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Catherine de Medici
- Renaissance Queen of France
- Narrated by: Sarah Le Fevre
- Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins
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Catherine de Medici
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Publisher's summary
Poisoner, despot, necromancer - the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds - from a troubled childhood in Florence to her marriage to Henry, son of King Francis I of France; from her transformation of French culture to her fight to protect her throne and her sons' birthright. Based on thousands of private letters, it is a remarkable account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown.
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 293
Young Elizabeth Stuart was thrust into a life of wealth and splendor when her godmother, Queen Elizabeth I, died and her father, James I, ascended to the illustrious throne of England. At 16 she was married to a dashing German count far below her rank, with the understanding that James would help her husband achieve the crown of Bohemia. Her father's terrible betrayal of this promise would ruin "the Winter Queen", as Elizabeth would forever be known, imperil the lives of those she loved, and launch a war that would last for 30 years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Misnamed but Wonderful
- By Anonymous User on 05-16-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Tudor
- Passion. Manipulation. Murder. The Story of England's Most Notorious Royal Family
- By: Leanda de Lisle
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 113
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 102
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 102
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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5 out of 5 stars
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Clear and detailed
- By Tad Davis on 04-13-16
By: Leanda de Lisle
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The Turbulent Crown
- The Story of the Tudor Queens
- By: Roland Hui
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 125
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
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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5 out of 5 stars
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a very good listen
- By Evil Guppy on 09-21-19
By: Roland Hui
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Francis I
- The Maker of Modern France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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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 113
Catherine de Medici's father-in-law, King Francis of France, was the perfect Renaissance knight, the movement's exemplar and its Gallic interpreter. An aesthete, diplomat par excellence, and contemporary of Machiavelli, Francis was the founder of modern France, whose sheer force of will and personality molded his kingdom into the first European superpower. Arguably the man who introduced the Renaissance to France, Francis was also the prototype Frenchman - a national identity was modeled on his character.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Rekindling salamandrine fires...
- By Adeliese Baumann on 09-29-18
By: Leonie Frieda
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The Romanovs
- 1613-1918
- By: Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Narrated by: Simon Beale
- Length: 28 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,313
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,179
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,174
This is the intimate story of 20 tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence, and wild extravagance, with a global cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries, and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy and Pushkin.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Scholarly but gripping
- By William on 06-16-16
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Bloody Mary
- By: Carolly Erickson
- Narrated by: Corrie James
- Length: 23 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 149
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 131
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
Here is the tragic, stormy life of Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. Her story is a chronicle of courage and faith, betrayal and treachery - set amidst the splendor, pageantry, squalor, and intrigue of 16th-century Europe. The history of Mary Tudor is an improbable blend of triumph, humiliation, heartbreak, and devotion - and Ms. Erickson recounts it all against the turbulent background of European politics, war, and religious strife of the mid-1500s.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A good history
- By A. Barrios on 05-21-15
By: Carolly Erickson
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The Borgias and Their Enemies
- 1431-1519
- By: Christopher Hibbert
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 513
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 459
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 453
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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3 out of 5 stars
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Covers the bases, but falls a little flat.
