Marie-Antoinette
The Making of a French Queen
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Marie-Antoinette
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Cowley
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By:
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John Hardman
About this listen
A new look which fundamentally overturns our understanding of this famously "out of touch" queen
Who was the real Marie-Antoinette? She was mistrusted and reviled in her own time, and today she is portrayed as a lightweight incapable of understanding the events that engulfed her. In this new account, John Hardman redresses the balance and sheds fresh light on Marie-Antoinette's story.
Hardman shows how Marie-Antoinette played a significant but misunderstood role in the crisis of the monarchy. Drawing on new sources, he describes how, from the outset, Marie-Antoinette refused to prioritize the aggressive foreign policy of her mother, Maria-Theresa, bravely took over the helm from Louis XVI after the collapse of his morale, and, when revolution broke out, listened to the Third Estate and worked closely with repentant radicals to give the constitutional monarchy a fighting chance. For the first time, Hardman demonstrates exactly what influence Marie-Antoinette had and when and how she exerted it.
©2019 John Hardman (P)2019 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 204
The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Amazing.
- By Anonymous User on 10-21-19
By: Geoffrey Parker
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Hero of Two Worlds
- The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution
- By: Mike Duncan
- Narrated by: Mike Duncan
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,162
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,846
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,829
From the massively popular podcaster and New York Times best-selling author comes the story of the Marquis de Lafayette's lifelong quest to protect the principles of democracy, told through the lens of the three revolutions he participated in: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Revolution of 1830.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thrillingly storytelling — brilliant narration
- By Anonymous User on 08-24-21
By: Mike Duncan
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Crown & Sceptre
- A New History of the British Monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Tracy Borman
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 152
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 136
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Story5 out of 5 stars 135
Since William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel in 1066 to defeat King Harold II and unite England’s various kingdoms, 41 kings and queens have sat on Britain’s throne. “Shining examples of royal power and majesty alongside a rogue’s gallery of weak, lazy, or evil monarchs,” as Tracy Borman describes them in her sparkling chronicle, Crown & Sceptre.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book for those new to the monarchy
- By Anonymous User on 04-05-22
By: Tracy Borman
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Elizabeth I and Her Circle
- By: Susan Doran
- Narrated by: Joanna Daniel
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
This is the story of Elizabeth I's inner circle and the crucial human relationships which lay at the heart of her personal and political life. Using a wide range of original sources - including private letters, portraits, verse, drama, and state papers - Susan Doran provides a vivid and often dramatic account of political life in Elizabethan England and the queen at its center.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very detailed and enjoyable
- By Anonymous User on 09-12-15
By: Susan Doran
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The Borgias
- Power and Depravity in Renaissance Italy
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 151
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 130
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice, and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy. Examples of infamy flourished alongside some of the finest art produced in western history.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Gossip
- By Anonymous User on 10-02-19
By: Paul Strathern
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Blood, Fire & Gold
- The Story of Elizabeth I & Catherine de Medici
- By: Estelle Paranque
- Narrated by: Anna Wilson-Jones
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
Sixteenth-century Europe was a hostile world dominated by court politics and patriarchal structures–and yet against all odds, two women rose to power: Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici. Much has been written about these shrewd and strategic sovereigns, but though their l legacies have been heavily scrutinized, nothing has been said of their complicated relationship—thirty years of camaraderie, competition, and conflict that forever changed the face of Europe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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16th Century Feminists
- By Anonymous User on 01-23-23
By: Estelle Paranque
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The Last Emperor of Mexico
- The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World
- By: Edward Shawcross
- Narrated by: Gustavo Rex
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 357
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 305
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 306
In the 1860s, Napoleon III, intent on curbing the rise of American imperialism, persuaded a young Austrian archduke and a Belgian princess to leave Europe and become the emperor and empress of Mexico. They and their entourage arrived in a Mexico ruled by terror, where revolutionary fervor was barely suppressed by French troops. When the United States, now clear of its own Civil War, aided the rebels in pushing back Maximilian’s imperial soldiers, the French army withdrew, abandoning the young couple. The regime fell apart.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By Anonymous User on 03-24-22
By: Edward Shawcross
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Our First Revolution
- The Remarkable British Upheaval That Inspired America's Founding Fathers (Unabr.)
