Download the Top 100 Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical Popular Titles

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Titre: La dernière fugitive

Auteur: Tracy Chevalier

Narrateur: Benjamin Jungers, Sarah Stern

Format: Abridged

Durée: 8 hrs and 28 mins

Langue: Français

Date de publication: 06-02-15

Éditeur: Gallimard

Evaluation: 4 sur 5 sur 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Quand Honor Bright se décide à franchir l'Atlantique pour accompagner sa sœur au cœur de l'Ohio, elle pense pouvoir recréer auprès d'une nouvelle communauté le calme de son existence de jeune quaker : broderie, prière, silence. Mais l'Amérique de 1850 est aussi périlleuse qu'enchanteresse. Honor découvre bientôt l'existence d'un "chemin de fer clandestin", réseau de routes secrètes tracées par les esclaves pour rejoindre les terres libres du Canada. Elle fait alors la connaissance de personnages hauts en couleur. Parmi eux, Donovan, "chasseur d'esclaves", homme brutal et sans scrupules qui, pourtant, ébranle les plus profonds de ses sentiments.

Les voix de Benjamin Jungers et de Sarah Stern se répondent pour tracer le touchant portrait d'une jeune quaker dont la douceur et la réserve cachent mal une authentique et puissante révolte.

L'écoute en classe est autorisée par l'éditeur.

©2013 La Table Ronde (P)2015 Éditions Gallimard

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Title: Elephant Moon

Author: John Sweeney

Narrator: Helen Johns

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-19-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

As the Second World War rages, the Japanese Imperial Army enters Burma, and the British rulers prepare to flee.

But the human legacy of the British Empire will be left behind in the shape of 62 Anglo-Burmese children, born to local women after affairs with foreign men.

Half castes, they are not acknowledged by either side, and they are to be abandoned with no one to protect them. Their teacher, Grace Collins, a young Englishwoman, refuses to join the European evacuation and instead sets out to deliver the orphans to the safety of India. She faces impossible odds because between her and India lie 1,000 miles of jungle, mountains, rivers, and the constant, unseen threat of the Japanese.

With Japanese soldiers chasing them down, the group's chances of survival shrink - until they come across a herd of 53 elephants who, with their awesome strength and kindness, quickly become the orphans' only hope of survival.

Based on a true story, Elephant Moon is an unforgettable epic tale of courage and compassion in the midst of brutality and destruction.

John Sweeney is a reporter for BBC Panorama. He has won many journalism awards and is the author of five previous books. Elephant Moon is his first novel.

Critic Reviews:

"A deftly realised on-the-road novel alive with the horrors of war." (Yorkshire Evening Post)

"If you were to relocate Michael Morpurgo's War Horse to Burma in the Second World War, with elephants taking the sentimental role from the horses, you might end up with something like Elephant Moon by John Sweeney. It is a tender and loving tribute to 'Nature's great masterpiece.... The only harmless great thing', as John Donne described the elephant, as well as an insight into one of the forgotten battlegrounds of the war." (Literary Review)

Members Reviews:

Great easy to listen story.

I had just finished John Sweeneys book about Scientology and decided to try this.

Very different type of book.

Easy to listen to story about an English lady escaping kids over the mountains out of Burmah.

Heartwarming

Where does Elephant Moon rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

This story was compelling, exciting and heartwarming all at the same time. A great read and one I will return to more than once.

What other book might you compare Elephant Moon to, and why?

The author gives credit to Elephant Bill (still sitting on our bookshelf from 40 odd years ago) which is the true life account of refugees and elephants and more.

Which character as performed by Helen Johns was your favourite?

Mother and little Oomi were my favourites - how could you not love the elephants?

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Oomi was caught in the flash flood I just had to read on to discover his fate.

Any additional comments?

Although this is fiction, it is based on fact. The elephants' skill and knowledge is well documented as is their close relationship with their handlers. The story put me through a whole range of emotions - much the same as Grace, the heroine, would have had.

Gripping

This was a very gripping historical fictitious book mainly about a group of half cast Burmese child refuges led by Grace an English young teacher out through Burmer to India with the Japanese at their heals.

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Title: The Revenant

Author: Michael Punke

Narrator: Jeff Harding

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-07-15

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 24 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The book that inspired the award-winning movie.

