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Heiresses
- The Lives of the Million Dollar Babies
- Narrated by: Laura Thompson
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
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Heiresses
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Publisher's Summary
This audiobook is read by the author.
New York Times best-selling author Laura Thompson returns with Heiresses, a fascinating look at the lives of heiresses throughout history and the often tragic truth beneath the gilded surface.
Heiresses: Surely they are among the luckiest women on earth. Are they not to be envied, with their private jets and Chanel wardrobes and endless funds? Yet all too often those gilded lives have been beset with trauma and despair. Before the 20th century a wife’s inheritance was the property of her husband, making her vulnerable to kidnap, forced marriages, even confinement in an asylum. And in modern times, heiresses fell victim to fortune-hunters who squandered their millions.
Heiresses tells the stories of these women: Mary Davies, who inherited London’s most valuable real estate and was bartered from the age of 12; Consuelo Vanderbilt, the original American “Dollar Heiress”, forced into a loveless marriage; Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress who married seven times and died almost penniless; Patty Hearst, heiress to a newspaper fortune who was arrested for terrorism. However, there are also stories of achievement: Angela Burdett-Coutts, who became one of the greatest philanthropists of Victorian England; Nancy Cunard, who lived off her mother's fortune and became a pioneer of the civil rights movement; Daisy Fellowes, elegant linchpin of interwar high society and noted fashion editor.
Heiresses is about the lives of the rich, who - as F. Scott Fitzgerald said - are "different". But it is also a bigger story about how all women fought their way to equality, and sometimes even found autonomy and fulfilment.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.
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What listeners say about Heiresses
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 03-29-23
tough listen and tough to keep track
story jumps all over the place and is hard to follow. the chapter heading says one person, but in comparison, the listener is introduced to many different people. felt like a map connected each person is necessary to know what is going on.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- JESSICA BAUER
- 09-02-22
Too much fluff
It was so dry and long winded, I didn't know if I was going to make it thru.
1 person found this helpful
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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
- Steven Olson
- 05-07-22
The Real Story
Money always seems to be such an answer to everything. This was informative! Good to listen to.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Lew Hemmer
- 07-24-22
Slow narration
The narrator 's voice was very monotone.
The story jumped around too much. Investing subject but made boring.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Thom Pierson
- 07-21-22
Insufferable
I tried my best to finish this book, but by the last chapter I returned it. The book has a interesting bits and pieces buried between a lot of fluff.
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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
- Mindy Coleman
- 04-23-22
Boring.
Started it. Hate it Can I get a refund ? Wasn’t anything like what I expected.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 02-28-22
Just way too many details and not enough story
I just did not enjoy this historical run through the lives of wealthy women. It just did not have anything to capture me other than to say to understand how women had more rights with their money as changes happened.
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Born in 1906, Huguette Clark grew up in her family's 121-room Beaux Arts mansion in New York and was one of the leading celebrities of her day. Her father, William Andrews Clark, was the second richest man in America. Huguette attended the coronation of King George V. And at 22, with a personal fortune of $50 million, she married a Princeton man and childhood friend. Two-years later the couple divorced. After a series of failed romances, Huguette began to withdraw from society. What happened to Huguette that turned a vivacious, young socialite into a recluse?
