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The House at Old Vine
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The Town House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Juliet Prague, Martyn Read
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
"It was in the first week of October in the year 1391 that I first came face to face with the man who owned me… the man whose lightest word was to us, his villeins, weightier than the King’s law or the edicts of our Holy Father…” So began the story of Martin Reed - a serf whose resentment of the automatic rule of his feudal lord finally flared into open defiance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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My favorite author
- By Karie on 07-09-15
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Bless This House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Michael Tudor Barnes, Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 14
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Story5 out of 5 stars 14
The house was built in the Old Queen's time: built for an Elizabethan pirate who was knighted for the plunder he brought home. It survived many eras, many reigns: it saw the passing of Cromwell and the Civil War. It became rich with an Indian Nabob and poor with a 20th century innkeeper. It saw wars, and lovers, and death. Children were born there, both heirs and bastards. It had ghosts and legends and a history that grew stranger with every generation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bless This House - my take
- By Kalona1982 on 04-05-09
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Pargeters
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie, Gordon Griffin
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
Pargeting is a highly skilled trade. And Pargeters is the name given to the Suffolk home of John Mercer in honour of Adam Woodley, the craftsman who had decorated it so lovingly. Over two generations, and throughout the turbulent years of the Civil War, Pargeters comes to stand as a symbol of unity for a household divided by conflicting political loyalties and abandoned by its menfolk. And it is the mistress of Pargeters, Sarah Woodley-Mercer, who holds the small household together in this troubled time.
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A Wayside Tavern
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17
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Story4 out of 5 stars 18
A Wayside Tavern tells the story of a Suffolk drinking place from the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, until the present day. The Roman veteran, crippled and left behind, worshipped Mithras, so the place became known as the One Bull and down through the centuries it became a clearing house for contraband, a miniature Hell Fire Club, a fashionable hotel, a mere pub. Across the yard, was the church of St Cerdic, king and martyr, who fought the Danes and was famous for the miracles performed at his shrine.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An enjoyable tale
- By Gordon on 10-07-11
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Scent of Cloves
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Gráinne Gillis
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 7
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Story4 out of 5 stars 7
Julia Ashley was born to a life of dramatic twists and tragedy. Her future and any possible lasting happiness depended entirely on a "glove marriage" to a man who was no more than a name. The Dutch East Indies, in the 17th century, were the lands of legendary riches; of "nutmeg princes"; of fortunes built on barbaric plantations and slavery. And amid the extravagance, the cruelty, the bizarre customs, perhaps the strangest events of all were the curious weddings that sent girls halfway around the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great listen BUT crucial chapter missing
- By Amazon Customer on 11-30-15
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Knight's Acre
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- Narrated by: Patience Tomlinson
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
Sir Godfrey Tallboys was a knight-errant, famous for his success at tourneys, but far from wealthy. In an attempt to make his fortune he left his wife Sybilla and travelled to Spain to fight a minor rusade against the Moors. But treachery lurked in that far distant land and soon Sir Godfrey became a prisoner, a helpless slave in a hostile country. Back in quiet Suffolk he was reported dead. And so it fell to Sybilla to fend for the whole family.
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The Town House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Juliet Prague, Martyn Read
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
"It was in the first week of October in the year 1391 that I first came face to face with the man who owned me… the man whose lightest word was to us, his villeins, weightier than the King’s law or the edicts of our Holy Father…” So began the story of Martin Reed - a serf whose resentment of the automatic rule of his feudal lord finally flared into open defiance.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My favorite author
- By Karie on 07-09-15
-
Bless This House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Michael Tudor Barnes, Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 14
The house was built in the Old Queen's time: built for an Elizabethan pirate who was knighted for the plunder he brought home. It survived many eras, many reigns: it saw the passing of Cromwell and the Civil War. It became rich with an Indian Nabob and poor with a 20th century innkeeper. It saw wars, and lovers, and death. Children were born there, both heirs and bastards. It had ghosts and legends and a history that grew stranger with every generation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Bless This House - my take
- By Kalona1982 on 04-05-09
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Pargeters
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie, Gordon Griffin
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
Pargeting is a highly skilled trade. And Pargeters is the name given to the Suffolk home of John Mercer in honour of Adam Woodley, the craftsman who had decorated it so lovingly. Over two generations, and throughout the turbulent years of the Civil War, Pargeters comes to stand as a symbol of unity for a household divided by conflicting political loyalties and abandoned by its menfolk. And it is the mistress of Pargeters, Sarah Woodley-Mercer, who holds the small household together in this troubled time.
