 06-26-13
What listeners say about Fortune's Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora
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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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamie
- 10-13-21
I love Theodora
I’ve always had a fascination of Empress Theodora. I’ve listened to other historical fiction novels about her. This duology is amazing. It took a little bit to get used to the male narration of her voice but the story was so engrossing. I highly recommend this book and the second. I will leave a review for it as well. I first came across this author in the audiobook Push Not the River. He’s a great author. I highly recommend this 2 book series on Theodora.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Edward Waldron
- 12-27-21
Terrible
This book should be labeled for Young Adults, young-young adults. Story is juvenile and the narration is over the top, as it would be for children. I only finished it because it cost me a credit.
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