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Mistress of the Art of Death
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
The national best-selling hit hailed by the New York Times as a "vibrant medieval mystery...[it] outdoes the competition."
In medieval Cambridge, England, Adelia, a female forensics expert, is summoned by King Henry II to investigate a series of gruesome murders that has wrongly implicated the Jewish population, yielding even more tragic results.
As Adelia's investigation takes her behind the closed doors of the country's churches, the killer prepares to strike again.
Critic reviews
"A fabulous read...irresistible." (New York Daily News)
"Vivid and engaging...succeeds brilliantly as both historical fiction and crime thriller. [A] terrific book...with a dozen twists." (Diana Gabaldon, Washington Post)
"One of the most compelling, suspenseful mysteries I've read in years." (New York Times best-selling author Sharon Kay Penman)
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What listeners say about Mistress of the Art of Death
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Irenehope
- 03-02-07
History-Mystery of the Year & its only March
Adelia is sent from Salerno to Cambridge, requested by Henry II, and ordered by the King of Sicily, to look into the deaths of several children in medieval Cambridge. She arrives with Simon of Naples, a Jewish fixer and Mansur her Saracen manservant. Adelia is a doctor who "reads bodies." She is strong, straight talking, and devoted to science. She is also broadminded & has a sense of humor. On the road into town she cures a local Prior which gives her the beginnings of support in the town. The support grows as her unique qualities, and those of her companions, attract help from other people in town.
I will not give anything else away.
It's a must read. It combines everything I love in an Audible book: history, mystery, intelligence, humor, characters you care about, an excellent reader, and great writing.
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34 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Jen
- 02-17-07
good story wonderfully set
The mystery in this story is good, but the characters and setting are even better. This takes place in 11th century London, and the main character is an Italian woman doctor who specializes in forensic pathology. I wanted to stop listening and save some for an upcoming drive, but I was unable to stop. I thoroughly enjoyed this listen.
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33 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Virginia
- 12-01-08
Amazing!
This might very well be the most incredible book I have ever read, and the narrator, the best I've ever listened to. It took me at least a half an hour to be grabbed by the book, but after that, I was hooked---could hardly accomplish anything because I wanted to be listening to this magnificent, chilling, informative, intelligent work of art. I learned so much about the Crusades, Medieval medicine, the Catholic church, females in that era, and much much more. I can't rave enough about this book, and will undoubedtly listen to it again...despite its length.
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Linda
- 12-08-07
well done and different
A serial murder mystery with a twist. This story takes place during the reign of Henry II, making it an historical murder mystery. The pomp and majesty of the times, the deviousness of politics (even then, some things never change!), the rivalry between the church and king, and the squalor in which the peasantry lived provide a rich and interesting background for the horrible murders that take place. The 'detectives' working with the tools of the time must find a killer of children. I thought that the narration was excellent and actually added to the story. The narrator moved between the delicate voice and accent of the female doctor, the king, his many knights, the prior and nuns and the rest with such facility that I was never really aware while listening that there was only one narrator. I was able to lose myself in the book.
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Cate P
- 06-14-09
Great Woman Character
I enjoyed this book immensely. While versed in parts of English history, the reign of Henry II is new for me. The connection between the plot and its historical significance is cleverly concealed until the end. Adelia, the main character, is anything but a wilting violet and unusual for her time. I was concerned that this book would be gruesome as it revolves around the violent murders of children. While the details are set forth, they are not presented in a gratuitous or prurient manner. There are a few missteps in the writing but none that made me want to put the book down. The narration is fabulous! The author's comments setting out what parts of the book are factual and what parts are fictionalized is narrated at the end which gives the book added historical interest. I highly recomment it!
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16 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Marian
- 04-11-07
tour de force
This is a teriffic book, even more inspiring for its being its writer's first effort. It scores on every point - a rich plot with twists and turns, marvelous characters, engrossing period detail, even a feminist outlook to go with 12th century England! I could not rate it highly enough. It's a book I will return to. I look foward to hearing from the author again.