- By Chap Walker on 06-16-13
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The White King
- Charles I, Traitor, Murderer, Martyr
- By: Leanda de Lisle
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 110
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
Less than 40 years after England's golden age under Elizabeth I, the country was at war with itself. Split between loyalty to the Crown or to Parliament, war raged on English soil. Its casualties were immense. At the head of the disintegrating kingdom was King Charles I. In this vivid portrait - informed by previously unseen manuscripts, including royal correspondence between the king and his queen - Leanda de Lisle depicts a man who was principled and brave but fatally blinkered.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Enlightening Stuart history
- By Adeliese Baumann on 01-25-18
By: Leanda de Lisle
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Mary Queen of Scots
- The True Life of Mary Stuart
- By: John Guy
- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 25 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 321
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 289
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 287
In the first full-scale biography of Mary Stuart in more than 30 years, John Guy creates an intimate and absorbing portrait of one of history's most famous women, depicting her world and her place in the sweep of history with stunning immediacy. Bringing together all surviving documents and uncovering a trove of new sources for the first time, Guy dispels the popular image of Mary Queen of Scots as a romantic leading lady - achieving her ends through feminine wiles - and establishes her as the intellectual and political equal of Elizabeth I.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Horrible narration - don’t purchase
- By ballymerrigan on 12-27-18
By: John Guy
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Secret Lives of the Tsars
- Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia
- By: Michael Farquhar
- Narrated by: Enn Reitel
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 158
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
Scandal! Intrigue! Cossacks! Here the world’s most engaging royal historian chronicles the world’s most fascinating imperial dynasty: the Romanovs, whose three-hundred-year reign was remarkable for its shocking violence, spectacular excess, and unimaginable venality. In this incredibly entertaining history, Michael Farquhar collects the best, most captivating true tales of Romanov iniquity.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A good introduction to the Romanovs
- By Daniel Burgon on 07-14-14
By: Michael Farquhar
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Sister Queens
- The Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile
- By: Julia Fox
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 196
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 193
The history books have cast Katherine of Aragon, the first queen of King Henry VIII of England, as the ultimate symbol of the Betrayed Woman, cruelly tossed aside in favor of her husband’s seductive mistress, Anne Boleyn. Katherine’s sister, Juana of Castile, wife of Philip of Burgundy and mother of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, is portrayed as “Juana the Mad,” whose erratic behavior included keeping her beloved late husband’s coffin beside her for years.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Sad but Fascinating Lives
- By Cariola on 06-29-12
By: Julia Fox
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The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots
- Elizabeth I and Her Greatest Rival
- By: Kate Williams
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
This is the story of two women struggling for supremacy in a man's world, when no one thought a woman could govern. They both had to negotiate with men - those who wanted their power and those who wanted their bodies - who were determined to best them. In their worlds, female friendship and alliances were unheard of, but for many years theirs was the only friendship that endured. They were as fascinated by each other as lovers; until they became enemies. Enemies so angry and broken that one of them had to die, and so Elizabeth ordered the execution of Mary.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Doe Eyed Mary Stuart
- By Missee on 02-28-19
By: Kate Williams
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Four Princes
- Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 190
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 165
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 166
John Julius Norwich - whom the Wall Street Journal called "the very model of a popular historian" - has crafted a big, bold tapestry of the early 16th century, when Europe and the Middle East were overshadowed by a quartet of legendary rulers, all born within a 10-year period. Against the vibrant background of the Renaissance, these four men laid the foundations for modern Europe and the Middle East, as they collectively impacted the culture, religion, and politics of their respective domains.
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4 out of 5 stars
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For the most part, very informative.
- By Paula on 02-05-18
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Eminence
- Cardinal Richelieu and the Rise of France
- By: Jean-Vincent Blanchard
- Narrated by: Mary Kane
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 42
Chief minister to King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu was the architect of a new France in the 17th century, and the force behind the nation's rise as a European power. Among the first statesmen to clearly understand the necessity of a balance of powers, he was one of the early realist politicians, practicing in the wake of Niccol Machiavelli. Truly larger than life, he has captured the imagination of generations, both through his own story and through his portrayal as a ruthless political mastermind in Alexandre Dumas's classic The Three Musketeers.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Great story boringly told
- By pete k on 09-19-16
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Mary Queen of Scots
- By: Antonia Fraser
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 25 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
Her royal birth gave her claim to the thrones of two nations; her marriage to the young French dauphin promised to place a third glorious crown on her noble head. Instead, Mary Stuart became the victim of her own impulsive heart, scandalizing her world with a foolish passion that would lead to abduction, rape, and even murder. Here is her story, a queen who lost a throne for love, a monarch pampered and adored even as she was led to her beheading, the unforgettable woman who became a legend for all time.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Shockingly disingenuous.
- By rainjade on 08-14-18
By: Antonia Fraser
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Marie Antoinette
- The Journey
- By: Antonia Fraser
- Narrated by: Donada Peters
- Length: 20 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 565
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 399
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 400
France's iconic queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous "Let them eat cake", was alternately revered and reviled during her lifetime. For centuries since, she has been the object of debate, speculation, and the fascination so often accorded illustrious figures in history. Married in mere girlhood, this essentially lighthearted child was thrust onto the royal stage and commanded by circumstance to play a significant role in European history.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Annoying Narration
- By LaFemmeRouge on 10-28-06
By: Antonia Fraser
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Catherine de' Medici
- The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen
- By: Mary Hollingsworth
- Narrated by: Rachel Bavidge, Sophie Hunter
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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History is rarely kind to women of power, but few have had their reputations quite so brutally shredded as Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-born queen of France and influential mother of three successive French kings during that country’s long sequence of sectarian wars in the second half of the sixteenth century.
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