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The Bad Popes
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
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The Bad Popes
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Publisher's summary
A dramatic account of some of the most notorious figures of medieval and Renaissance history who ruled from the Eternal City. It is sure to grip fans of John Julius Norwich, Tom Holland, and Peter Ackroyd.
The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history.
Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children.
E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes to have ruled over the Holy See, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, the second Medici pope, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
The Bad Popes explains how during these six centuries the papal monarchy rose to its greatest heights, as popes attempted to assert not only their spiritual authority but also their temporal power, only for it to come crashing down.
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- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 407
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 346
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 342
The definitive history of a powerful family dynasty who dominated Europe for centuries - from their rise to power to their eventual downfall.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Excellent and Interesting History
- By Darrel Bishop on 09-14-20
By: Martyn Rady
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The Conquering Family
- By: Thomas B. Costain
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 217
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 156
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 149
Thomas B. Costain's four-volume history of the Plantagenets begins with The Conquering Family and the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, closing with the reign of John in 1216. The troubled period after the Norman Conquest, when the foundations of government were hammered out between monarch and people, comes to life through Costain's storytelling skill and historical imagination.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An Entrancing History of the Early Plantegenets
- By Peter on 01-20-09
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A History of France
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: John Julius Norwich
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 373
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 330
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 328
John Julius Norwich - called a "true master of narrative history" by Simon Sebag Montefiore - returns with the book he has spent his distinguished career wanting to write, A History of France, a portrait of the past two centuries of the country he loves best. Beginning with Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul in the first century BC, this study of French history comprises a cast of legendary characters - Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, and Marie Antionette, to name a few - as Norwich chronicles France's often violent, always fascinating history.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Kings and Wars
- By Awake Tex on 08-22-19
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She-Wolves
- The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth
- By: Helen Castor
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 124
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 109
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
In the tradition of Antonia Fraser and Alison Weir, prize-winning historian Helen Castor delivers a compelling, eye-opening examination of women and power in England, witnessed through the lives of six women who exercised power against all odds - and one who never got the chance. Exploring the narratives of the Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and other "she-wolves," as well as that of the Nine Days' Queen, Lady Jane Grey, Castor invokes a magisterial discussion of how much - and how little - has changed through the centuries.
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2 out of 5 stars
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STORY TELLING IS ERRATIC
- By The Louligan on 07-22-20
By: Helen Castor
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The Byzantine Empire
- By: Charles Oman
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
The Byzantine Empire survived as a self-contained political entity longer than any other in the history of Christianity. This history by Charles Oman is a catalog of good, bad, and indifferent emperors who either pushed Byzantine Civilization to new heights or savagely drove it to defeat and dissolution. It is a strange tale populated by some of the most interesting men and women who have ever lived.
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4 out of 5 stars
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adequate good book. great reader
- By Felisa Kay on 01-30-21
By: Charles Oman
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Dying Every Day
- Seneca at the Court of Nero
- By: James S. Romm
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 43
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Story5 out of 5 stars 43
James Romm seamlessly weaves together the life and written words, the moral struggles, political intrigue, and bloody vengeance that enmeshed Seneca the Younger in the twisted imperial family and the perverse, paranoid regime of Emperor Nero, despot and madman.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding
- By michael bobadilla on 05-04-23
By: James S. Romm
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Evil Roman Emperors
- The Shocking History of Ancient Rome's Most Wicked Rulers from Caligula to Nero and More
- By: Phillip Barlag
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 82
Roman history, from the very foundation of the city, is replete with people and stories that shock our modern sensibilities. Evil Roman Emperors puts the worst of Rome's rulers in one place and offers a review of their lives and a historical context for what made them into what they became.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brisket and nu potato
- By Michael Ayers on 06-27-21
By: Phillip Barlag
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The White Ship
- Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
- By: Charles Spencer
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 256
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 224
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 223
By 1120, Henry was perhaps the most formidable ruler in Europe, with an enviable record on the battlefield, immense lands and wealth and unprecedented authority in his kingdoms. Everything he had worked so hard for was finally achieved, and he was ready to hand it on to his beloved son and heir, William Ætheling. Henry I and his retinue set out first. The White Ship - considered the fastest afloat - would follow, carrying the young prince. Spoilt and arrogant, William had plied his comrades and crew with drink from the minute he stepped aboard....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant and concise
- By Kindle Customer on 11-28-20
By: Charles Spencer
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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
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 147
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 131
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Story5 out of 5 stars 130
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 Chris Corsini on 04-05-22
By: Tracy Borman
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Queens of the Crusades: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Her Successors
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 17 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 116
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 105
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
The Plantagenet queens of England played a role in some of the most dramatic events in our history. Crusading queens, queens in rebellion against their king, queen seductresses, learned queens, queens in battle, queens who enlivened England with the romantic culture of southern Europe - these determined women often broke through medieval constraints to exercise power and influence, for good and sometimes for ill.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A real Masterpiece!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-30-21
By: Alison Weir
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Absolute Monarchs
- A History of the Papacy
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 298
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 262
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Story4 out of 5 stars 265
With the papacy embattled in recent years, it is essential to have the perspective of one of the world's most accomplished historians. In Absolute Monarchs, John Julius Norwich captures nearly 2,000 years of inspiration and devotion, intrigue and scandal. The men (and maybe one woman) who have held this position of infallible power over millions have ranged from heroes to rogues, admirably wise to utterly decadent.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A relentless succession of very old men
- By Nassir on 11-01-11
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The Medici
- Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,522
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,321
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,315
Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Fun Story Bad History
- By Elizabeth Barrett on 05-09-16
By: Paul Strathern
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Crusaders
- The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 694
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 613
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 610
For more than 1,000 years, Christians and Muslims lived side by side, sometimes at peace and sometimes at war. When Christian armies seized Jerusalem in 1099, they began the most notorious period of conflict between the two religions. Depending on who you ask, the fall of the holy city was either an inspiring legend or the greatest of horrors. In Crusaders, Dan Jones interrogates the many sides of the larger story, charting a deeply human and avowedly pluralist path through the crusading era.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping but not tidy
- By Tad Davis on 01-06-20
By: Dan Jones
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Brothers York
- A Royal Tragedy
- By: Thomas Penn
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 233
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 203
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Story5 out of 5 stars 201
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 Tad Davis on 08-06-20
By: Thomas Penn
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In the Shadow of the Empress
- The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 23 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 153
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 128
The vibrant, sprawling saga of Empress Maria Theresa - one of the most renowned women rulers in history - and three of her extraordinary daughters, including Marie Antoinette, the doomed queen of France.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Awful narration!
- By Suanne Laqueur on 09-27-21
By: Nancy Goldstone
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