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Rose
- 03-08-07
Fine Story
Even knowing that there was some major anachronisms in this book, I was dragged into this tale and, willy-nilly, enjoyed it very much.
Ok-- the medieval Body Farm in Salerno was a bit much. But still, I found I could grin at the concept and go on reading an interesting twist on the familiar medieval story of William of Norwich, a young tanner's apprentice discovered slain in a wood with signs of violent death. The story is known from the writings of Thomas of Monmouth. William is made into Peter of Trumpington, whose murder sets in motion a series of events that cause Henry II to send for a Master of Death from the learned physicians of Salerno in order to set matters to right in Cambridge.
Simon of Naples, a fixer, and the titular Mistress of the Art of Death arrive in England in time to join with a group of pilgrims returning to Cambridge from the shrine of Thomas a Becket and the adventure begins.
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Annette
- 05-07-08
Cadfel with a kick
Sure, it's another medieval tale of mysterious murder, but it's well done. I enjoyed the pieces of verity and the story. If you don't go looking to dislike it, you'll enjoy it more than you expect. The portrayal of the king of england is especially pleasant as well as the reality of how justice was performed (more or less) in a time when it was new. At it's heart, it's a who dunnit with a little more sensetivity.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Barbara
- 12-06-20
This is a warning
I love historical fiction, and really looked forward to this tale of an Italian female physician in the time of Henry II (which I had learned about in the New York Times Book Review). But I am returning it unfinished. The characters are interesting (the aforesaid physician, her eunuch bodyguard, the English kid and his grandmother, the crusader/tax collector) and I am not unusually squeamish, but the torture and sexual violence against children and animals in this book was just too much for me. I found myself turning to any book other than this one, dragging my feet, until i realized that I just couldn't go on.
The writing is lovely, the narrator was fine, the plot has potential, and, as I said, I liked the characters, but not enough to plow through the sadism.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Wadie
- 06-05-08
Surprising
This book started slow. Yet the slow pace of the beginning turned out to be exactly right. In a way this is "CSI" type story set in Henry II's England. The descriptive passages are hypnotic.
I love to read or listen to books where the characters are so well written as to become living breathing people. The plot and "people" were so involving I'd drive around the block to get to the end of a chapter! That is saying something when gas is 4 bucks a gallon:)
Despite the murders the book isn't gory. It is very intense though. I enjoyed it very much and am eagerly awaiting the next installment. The reader, Rosalyn Landor, was marvelous.
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The Monastery at Whitby is ruled over by the powerful and independent Abbess Hild. But when she needs someone to confide in, she turns to the honest warmth of her friend Fridgyth, the half-pagan herb-wife. A divisive and life-altering decision taken at the Great Synod is swiftly overshadowed as the monastery is ravaged by a deadly plague. As she tends the sick, Fridgyth starts to suspect that not all the deaths are natural. Despite Hild's stern warnings "not to meddle" she sets out to investigate.
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the voice
- By Linda Dennison on 03-30-21
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A Plague on Both Your Houses
- The First Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
- By: Susanna Gregory
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Matthew Bartholomew, unorthodox but effective physician to Michaelhouse college in medieval Cambridge, is as worried as anyone about the pestilence that is ravaging Europe and seems to be approaching England. But he is distracted by the sudden and inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse - a death the University authorities do not want investigated.
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I should have loved this book.
- By J. Miller on 09-11-19
By: Susanna Gregory
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Dissolution
- A Novel of Tudor England Introducing Matthew Shardlake
- By: C. J. Sansom
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This riveting debut set in 1534 England secured C. J. Sansom’s place “among the most distinguished of modern historical novelists” (P. D. James). When Henry VIII’s emissary is beheaded at an English monastery, hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake is dispatched to solve the crime. But as he uncovers a cesspool of sin, three more murders occur - and Matthew may be the next target.
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Terrific Story, Writing, and Narration ...