Nominated for 12 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.

Winner of 5 BAFTAS including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Film.

Winner of the 2016 Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Actor - Drama, and Best Director.

The novel that inspired the epic new movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.

Hugh Glass isnt afraid to die. Hes done it once already.

Rocky Mountains, 1823. The trappers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company live a brutal frontier life. Hugh Glass is one of the most respected men in the company, an experienced frontiersman and an expert tracker.But when a scouting mission puts Glass face-to-face with a grizzly bear, he is viciously mauled and not expected to survive. Two men from the company are ordered to remain with him until his inevitable death. But, fearing an imminent attack, they abandon Glass, stripping him of his prized rifle and hatchet.

As Glass watches the men flee, he is driven to survive by one all-consuming desire: revenge. With shocking grit and determination, he sets out on a three-thousand-mile journey across the harsh American frontier, to seek revenge on the men who betrayed him.

The Revenant is a remarkable tale of obsession and the lengths that one man will go to for retribution.

Critic Reviews:

"A spellbinding tale of heroism and obsessive retribution." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

You shall perish by my hands

Would you consider the audio edition of The Revenant to be better than the print version?

Yes! Jeff Harding makes a difference, he is by far my favorite reader and even surpassed my expectations by giving flesh and bone to some characters speaking French.

What did you like best about this story?

The historical and geographic context , most of the characters . Hugh Glass who will give you shivers and cold sweats . Vengeance is the most powerful tool to keep you alive but it comes with a price.

What does Jeff Harding bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

Already have commented on that .

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not to that extent.On some occasions, I couldn't help laughing or drifting away, though.

Any additional comments?

Try as you might you do not control your fate you dont get to choose at the end this is in part what the story is about. Buy it and uncover some depth of the human soul.

Much better narrator.

The narrator on this print is much easier to listen to than the other print.

Holter Graham is the narrator for the other copy and I found his narration slow, over dramatic and uninteresting.

Jeff Harding's narration is much more fitting to this book and it was cheaper than the other edition.

I'm not sure what the difference is between the two books but this one is much easier to follow along.

Movie could outshine the book

For starters I haven't seen the film - yet. It's on my list and the book hasn't changed my resolve to see it.

The Revenant focuses on one man and the tough environment he finds himself abandoned in. The setup is good, the characters are believable and the plot is solid but for whatever reason I found myself disappointed with the sum of the parts.

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Title: Galapagos Regained

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: James Morrow

Narrator: Anna Parker-Naples

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-21-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

James Morrow's Galpagos Regained centers on the fictional Chloe Bathurst, an unemployed Victorian actress who finds work on Charles Darwin's estate, nurturing the strange birds, exotic lizards, and giant tortoises he brought back from his trip around the world.

When Chloe gets wind of the Great God Contest, sponsored by the Percy Bysshe Shelley Society - 10,000 pounds to the first petitioner who can prove or disprove the existence of a Supreme Being - she decides that Mr. Darwin's materialist theory of speciation might just do the trick. (If nature gave God nothing to do, maybe he was never around in the first place.)

Before she knows it, her ambitions send her off on a wild adventure - a voyage by brigantine to Brazil, a steamboat trip up the Amazon, a hot-air balloon flight across the Andes - bound for the Galpagos archipelago, where she intends to collect the live specimens through which she might demonstrate evolutionary theory to the contest judges.

Members Reviews:

terrible narrator

I'm not reviewing the book itself, because I can't get more than 20 minutes in because of the reader.

Couldn't finish it

The narrator's accent is a great distraction from the content of the novel. I have checked the hard copy out of the local library in order to finish it. After three hours, I was contemplating why I let myself get so far in a book I hated. I decided I did not hate the content, only the voice delivering it.

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Title: The Worst of Times

Subtitle: A Story of the Great Depression

Author: James Lincoln Collier

Narrator: Charles Carroll

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-20-15

Publisher: AudioBookShelf

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When the Depression strikes America, throwing millions out of work, Petey Williamson's family seems safe. Hadn't the boss promised Petey's father that he'd always have a job? But during the Depression, promises cannot always be kept, and Petey finds his family sliding rapidly into poverty. And when Petey's much-admired cousin, Steve, starts working as a union organizer in the battle to improve conditions for workers, poverty turns into tragedy.