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Tried to return the title
- By Eva on 12-08-22
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Mrs. Astor Regrets
- The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach
- By: Meryl Gordon
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 245
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 177
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 183
The fate of Brooke Astor, the endearing philanthropist with the storied name, has generated worldwide headlines since her grandson Philip sued his father in 2006, alleging mistreatment of Brooke. And shortly after her death in 2007, Anthony Marshall, Mrs. Astor's only child, was indicted on charges of looting her estate. Rarely has there been a story with such an appealing heroine, conjuring up a world so nearly forgotten.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing
- By Beje on 09-06-15
By: Meryl Gordon
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The Husband Hunters
- American Heiresses Who Married into the British Aristocracy
- By: Anne de Courcy
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 643
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 549
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 546
Towards the end of the 19th century and for the first few years of the 20th, a strange invasion took place in Britain. The citadel of power, privilege, and breeding in which the titled, land-owning governing class had barricaded itself for so long was breached. The incomers were a group of young women who, 50 years earlier, would have been looked on as the alien denizens of another world - the New World, to be precise. From 1874 - the year that Jennie Jerome, the first known "Dollar Princess", married Randolph Churchill - to 1905, dozens of young American heiresses married into the British peerage....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bondfide Valuable History Lesson
- By A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. on 09-21-18
By: Anne de Courcy
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The Unfit Heiress
- The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt
- By: Audrey Clare Farley
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Story4 out of 5 stars 83
At the turn of the 20th century, American women began to reject Victorian propriety in favor of passion and livelihood outside the home. This alarmed authorities, who feared certain "over-sexed" women could destroy civilization if allowed to reproduce and pass on their defects. Set against this backdrop, The Unfit Heiress chronicles the fight for inheritance, both genetic and monetary, between Ann Cooper Hewitt and her mother, Maryon.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Such an important story
- By TLH ~ 🎧 ~ on 05-08-21
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The Phantom of Fifth Avenue
- The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark
- By: Meryl Gordon
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 304
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 279
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 277
Born in 1906, Huguette Clark grew up in her family's 121-room Beaux Arts mansion in New York and was one of the leading celebrities of her day. Her father, William Andrews Clark, was the second richest man in America. Huguette attended the coronation of King George V. And at 22, with a personal fortune of $50 million, she married a Princeton man and childhood friend. Two-years later the couple divorced. After a series of failed romances, Huguette began to withdraw from society. What happened to Huguette that turned a vivacious, young socialite into a recluse?
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5 out of 5 stars
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The OTHER Huguette Clark Book
- By Teadrinker on 03-24-15
By: Meryl Gordon
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Diamonds and Deadlines
- A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age
- By: Betsy Prioleau
- Narrated by: Beth Hicks
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
Among the fabled tycoons of the Gilded Age—Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt—is a forgotten figure: Mrs. Frank Leslie. For twenty years she ran the country’s largest publishing company, Frank Leslie Publishing, which chronicled postbellum America in dozens of weeklies and monthlies. A pioneer in an all-male industry, she made a fortune and became a national celebrity and tastemaker in the process. Diamonds and Deadlines reveals the unknown, sensational life of the brilliant and brazen “empress of journalism”.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A forgotten historical icon
- By karen on 07-28-22
By: Betsy Prioleau
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Deliberate Cruelty
- Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century
- By: Roseanne Montillo
- Narrated by: Mia Barron
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 106
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
When Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, her life changed forever. Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Tried to return the title
- By Eva on 12-08-22
-
Mrs. Astor Regrets
- The Hidden Betrayals of a Family Beyond Reproach
- By: Meryl Gordon
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 245
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 177
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 183
The fate of Brooke Astor, the endearing philanthropist with the storied name, has generated worldwide headlines since her grandson Philip sued his father in 2006, alleging mistreatment of Brooke. And shortly after her death in 2007, Anthony Marshall, Mrs. Astor's only child, was indicted on charges of looting her estate. Rarely has there been a story with such an appealing heroine, conjuring up a world so nearly forgotten.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing
- By Beje on 09-06-15
By: Meryl Gordon
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The Sphinx
- The Life of Gladys Deacon - Duchess of Marlborough
- By: Hugo Vickers
- Narrated by: Hugo Vickers
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
One of the most beautiful and brilliant women of her time, Gladys Deacon dazzled as much as she puzzled the glittering social circles in which she moved. Born in Paris to American parents in 1881, she suffered a traumatic childhood after her father shot her mother's lover dead. Educated in America, she returned to Europe, where she captivated and inspired some of the greatest literary and artistic names of the Belle Époque.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Lovely and compelling.