- By Snoodely on 09-13-13
By: C. J. Sansom
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The Physician
- The Cole Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Noah Gordon
- Narrated by: Richard Higgins
- Length: 24 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
A child holds the hand of his dying mother and is terrified, aware something is taking her. Orphaned and given to an itinerant barber-surgeon, Rob Cole becomes a fast-talking swindler, peddling a worthless medicine. But as he matures, his strange gift - an acute sensitivity to impending death - never leaves him, and he yearns to become a healer. Arab madrassas are the only authentic medical schools, and he makes his perilous way to Persia.
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From a Persian
- By Lilian Piruzan Ansari on 01-01-18
By: Noah Gordon
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Death and the Maiden
- Mistress of the Art of Death
- By: Samantha Norman, Ariana Franklin
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
England. 1191. After the death of her friend and patron, King Henry II, Adelia Aguilar, England's vaunted Mistress of the Art of Death, is living comfortably in retirement and training her daughter, Allie, to carry on her craft—sharing the practical knowledge of anatomy, forensics, and sleuthing that catches murderers. Allie is already a skilled healer, with a particular gift for treating animals. But the young woman is nearly twenty, and her father, Rowley, Bishop of Saint Albans, and his patron, the Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, have plans to marry Allie to an influential husband.
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Wanted to love it
- By Jeffrey J. on 02-15-21
By: Samantha Norman, and others
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The Siege Winter
- A Novel
- By: Ariana Franklin, Samantha Norman
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
1141. England is engulfed in war as King Stephen and his cousin, the Empress Matilda, vie for the crown. In this dangerous world, not even Emma, an 11-year-old peasant, is safe. A depraved monk obsessed with redheads kidnaps the ginger-haired girl from her village and leaves her for dead. When an archer for hire named Gwyl finds her, she has no memory of her previous life.
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Please give us more books!
- By South Carolina Senior on 03-06-15
By: Ariana Franklin, and others
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A Swarming of Bees
- Fridgyth the Herb-Wife, Book 1
- By: Theresa Tomlinson
- Narrated by: Danielle Cohen
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Monastery at Whitby is ruled over by the powerful and independent Abbess Hild. But when she needs someone to confide in, she turns to the honest warmth of her friend Fridgyth, the half-pagan herb-wife. A divisive and life-altering decision taken at the Great Synod is swiftly overshadowed as the monastery is ravaged by a deadly plague. As she tends the sick, Fridgyth starts to suspect that not all the deaths are natural. Despite Hild's stern warnings "not to meddle" she sets out to investigate.
-
-
the voice
- By Linda Dennison on 03-30-21
-
A Plague on Both Your Houses
- The First Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
- By: Susanna Gregory
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Matthew Bartholomew, unorthodox but effective physician to Michaelhouse college in medieval Cambridge, is as worried as anyone about the pestilence that is ravaging Europe and seems to be approaching England. But he is distracted by the sudden and inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse - a death the University authorities do not want investigated.
-
-
I should have loved this book.
- By J. Miller on 09-11-19
By: Susanna Gregory
-
Dissolution
- A Novel of Tudor England Introducing Matthew Shardlake
- By: C. J. Sansom
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This riveting debut set in 1534 England secured C. J. Sansom’s place “among the most distinguished of modern historical novelists” (P. D. James). When Henry VIII’s emissary is beheaded at an English monastery, hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake is dispatched to solve the crime. But as he uncovers a cesspool of sin, three more murders occur - and Matthew may be the next target.
-
-
Terrific Story, Writing, and Narration ...
- By Snoodely on 09-13-13
By: C. J. Sansom
-
The Physician
- The Cole Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Noah Gordon
- Narrated by: Richard Higgins
- Length: 24 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A child holds the hand of his dying mother and is terrified, aware something is taking her. Orphaned and given to an itinerant barber-surgeon, Rob Cole becomes a fast-talking swindler, peddling a worthless medicine. But as he matures, his strange gift - an acute sensitivity to impending death - never leaves him, and he yearns to become a healer. Arab madrassas are the only authentic medical schools, and he makes his perilous way to Persia.