Members Reviews:

A good lesson about The Great Depression & Capitalism

The Worst of Times - A Story of the Great Depression by James Lincoln Collier is very sad. I think that if you have a strong stomach you would be able to read this. Amazon.com recommended the book for readers age 9 to 12. I am 9. I didn't like all the gory deaths but it was very well written. I'd give it 3 stars. Even though it was very well written, it was so sad that I couldn't really enjoy it.

Before I read this book, I thought that there weren't really poor people in America. I thought beggars were all con artists. This book really affected me. The story is told from a seventh-grade kid's point-of-view. After I read a chapter, I would have to watch a funny TV show to get the book off my mind, especially late at night so I could sleep.

The book is a good lesson about the Great Depression and Capitalism. It helped me understand about Social Security, Unions, and unemployment taxes. I think Capitalism is good but sometimes, when things start turning ugly, the government should get involved. That's what happened after the Great Depression.

The book made me appreciate what I have. It would be a good book for kids who are spoiled and have had everything that they needed. If they read this book, they will understand that poor kids really do exist.

Wonderful historical fiction

The Worst of Times is a wonderful historical fiction. The story presents many viewpoints to examine -homeless, strikebreakers, management. It is very artfully written.

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Title: Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night

Author: Barbara J. Taylor

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-12-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 37 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Almost everyone in town blames eight-year-old Violet Morgan for the death of her nine-year-old sister Daisy. Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night opens on September 4, 1913, two months after the Fourth of July tragedy. Owen, the girls' father, "turns to drink" and abandons his family. Their mother Grace falls victim to the seductive powers of Grief, an imagined figure who has seduced her off-and-on since childhood. Violet forms an unlikely friendship with Stanley Adamski, a motherless outcast who works in the mines as a breaker boy. During an unexpected blizzard, Grace goes into premature labor at home and is forced to rely on Violet, while Owen is "off being saved" at a Billy Sunday Revival.

Inspired by a haunting family story, Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night blends real-life incidents with fiction to show how grace can be found in the midst of tragedy.

Members Reviews:

1913 PA Mining Town, Lives Marked by Tragedy

Grace and Owen Morgan live a hard scrabble life in the mining town of Scranton, Pennsylvania in the early 1900s . . . having already lost children to miscarriage and another daughter, Rose, the death of Daisy pushes Grace to the brink of madness . . . and alienates her from her husband, Owen and remaining daughter, Violet . . . whom she secretly blames for Daisy's death . . . I had a very hard time with the fact that the "church going" ladies of the town, all bent toward gossip, also blamed Violet, an innocent girl of eight for the accidental death of her sister . . . and my heart just broke, when Owen, Violet's daddy moved out of the house, and fell into his own desperate grief over the loss of Daisy . . . Grace's strange, yet oddly understandable and familiar relationship with Grief, weighed heavy on my heart . . . she had known him since childhood, coming and going with every tragedy, and Grace lacking the faith and strength to oust him . . . overshadowing all that was good . . .telling her lies . . . and I was so angry that no adult had the faith and conviction to come alongside her and pull her up, instead of tearing her down . . . the unlikely friendship between Violet and Stanley was a lifesaver for them both . . . a sad, sweet story, with an ending well worth the wait . . .

Great Characterization!

Any additional comments?

Beautifully written and performed! Tavia's portrayal of each character is right on, adding a new dimension to a great storyline.

Characters Pull You In

These people and their lives in turn- of-20th century coal- mining town, show privations and courage required to face them.

I Loved this Book

Great book. It was so beautifully written but so sad at the same time. I look forward to more from this author. She has real talent!

Captivating

Barbara J. Taylor tells a captivating story about the spirit and strengths of everyday people. Tavia Gilberts delivery captures the nuances of each character perfectly.

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Title: Last Request

Subtitle: A Victorian Gothic

Author: Jeff Chapman

Narrator: Caprisha Page

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-10-14

Publisher: Jeff Chapman

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 15 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

"For the love of God, cut off my head." The last request in Uncle Silas's will shocks everyone speechless, everyone except his favorite niece, Anna. More than death itself, the claustrophobic Silas fears a premature burial. Will her elders carry out his request? Anna is certain they will not. It's up to her to do the right thing, even if it is a bit grisly. Armed with butcher knife and candle, Anna heads for the crypt underneath the church in the dead of night. All does not go according to Anna's careful planning.