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A Wayside Tavern
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 18
A Wayside Tavern tells the story of a Suffolk drinking place from the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, until the present day. The Roman veteran, crippled and left behind, worshipped Mithras, so the place became known as the One Bull and down through the centuries it became a clearing house for contraband, a miniature Hell Fire Club, a fashionable hotel, a mere pub. Across the yard, was the church of St Cerdic, king and martyr, who fought the Danes and was famous for the miracles performed at his shrine.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An enjoyable tale
- By Gordon on 10-07-11
-
Scent of Cloves
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Gráinne Gillis
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7
Julia Ashley was born to a life of dramatic twists and tragedy. Her future and any possible lasting happiness depended entirely on a "glove marriage" to a man who was no more than a name. The Dutch East Indies, in the 17th century, were the lands of legendary riches; of "nutmeg princes"; of fortunes built on barbaric plantations and slavery. And amid the extravagance, the cruelty, the bizarre customs, perhaps the strangest events of all were the curious weddings that sent girls halfway around the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great listen BUT crucial chapter missing
- By Amazon Customer on 11-30-15
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Knight's Acre
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Patience Tomlinson
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
Sir Godfrey Tallboys was a knight-errant, famous for his success at tourneys, but far from wealthy. In an attempt to make his fortune he left his wife Sybilla and travelled to Spain to fight a minor rusade against the Moors. But treachery lurked in that far distant land and soon Sir Godfrey became a prisoner, a helpless slave in a hostile country. Back in quiet Suffolk he was reported dead. And so it fell to Sybilla to fend for the whole family.
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- Narrated by: Helen Johns
- Length: 40 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,038
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 967
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 960
Set against the backdrop of an elegant Cornwall mansion before World War II and a vast continent-spanning canvas during the turbulent war years, this captivating story tells of an extraordinary young woman's coming of age, coming to grips with love and sadness, and in every sense of the term, coming home.... In 1935, Judith Dunbar is left behind at a British boarding school when her mother and baby sister go off to join her father in Singapore.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Marvelous story line, Excellent narration
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-18
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The Lute Player
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: David Thorpe, Karen Cass
- Length: 20 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
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Out of the courts of 12th-century England strode the legendary figure of Richard of England leading his knights onto the Saracen battlefields, inspired by a vision of the Holy Land. Here is the story of the Soldier-King and the Third Crusade - of his strange, ill-fated union with Berengaria, Princess of Navarre; and of his mother, the She-Wolf, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who loved her son with a frantic, possessive pride. And, above all, here is the story of the minstrel whose life was linked with that of the King - the story of Blondel, the Lute Player....
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5 out of 5 stars
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A historical beauty
- By Sherry on 09-02-16
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Madselin
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Emma Powell
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
When William the Conqueror wished to reward his armourer, he made him a grant of land - land worked by freemen and already belonging to a Saxon lord. But the men of the Conquest had no time for the niceties of land tenure and legal possession. Rolf, the armourer, hacked his way through the Saxon defiance and savagely claimed his royal bequest.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A pleasant listen
- By B Reader on 06-24-19
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Nethergate
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- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie, Gordon Griffin
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Forced to flee Revolutionary France after the brutal guillotining of her beloved father, Isabella de Savigny arrives at Nethergate, the Suffolk house of her cousin, hoping for sympathy and succour. Instead, as a poor relation, she is forced to live the life of a servant and suffer the casual cruelty of lady’s maid Martha Pratt. When she is seduced and abandoned by the son of the house, Isabella is forced to marry Martha’s brother, and her struggle to survive truly begins. However, her misery is lessened when her daughter is born....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic
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Under Gemini
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It seemed such an innocent deception. All Flora Waring had to do was play the part of Rose, her long-lost twin, for one weekend and meet the family of Rose’s fiancé. But when Flora is introduced to the Armstrong family, she realizes that she has inherited the secret scandal Rose created five years before...and left wounds that turn the man Flora loves against her.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Classic 70’s romance. Light and sweet. Not deep. The writing is lovely and the characters lovable.