- By: Michael Barone
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 111
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4 out of 5 stars 51
The ideals of freedom and individual rights that inspired America's Founding Fathers did not spring from a vacuum. Along with many other defining principles of our national character, they can be traced directly back to one of the most pivotal events in British history: the late-17th-century uprising known as the Glorious Revolution.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Recap of a Forgotten Event
- By Anonymous User on 01-02-08
By: Michael Barone
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The Tudors
- The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 806
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 662
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 665
For the first time in decades, here, in a single volume, is a fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty, comprising some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. Acclaimed historian G. J. Meyer reveals the flesh-and-bone reality in all its wild excess.
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5 out of 5 stars
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OUTSTANDING!
- By Anonymous User on 03-15-10
By: G. J. Meyer
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Brothers York
- A Royal Tragedy
- By: Thomas Penn
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 234
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 204
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Story5 out of 5 stars 202
The Brothers York is the story of three remarkable brothers, two of whom were crowned kings of England and the other an heir presumptive, whose antagonism was fueled by the mistrust and vendettas of the age that brought their family to power. The house of York should have been the dynasty that the Tudors became. Its tragedy was that it devoured itself.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absorbing detail
- By Anonymous User on 08-06-20
By: Thomas Penn
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The Lady Queen
- The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 74
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
The riveting history of a beautiful queen, a shocking murder, a papal trial - and a reign as triumphant as any in the Middle Ages. On March 15, 1348, 22-year-old Joanna I, queen of Naples, stood trial for the murder of her husband before the pope and his court in Avignon. Determined to defend herself, Joanna won her acquittal against overwhelming odds. Victorious, she returned to Naples and ruled over one of Europe's most prestigious courts for the next three decades - until she herself was killed.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Terrible mispronunciation of words
- By Anonymous User on 12-03-18
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him
- The Secret History Behind the Tudor Throne
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Julie Teal
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 125
Henry VIII is best known in history for his tempestuous marriages and the fates of his six wives. However, as acclaimed historian Tracy Borman makes clear in her illuminating new chronicle of Henry’s life, his reign and reputation were hugely influenced by the men who surrounded and interacted with him as companions and confidants, servants and ministers, and occasionally as rivals - many of whom have been underplayed in previous biographies.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Exceptional.
- By Anonymous User on 08-02-19
By: Tracy Borman
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Henry IV
- The Righteous King
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 225
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 200
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 196
The talented, confident, and intelligent son of John of Gaunt, Henry IV started his reign as a popular and charismatic king after he dethroned the tyrannical and wildly unpopular Richard II. But six years into his reign, Henry had survived eight assassination and overthrow attempts. Having broken God's law of primogeniture by overthrowing the man many people saw as the chosen king, Henry IV left himself vulnerable to challenges from powerful enemies about the validity of his reign. Even so, Henry managed to establish the new Lancastrian dynasty and a new rule of law.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Detailed and compelling
- By Anonymous User on 12-15-17
By: Ian Mortimer
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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 130
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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 Anonymous User on 09-29-18
By: Leonie Frieda
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Imprudent King
- A New Life of Philip II
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 132
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
Philip II is not only the most famous king in Spanish history, but one of the most famous monarchs in English history: the man who married Mary Tudor and later launched the Spanish Armada against her sister Elizabeth I. This compelling biography of the most powerful European monarch of his day begins with his conception (1526) and ends with his ascent to Paradise (1603), two occurrences surprisingly well documented by contemporaries. Eminent historian Geoffrey Parker draws on four decades of research on Philip as well as a recent, extraordinary archival discovery - a trove of 3,000 documents in vaults in New York City....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great, but I jumbled
- By Anonymous User on 03-18-19
By: Geoffrey Parker