• Elizabeth Street

  • By: Laurie Fabiano
  • Narrated by: Angela Dawe
  • Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (584 ratings)

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Elizabeth Street  By  cover art

Elizabeth Street

By: Laurie Fabiano
Narrated by: Angela Dawe
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Publisher's summary

Based on true events, Elizabeth Street is a multigenerational saga that opens in an Italian village in the 1900s, and crosses the ocean to New York's Lower East Side. At the heart of the novel is Giovanna, whose family is targeted by the notorious Black Hand -the precursor to the Mafia.

Elizabeth Street brings to light a period in history when Italian immigrant neighborhoods lived in fear of Black Hand extortion and violence - a reality that defies the romanticized depiction of the Mafia. Here, the author reveals the merciless terror of the Black Hand and the impact their crimes had on her family. Giovanna is based on Fabiano's great-grandmother, and the book's heroes and villains - such as Lieutenant Petrosino, the crusading cop and "Lupo the Wolf", a cold-blooded criminal - are drawn from real life in this thrilling tale.

While set in a dynamic historical context, Elizabeth Street is, above all, the dramatic story of the heroine Giovanna and how she triumphed over tragedy.

©2010 Laurie Fabiano (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A fascinating account… that is at once inspiring and terrifying. Laurie Fabiano has turned her family's experience into a riveting tale." (Tom Brokaw)

What listeners say about Elizabeth Street

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Absorbing

Elizabeth Street reminded me a lot of The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani however I enjoyed Elizabeth Street so much more!

Both stories follow Italian immigrants as they settle down in New York in the early 1900s, and if you’ve read them both then perhaps you’ll agree with me:

The Shoemaker's Wife just floated along, nothing really happened and no particular events or story lines really stood out. Overall to me, the story was not that memorable.

In comparison Elizabeth Street was really absorbing. Things happened in this book! The plot was intriguing, the people were interesting, the story was suspenseful, there was action, drama, intrigue … really, no contest between the two books. Elizabeth Street wins hands down. I liked it very much, it was a great read!

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

I really wanted to like this book because the subject matter was interesting, but even though it was unabridged it felt kind of choppy. Parts of it really dragged. And the narrator didn't bring anything to the story. I felt the reading was very pedestrian.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting story

The narration, however, left much to be desired. It reminded me of a computer voice.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

New York Immigrants' Story

I am partial to Jewish Immigrants' stories so this seemed very interesting. There is no difference between which nationality/religion these immigrants came from. They are our past and that's why their stories are relevant, personal and entertaining.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narration is intolerable, sadly

I hung on as long as I could but the reader is so god awful I couldn’t take it. Perhaps you can tell from the sample. If you find it bearable, blessings upon thee lol. Every sentence is delivered exactly the same. Sounds like a computer generated voice. Every sentence goes up on the end and hangs there. I just don’t understand how readers Like this find jobs. Where can I sign up?

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not the best address

First, I did not care for the narration. Ms Dawe speaks in a halting voice that takes a long time to get used to. The story itself got bogged down with a kidnapping, and I was glad to see it end. I really would not recommend this title.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty good story, horrible narration

The story was pretty good but a bit predictable. The writing was average. Narration was BORING. I chose the book for the topic. If I weren't so interested in learning about the subject/time period, I would have stopped about halfway in.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Survivor in New York for an Italian emigrate 1900

Story on an Italian women who was a midwife. Her husband an Italian engineer moved to New York to find work and a new home for his family. His daughter was born and she followed. She survived and thrived as a midwife helping a women Italian doctor.
Her life changed when she was introduced to the black hand threatened her family. Fascinating story and well preformed.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

A fail for the narration

Angela Dawe has perfect pronunciation and clear enunciation, however listening to her read this book was like listening to a weather report: Rain will continue this morning but an incoming high pressure system will bring sun by this afternoon.... In other words,the presentation was flat, emotionless, with very little distinction between the characters' voices, and although the Italian was spoken perfectly, it was with an American accent. As a result, though I generally enjoy listening to recorded books, I gave this one up a quarter of the way through and turned to the ebook to finish it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narrators voice sounds too robotic

Couldn't finish the book because the narrator sounded like a computerized voice and was hard to listen to.

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1 person found this helpful