-
-
From a Persian
- By Lilian Piruzan Ansari on 01-01-18
By: Noah Gordon
-
When Christ and His Saints Slept
- Plantagenets, Book 1
- By: Sharon Kay Penman
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 36 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In When Christ and His Saints Slept, the first of a trilogy that will tell the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, master storyteller and historian Sharon Kay Penman illuminates one of the less known but fascinating periods of English history. It begins with the death of King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror and father of Maude, his only living legitimate offspring.
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Please release Pt 2!
- By BVerité on 06-08-19
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The Last Hours
- By: Minette Walters
- Narrated by: Helen Keeley
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When the Black Death enters England through the port in Dorsetshire in June 1348, no one knows what manner of sickness it is - or how it spreads and kills so quickly. The Church cites God as the cause, and fear grips the people as they come to believe that the plague is a punishment for wickedness. But Lady Anne of Develish has her own ideas. Educated by nuns, Anne is a rarity among women, being both literate and knowledgeable. With her brutal husband absent from the manor when news of this pestilence reaches her, she looks for more sensible ways to protect her people than confession.
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Not worth the cliffhanger
- By Ben on 08-11-20
By: Minette Walters
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The Anatomist's Wife
- Lady Darby Mystery, Book 1
- By: Anna Lee Huber
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Following the death of her husband, Lady Darby has taken refuge at her sister's estate, finding solace in her passion for painting. But when one of the house guests is murdered, her brother-in-law asks her to aid the insufferable Sebastian Gage - a fellow guest with some experience as an inquiry agent. While Gage is clearly more competent than she first assumed, Kiera isn't about to let her guard down, as accusations and rumors swirl.
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A good read.
- By sslarigo on 01-22-15
By: Anna Lee Huber
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The Good Wife of Bath
- A Novel
- By: Karen Brooks
- Narrated by: Fran Burgoyne
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
England, 1364: When married off at aged twelve to an elderly farmer, brazen redheaded Eleanor quickly realizes it won’t matter what she says or does, God is not on her side—or any poor woman’s for that matter. But then again, Eleanor was born under the joint signs of Venus and Mars, making her both a lover and a fighter.
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Interesting, funny and thought provoking
- By Dawn Umstot on 07-01-22
By: Karen Brooks
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The Gilded Hour
- By: Sara Donati
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 31 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The year is 1883, and in New York City it's a time of dizzying splendor, crushing poverty, and tremendous change. With the gravity-defying Brooklyn Bridge nearly complete and New York in the grips of antivice crusader Anthony Comstock, Anna Savard and her cousin, Sophie - both graduates of the Woman's Medical School - treat the city's most vulnerable, even if doing so may put everything they've strived for in jeopardy.
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Historical romance, surgical implements too!
- By Annie M. on 09-06-15
By: Sara Donati
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A Duty to the Dead
- A Bess Crawford Mystery
- By: Charles Todd
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The daughter of a distinguished soldier, Bess Crawford follows in his patriotic footsteps, volunteering to serve her country as a nurse during the Great War. In 1916 she promises Lieutenant Arthur Graham that she will carry his dying request to a brother. When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference.
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Terrific period mystery
- By Anne on 12-04-10
By: Charles Todd
Related to this topic
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A Vision of Light
- A Margaret of Ashbury Novel, Book 1
- By: Judith Merkle Riley
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Margaret of Ashbury wants to write her life story. However, like most women in 14th-century England, she is illiterate. Three clerics contemptuously decline to be Margaret’s scribe, and only the threat of starvation persuades Brother Gregory, a Carthusian friar with a mysterious past, to take on the task. As she narrates her life, we discover a woman of startling resourcefulness.
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Old fashioned heroine
- By Margaret on 06-22-13
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Mirror Mirror
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: John McDonough, Kate Forbes, Barbara Rosenblat, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives at Montefiore, the farm of her father, Don Vicente. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up to the farm. In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia, no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a quest, he leaves Bianca under the care of Lucrezia. She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but salvation can be found in the dark forest as well.