The Virgin's Daughter

By: Laura Andersen

Narrated by: Rosalind Ashford

Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, The Virgin's Daughter is the first book in a captivating new saga about the next generation of Tudor royals, which poses the thrilling question: What if Elizabeth I, the celebrated Virgin Queen, gave birth to a legitimate heir?

Since the death of her brother, William, Elizabeth I has ruled England. She's made the necessary alliances, married Philip of Spain, and produced a successor: her only daughter, Anne Isabella, Princess of Wales. Elizabeth knows that her beloved Anabel will be a political pawn across Europe unless she can convince Philip to grant her a divorce, freeing him to remarry and give Spain its own heir. But the enemies of England have even greater plans for the princess, a plot that will put Anabel's very life and the security of the nation in peril.

Only those closest to Elizabeth - her longtime confidante, Minuette; her advisor and friend, Dominic; and the couple's grown children - can be trusted to carry forth a most delicate and dangerous mission. Yet all of the queen's maneuverings may ultimately prove her undoing.

©2015 Laura Andersen (P)2015 Audible Inc.

Intriguing premise, good story, great storytelling

Any additional comments?

What if Elizabeth I had produced an heir? How would the course of history have changed? In this compelling glimpse into Elizabeth's life and those of the people closest to her, we are treated to a well-crafted fictionalized version of history that is liberally peppered by actual facts. Both real and imagined historical characters are brought to life by really good narration/storytelling. The reader has a very pleasing voice and creates clear personalities for each of the players in a high-stakes royal game of intrigue and politics. I found myself lost in this thoroughly enjoyable tale--which is, of course, what good storytelling should do. Looking forward to hearing the rest of this series.

7 people found this helpful

Nice continuation!

!!!SPOILERS!!!

This was a very nice continuation of the Boleyn books. I was hoping for a more devastating secret from Nicola. The fact that he was screwing Julian's first love was a let down, of sorts. I was expecting something to the effect of Julian was Felix's real father. I DO like the fact that Mary Stuart is in play again. I can only imagine how upset Queen Elizabeth will be when the details of the plot come to light. Here's hoping for another book!!

4 people found this helpful

FUN FUN FUN!

Would you listen to The Virgin's Daughter again? Why?

Yes, I really enjoyed the book and recommended it to my sister who has read the Boleyn series after me. We really enjoy the Laura Andersen's writing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Virgin's Daughter?

I don't want to give anything away but things get heated between two of the main characters and it left me laughing at the scandal.

Did Rosalind Ashford do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

She did do a great job giving the characters appropriate accents which helped differentiate between them but I preferred the narrator from Laura's last series.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Oh I would hope it was a television series I would have fun with that. I have no clue what the tag line would be.... I would need to think about it.

3 people found this helpful

Worth it in the end

The story starts really slow but in the end it's worth it. The French accents grew on me

2 people found this helpful

Painful accents

Story was more romance than historical novel for my taste. The narrator shouldn't attempt accents. The French accents were so strangled that I kept thinking of the old Steve Martin line, "Help him - he's speaking French!". It was too distracting.

1 person found this helpful

At least it was free!

What disappointed you about The Virgin's Daughter?

There's a lot of characters and the reader only has one male and one female voice to spread among them all.

Has The Virgin's Daughter turned you off from other books in this genre?

No this is just an alternative history that isn't very well written. Will give others a chance.

How could the performance have been better?

A second voice actor would help a lot and give some variety.

2 people found this helpful

Great story

It really builds upon the last series and sets up the next book.. but the French accents are rough

A very good story

This was a well performed story. That being g said the author certainly did not pay much attention to historical facts.

Compelling story ruined by awful narrator

What made the experience of listening to The Virgin's Daughter the most enjoyable?

The plot was the only enjoyable thing about this book. The narrator ruined it at every turn; when she wasn't reading like a very polite British robot, she was attempting myriad European accents, all overexaggerated, with no success. This was much more of a hindrance than if she had just read the foreign characters in her normal voice. SO distracting and really ruined the overall experience.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Rosalind Ashford?

Simon Vance read this author's preceding trilogy (which is linked to this one, using the same set of characters a few decades down the line), and he did a phenomenal job. Why on earth would that be followed up with such a remarkably awful voice for this series? Hoping to find a different narrator for the next two books in this trilogy...

Strong Protagonist

Lucy is supposed to be a strong and independent woman yet brushes easily to a small compliment and a forced romance, which solved the puzzle mid way through the book, and her in mind ledger was bad