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The Brightest Star
- Narrated by: Lucy Bell
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
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Publisher's summary
A thirst for learning and a passion for astronomy draw an extraordinary young woman deep into the intellectual maelstrom, political complexities and religious extremism of Renaissance Florence. This beautifully crafted novel will appeal to readers and listeners of Karen Brooks' The Good Wife of Bath and Pip Williams' Dictionary of Lost Words.
1496 It is the height of the Renaissance and its flowering of intellectual and artistic endeavour, but the city state of Florence is in the grip of fundamentalist preacher Friar Girolamo Savonarola. Its good people believe the Lord speaks through him, just as certainly as the Sun circles the Earth.
For Leonarda Lunetta, eldest daughter of the learned Signore Vincenzio Fusili, religion is not as interesting as the books she shares with her beloved father. Reading is an escape from the ridicule flung her way, for Luna is not like other girls. She was born with a misshapen leg and that, and her passion for intellectual pursuits alters how society sees her and how she sees the world.
Luna wants to know, to learn, to become an astronomer who charts the night sky - certainly not the dutiful, marriageable daughter all of Florence society insists upon. So when Luna meets astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, she is not surprised that his heretical beliefs confirm her view that the world is not as it is presented - or how it could be. These dangerous ideas bring her into conflict with the preacher Savonarola, and her future is changed irrevocably as politics, extremism and belief systems ignite in a dangerous conflagration.
Luna is a woman born out of time, the brightest star of her generation, but can she reconcile the girl of her father's making with this new version of herself? And if she does, will Renaissance Italy prove too perilous and dark a place for a free-thinking woman?
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-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 251
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 216
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Story4 out of 5 stars 215
In this debut historical thriller, an aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father’s life and preserve all she holds dear. When novitiate nun Joanna Stafford learns her rebel cousin is condemned by King Henry VIII to be burned at the stake, she makes the decision to break the sacred rule of enclosure and flee her Dominican order in Dartford to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, Sir Richard Stafford, is sent to the Tower of London.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Torture
- By S. Wells on 03-24-13
By: Nancy Bilyeau
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Push Not the River
- By: James Conroyd Martin
- Narrated by: Dawn Harvey
- Length: 19 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 200
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 171
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Story4 out of 5 stars 174
Push Not the River is the rich story of Poland in the late 1700's - a time of heartache and turmoil as the country's once peaceful people are torn apart by neighboring countries and divided loyalties. It is then, at the young and vulnerable age of seventeen, that Lady Anna Maria Berezowska loses both of her parents and must leave the only home she has ever known.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Save your time; buy something else.
- By AMS on 10-22-15
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The Passion of Artemisia
- By: Susan Vreeland
- Narrated by: Gigi Bermingham
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 194
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Set against the glorious backdrops of Rome, Florence, and Genoa, and Naples, peopled with historical characters and filled with the details of the life of a 17th-century painter, The Passion of Artemisia is the story of Gentileschi's struggle to find love, forgiveness, and wholeness through her art.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing
- By Kay on 05-21-03
By: Susan Vreeland
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The Architect's Apprentice
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Piter Marek
- Length: 16 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 341
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 303
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 302
In 1540, 12-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan's menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan's beautiful daughter Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire's chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota's help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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I feel like I should like it more than I do
- By nyog on 04-19-17
By: Elif Shafak
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The Widow's Kiss
- By: Jane Feather
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 103
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 93
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Story4 out of 5 stars 92
Lady Guinevere Mallory has been married four times in 12 years, and each of her husbands has died mysteriously. Adept in the laws of property, she has secured the land of each of her late spouses, vastly increasing her personal wealth. After the death of her fourth husband, this trend raises some eyebrows at the royal court, and Hugh of Beaucaire is sent to investigate these puzzling events.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not bad, but veeerryyy ssslllooowwww narration.
- By I like to shop on 08-31-18
By: Jane Feather
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While Beauty Slept
- By: Elizabeth Blackwell
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 319
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 293
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Story4 out of 5 stars 293
I am not the sort of person about whom stories are told.And so begins Elise Dalriss's story. When she hears her great-granddaughter recount a minstrel's tale about a beautiful princess asleep in a tower, it pushes open a door to the past, a door Elise has long kept locked. For Elise was the companion to the real princess who slumbered-and she is the only one left who knows what actually happened so many years ago. Her story unveils a labyrinth where secrets connect to an inconceivable evil. As only Elise understands all too well, the truth is no fairy tale...
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5 out of 5 stars
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EVIL THOUGHTS TAKE STRENGTH IN THE DARK,
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 02-08-15
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Reign of Madness
- By: Lynn Cullen
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Juana of Castile, third child of the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Fernando, grows up with no hope of inheriting her parents' crowns, but as a princess knows her duty: to further her family's ambitions through marriage. Yet stories of courtly love, and of her parents' own legendary romance, surround her. When she weds the Duke of Burgundy, a young man so beautiful that he is known as Philippe the Handsome, she dares to hope that she might have both love and crowns.