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The Shell Seekers
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,675
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,555
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,546
At the end of a long and useful life, Penelope Keeling's prized possession is The Shell Seekers, painted by her father and symbolizing her unconventional life, from bohemian childhood to wartime romance. When her grown children learn their grandfather's work is now worth a fortune, each has an idea as to what Penelope should do. But as she recalls the passions, tragedies, and secrets of her life, she knows there is only one answer...and it lies in her heart.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Back again
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Behind the Throne
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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In Behind the Throne, historian Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking the listener on a remarkable journey from one Queen Elizabeth to another and exploring life as it was lived by clerks and courtiers and clowns and crowned heads: the power struggles and petty rivalries, the tension between duty and desire, the practicalities of cooking dinner for thousands and of ensuring the king always won when he played a game of tennis.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,205
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,823
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,823
In these tales, Lord John vows to avenge a murder, investigates a terrifying "night-hag" on the battlefields of Europe, and discovers treason in His Majesty's ranks.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Lord John Grey comes to life
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The Concubine
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 16
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Story4 out of 5 stars 16
“All eyes and hair” a courtier had said disparagingly of her – and certainly the younger daughter of Tom Boleyn lacked the bounteous charms of most ladies of Court. Black-haired, black eyes, she had a wild-sprite quality that was to prove more effective, more dangerous than conventional feminine appeal. The King first noticed her when she was sixteen – and with imperial greed he smashed her youthful love-affair with Harry Percy and began the process of royal seduction.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very, Very Good!
- By DaNick on 05-20-16
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Jassy
- By: Norah Lofts
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- 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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Story5 out of 5 stars 6
She was the daughter of a preacher and a gypsy. A strange and elusive child with powers of prophecy, she grew into an even stranger woman. From those around her she inspired love and admiration or furious hatred. Nothing in between. And somehow Jassy could transform even those who loved her into her enemies. Barney Hatton, the dispossessed heir of Mortiboys, loved her but not enough. Lindy, a girl who worked there, loved her too much.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,172
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 775
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Story4 out of 5 stars 773
The saga begins in tribal, pre-Christian Ireland during the reign of the fierce and mighty High Kings at Tara, with the tale of two lovers whose travails cleverly echo the ancient Celtic legend of Cuchulainn. From that stirring beginning, Rutherfurd takes the listener on a powerfully imagined journey through the centuries. Through the interlocking stories of a memorable cast of characters we see Ireland through the lens of its greatest city.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Couldn't turn the ignition off
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Ross Poldark
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,160
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,940
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,943
Ross Poldark returns to Cornwall from war, looking forward to a joyful homecoming with his family and his beloved Elizabeth. But instead, he discovers that his father has died, his home is overrun by livestock and drunken servants, and Elizabeth, having believed Ross dead, is now engaged to his cousin. Ross must start over, building a completely new path for his life, one that takes him in exciting and unexpected directions....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hats off to the Screenwriters and Actors
- By Donna Miller on 07-05-15
Publisher's Summary
The House at Old Vine is the second in a trilogy of novels by Norah Lofts about the inhabitants of a Suffolk house from the late 14th century to the middle of the 20th.
Covering the turbulent years of 1496 to 1680, it follows six generations of the descendants of Martin Reed, who founded the "House" dynasty through his act of rebellion in The Town House, through persecution, war, and revolution, from the era of Christopher Columbus to the Restoration of Charles II.
Written with Lofts’ customary attention to historical detail, this novel follows intriguing characters who lived and died for what they believed in.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Daisii
- 03-23-16
What a wonderful suprise!
If you could sum up The House at Old Vine in three words, what would they be?
Epic historical saga.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Each character made me feel absorbed in their tale.
Which character – as performed by Martyn Read and Julieet Prague – was your favorite?
Who could choose? The performances were outstanding. Every character had its own life force that distinguished itself from each other.
If you could rename The House at Old Vine, what would you call it?
House of Quilted Remnants
Any additional comments?
The performances of each character made me feel like I could see and smell those historical surroundings. A history of a house and each generation of people weaving tales of life as it moves through war, love, lust, loss and all those secret feelings that determine whether you live in a house or a home.
1 of 1 people found this review 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
- Bird Lady 147
- 06-07-19
Really enjoyed all of Norah Lofts books
I had these in my audio library for so long and one day I started listening and wound up sipping through all of her books. The narrators Juliet Prague and Martin Read were excellent.
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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
- Susan
- 07-24-17
Interesting and compelling
I enjoyed the different character development and a variety of personalities and physical features. The story was interesting and unpredictable. I'm glad there's another book to Follow
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-11-19
Unusual
After listening to five Norah Lofts audible books , I have to say that they do get repetitive. Pretty much the same story each time and with recurring historical detail. In every book a rare treat for a character has been gingerbread or raisins ! It's a good concept for a book and the narrative of each character keeps you listening , but for me there's something missing.