- By Gudrun D Whitehead on 03-25-20
By: Hugo Vickers
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The Richest Woman in America
- Hetty Green in the Gilded Age
- By: Janet Wallach
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 57
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
No woman in the Gilded Age made as much money as Hetty Green. At the time of her death in 1916, she was worth at least 100 million dollars, equal to more than 2 billion dollars today. A strong believer in women being financially independent, she offered valuable lessons for the present times. Abandoned at birth by her neurotic mother, scorned by her misogynist father, Hetty set out as a child to prove her value. Following the simple rules of her wealthy Quaker father, she successfully invested her money and along the way proved to herself that she was wealthy and therefore worthy.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Horrible Narrator
- By Christina M. Kruse on 06-10-15
By: Janet Wallach
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The Astors
- The History and Legacy of One of the World’s Wealthiest Families
- By: Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Mark Norman
- Length: 1 hr and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 21
The Astor surname, one of New York’s most important family names for over a century, is synonymous with American aristocracy, a term that defies simple definition. Unlike Britain, where the term aristocrat had a definite meaning, the New York aristocracy was “at best a metaphor for high social status or prestige in a nation which had unequivocally rejected the mechanisms needed to create and sustain an aristocracy on the European model.”
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3 out of 5 stars
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Review this Astor book……
- By B. Duska on 02-11-22
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The Churchill Sisters
- The Extraordinary Lives of Winston and Clementine's Daughters
- By: Dr. Rachel Trethewey
- Narrated by: Julie Stevenson
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- 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 56
Bright, attractive, and well-connected, in any other family the Churchill girls - Diana, Sarah, Marigold, and Mary - would have shone. But they were not in another family, they were Churchills and neither they nor anyone else could ever forget it. From their father - "the greatest Englishman" - to their brother, golden boy Randolph, to their eccentric and exciting cousins, the Mitford Girls, they were surrounded by a clan of larger-than-life characters which often saw them overlooked.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting and important, but I’m not certain what I learned from it
- By K. Furtado on 02-09-22
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Women of Means
- The Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics and Other Poor Little Rich Girls
- By: Marlene Wagman-Geller
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 712
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 638
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Story4 out of 5 stars 638
The grass isn't greener on the other side: Heiresses have always been viewed with eyes of envy. They were the ones for whom the cornucopia had been upended, showering them with unimaginable wealth and opportunity. However, through intimate historical biographies, Women of Means shows us that oftentimes the weaving sisters saved their most heart-wrenching tapestries for the destinies of wealthy women. Women of Means is bound to be a non-fiction best seller, full of the best biographies of all time.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Did an editor read this?
- By jzm on 09-02-20
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American Empress
- The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post
- By: Nancy Rubin Stuart
- Narrated by: Lee Ann Howlett
- Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 167
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 144
American Empress is the best-selling history of the dramatic life of heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, daughter of breakfast-cereal magnate C.W. Post, founder of the Postum Cereal Company.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wow what a fantastic story and person
- By Zombie support Group on 03-18-21
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Noble Ambitions
- The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Roger May
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
A delicious romp, Noble Ambitions pulls us into these crumbling halls of power, leading us through the juiciest bits of postwar aristocratic history - from Mick Jagger dancing at deb balls to the scandals of Princess Margaret. Capturing the spirit of the age, historian Adrian Tinniswood proves that the country house is not only an iconic symbol, but a lens through which to understand the shifting fortunes of the British elite in an era of monumental social change.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Story could be told in a 10th of the time
- By Peter W. on 11-12-21
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Curse of Riches
- By: Claire Prentice
- Narrated by: Claire Prentice, Hillary Huber
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
When journalist and author of The Lost Tribe of Coney Island Claire Prentice set eyes on a story about a millionaire dog one day, she never could have predicted the rabbit hole it would lead her down. After six years and countless hours spent combing through letters, diaries, telegrams, and legal testimony, Prentice has produced the definitive story of the Wendels, New York City’s richest, most elusive real estate family.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating story!
- By Kerri Matthews on 01-21-23
By: Claire Prentice
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The Secret Lives of Royal Women
- Fascinating Biographies of Queens, Princesses, Duchesses, and Other Regal Women
- By: Marlene Wagman-Geller
- Narrated by: Kristina Rothe
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Royal family secrets revealed! Have you ever wondered what royals go through? Have you ever thought about what the intimate lives of phenomenal women look like? The Secret Lives of Royal Women features the intimate and historically accurate details of some of history's most privileged women. Learn from the life stories of Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Princess Diana, Maharani Gayatri Devi, Queen Narriman, and many others.
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Society's Queen
- The Life of Edith, Marchioness of Londonderry
- By: Anne de Courcy
- Narrated by: Charlotte Strevens
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story