By: Lynn Cullen
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Instruments of Darkness
- A Novel
- By: Imogen Robertson
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 171
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 138
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Story4 out of 5 stars 139
In the year 1780, Harriet Westerman, the willful mistress of a country manor in Sussex, finds a dead man on her grounds with a ring bearing the crest of Thornleigh Hall in his pocket. Not one to be bound by convention or to shy away from adventure, she recruits a reclusive local anatomist named Gabriel Crowther to help her find the murderer, and historical suspense's newest investigative duo is born.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not The Best, But Not Too Bad...
- By MJ on 01-13-13
By: Imogen Robertson
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Oil and Marble
- A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo
- By: Stephanie Storey
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,518
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,273
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,270
From 1501 to 1505, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti both lived and worked in Florence. Leonardo was a charming, handsome 50-year-old at the peak of his career. Michelangelo was a temperamental sculptor in his mid-20s, desperate to make a name for himself. Michelangelo is a virtual unknown when he returns to Florence and wins the commission to carve what will become one of the most famous sculptures of all time: David.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fact and Fiction Fuse for a Great Listen
- By bec/audiothing on 07-21-16
By: Stephanie Storey
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The Irish Healer
- A Novel
- By: Nancy Herriman
- Narrated by: Amanda McKnight
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4 out of 5 stars 45
1830s London is rich with promise ... and fraught with peril. Rachel Dunne and James Edmunds are about to discover that love is too. Rachel Dunne has always been a healer ... until she’s accused of causing the death of a child under her care. Acquitted but shunned, she flees Ireland in search of a new life, convinced that she’ll be fine so long as no one in London learns of her disgrace - or forces her to ever sit at another sickbed.
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3 out of 5 stars
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should have a Christian/Religion tag
- By Wendy on 07-06-12
By: Nancy Herriman
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A Shadow in Summer
- Long Price Quartet, Book 1
- By: Daniel Abraham
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 298
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 265
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Story4 out of 5 stars 262
The powerful city-state of Saraykeht is a bastion of peace and culture, a major center of commerce and trade. Its economy depends on the power of the captive spirit Seedless, an and at bound to the poet-sorcerer Heshai for life. Enter the Galts, an empire committed to laying waste to all lands with their ferocious army. Saraykeht has always been too strong for the Galts to attack, but now they see an opportunity.
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4 out of 5 stars
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REALLY Hard to Rate!
- By Trip Williams on 04-27-15
By: Daniel Abraham
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Shades of Milk and Honey
- By: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,045
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 937
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Story4 out of 5 stars 937
The fantasy novel you’ve always wished Jane Austen had written. When Jane realizes that one of Melody’s suitors is set on taking advantage of her sister for the sake of her dowry, she pushes her skills to the limit of what her body can withstand in order to set things right—and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great if you love speculative fiction and Austen
- By Womble on 05-07-12
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Grave Mercy
- His Fair Assassin, Book 1
- By: Robin LaFevers
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,159
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,039
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,056
Escaping an arranged marriage, 17-year-old Ismae finds sanctuary in the St. Mortain convent, where the sisters worship the gods of old. There, Ismae learns that the God of Death has special plans for her—a destiny that will one day compel her to betray the man she loves.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Slow Start but Finished Strong
- By The Mankers on 10-12-12
By: Robin LaFevers
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The Painter's Apprentice
- Venetian Artisans
- By: Laura Morelli
- Narrated by: Anna Butterworth
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Venice, 1510. Maria Bartolini wants nothing more than to carry on her father's legacy as a master gilder. Instead, her father has sent her away from the only home she's ever known to train as an apprentice to Master Trevisan, a renowned painter. Maria arranges to leave the painter's workshop to return to her family workshop and to a secret lover waiting for her back home. But the encroaching Black Death foils her plans.... When the painter's servants uncover the real reason why Maria has been sent away to train with Master Trevisan, they threaten to reveal a secret.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Decent book if you can overlook a few quirks
- By Laurie S on 01-27-19
By: Laura Morelli
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Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 321
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 278
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Story4 out of 5 stars 278
Gregory Maguire, critically acclaimed author of Wicked, returns with his eagerly anticipated second novel. Using a dazzling reincarnation of the Cinderella story set in 17th century Holland, Maguire deftly weaves together stories of inner and outer beauty. Iris is a plain but intelligent young girl. Forced to flee England with her recently widowed mother, Margarethe, and her older sister, she finds herself swept into a life that becomes a legend. Arriving destitute, the family becomes employed in the home of a wealthy tulip merchant.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Very Human Story!
- By SamiJo McQuiston on 05-02-18
By: Gregory Maguire
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Lyon's Bride
- The Chattan Curse, Book 1
- By: Cathy Maxwell
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 215
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 202
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Story4 out of 5 stars 203
They call him Lord Lyon, proud, determined - and cursed. He is in need of a bride, but if he falls in love, he dies. His fervent hope is that by marrying - and having a son - without love, perhaps he can break the curse's chains forever. Enter beautiful Thea Martin - a duke's headstrong, errant daughter and society's most brilliant matchmaker. Years ago, she and Lyon were inseparable, until he disappeared from her life without a word. Now she is charged with finding Lyon's bride - a woman he cannot love for a man Thea could love too well.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good Story - Wonderful Narrator
- By Lia on 11-19-12
By: Cathy Maxwell
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The School of Mirrors
- A Novel
- By: Eva Stachniak
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating but pedophilia nonetheless.
- By Barbara W. on 05-10-22
By: Eva Stachniak
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