Dynasty of Death: A Novel

The Barbours and Bouchards, Book 1

De: Taylor Caldwell

Narrado por: Peter Noble

Two families grow a small munitions factory into a global empire in this saga by a New York Times - bestselling author spanning from 1837 to the eve of World War I.

In 1837, Joseph Barbour, an upper servant in an English village, immigrates with his family to America so he can make his fortune in the nascent artillery business. A man of vision, Joseph foresees a time when wars will not be won with courage and brave hearts but rather by the nations with superior firearms.

Joseph and his family settle in a rural Pennsylvania village, but his wife, Hilda, is unhappy and longs to return to England. Their shy and sensitive younger son, Martin, is also homesick, but what troubles him most is the cruelty and violence he sees in his older brother, Ernest. Martin's fears come to fruition when Joseph forms a gunpowder firm with Armand Bouchard, who lives with his wife and three sons down the road from the Barbours.

As the years pass, Ernest proves himself invaluable to Barbour & Bouchard. Ruthless and ambitious, he takes what he wants. But beautiful Amy Drumhill continues to elude him and becomes the catalyst in a war that will estrange the two brothers and leave Ernest haunted by the blood that will be forever on his hands.

Dynasty of Death is a moving saga of two families, the epic struggle between two brothers, and the legacy their guns will leave the world as mighty enemy nations gear up for battle.

©1938 Charles Scribner’s Sons. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Loved the characters and the male narrator

Female narrator I did not care for her voice it sounded so fake and bland

the rise of a captain of industry

A great story set in 19th century America about the rise of an English immigrants dogged and ruthless pursuit of wealth and power. Taylor Caldwell masterfully weaves the relationships of the characters in her stories
along with wonderful descriptions of their surroundings to hold your attention wanting to know what will happen next. The book is hard to put down

My new understanding of the Munitions Trade 😳🥺

It should have been longer! A top 5 for me, brilliantly narrated and beautifullly writte book !

Great!

The author does a great job! The narrator is excellent! I am looking forward to the the next book in this series.

Brilliant Storytelling

This is the second Taylor Caldwell novel I've read or listened to. I can't wait to start the next book in this series. Taylor Caldwell is one of the very best American writers of the 20th century. I also enjoyed the narration of this book.

Horribly depressing!!

I get that this is a story about an ugly evil business, but everyone was miserable and every relationship they talked about was bad. The few good-ish characters get treated really badly and die pretty quickly. I’m not interested in reading more by this author, though he writes reasonably well.

A disappointment

Characters are not likable. The plot is very slow. It’s basically boring. I did not finish the book. If I can return it, I will.