Step inside a dark story in the tradition of the penny dreadful, at times humorous and horrifying, but don't close the door behind you. Someone might lock you in.

Members Reviews:

Ideal listen for a dark and stormy night

Last request is a short story set in Victorian England. It centers around a young woman, Anna, in the care of her aunt and takes place shortly after her uncle's death. The story starts during the reading of his last will and testament where the uncle makes an unusual request. While all the other family members are aghast, she is determined to fulfill her beloved uncle's request.

Last Request: A Victorian is a very enjoyable short story. The narrator does a lovely job. It is an ideal story to listen to on a dark and stormy night.

This book was gifted to me by Audiobook Blast in exchange for an unbiased review.

Fun Read

Any additional comments?

This was a most enjoyable read. I like the gothic feel of the book and the narration was spot on.

Fun and Somewhat Creepy Gothic Story

If you could sum up Last Request in three words, what would they be?

Fun, Creepy, Gothic. Kind of taking the easy way out here but those do compose nearly the entire story.

What did you like best about this story?

I really liked the writing in general, behind the plot and everything that happened there was a level of writing that fit perfectly with the gothic theme and the masterpiece works of that genre from a century ago. With that done so well, the rest of it was just that much better.

What about Caprisha Pages performance did you like?

I really appreciated how understandable she was throughout, and how she seemed to accentuate the positive points of the work. The fact that her voice is pleasant and has just enough personality to keep it from being ordinary didn't hurt either.

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

It's Bad Luck Not To Honor a Last Request

Any additional comments?

I received this for free in exchange for an honest review and would honestly recommend it to anyone remotely interested in the genre or just in attempting to be exposed to different literature. I know that personally I'll be looking at other works by Chapman and Page as well.

Delicious delivery, superb turn of phrase

What made the experience of listening to Last Request the most enjoyable?

Caprisha Page has done a wonderful delivery.

If you could rename Last Request, what would you call it?

You MUST listen to this!

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed Last Request. Not only was it very well written, Jeff has a wonderful turn of phrase. I have never come across so many exceptionally surprising descriptions ; "plunged him into a cold bath of loneliness" , "the open shears yawing toward the organist", ... The story was so enthralling it was hard to believe that a whole 1 1/2 hr.

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Title: The Legendary Adventures of the Pirate Queens

Author: James Grant Goldin

Narrator: Shiromi Arserio

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-28-14

Publisher: Basilisk Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The subtitle is A Serio-Comic Novel of Anne Bonny & Mary Read. It isn't the whole story of Anne and Mary; this is more like an origin story. The tale is essentially true in its outlines, but historical accuracy is occasionally overwhelmed by authorial invention. The scene is the Caribbean, 1718: Englishwoman Mary Read is forced to disguise herself as sailor Martin Read; then things get more complicated when she falls in love with another sailor, Peter Meredith, a brilliant man but rather clueless about the sea... who also has no idea that his best friend is a woman. To make matters worse, they're both captured by pirates. To make matters worse yet, one of the pirates is Anne Bonny, Southern belle turned scourge of the Caribbean. Anne takes a very strong liking to Martin Read - which enrages her lover, Captain Calico Jack Rackam. Mary's life becomes a whirlwind of intrigue, imprisonment, deadly duels, and unwanted sexual advances that are inappropriate even by the rather loose standards of 18th-century pirates. And there are other problems: the new Governor of the Bahamas wants to put an end to Anne Bonny's career, and a vicious enemy from Calico Jack's past is out for a bloody revenge. The only way out of all these various predicaments is for Mary Read and Anne Bonny to team up: to join swords and put their trust in each other and in no one else. Based on a true story, The Legendary Adventures of the Pirate Queens combines drama and comedy to tell the tale of two women who in ordinary times would never have met; and yet did meet, and went on to become the most fearsome pair of sea-faring hellions in the West Indies.

Members Reviews:

A Great Pirate Adventure!

This was an excellent pirate read! Filled with wit and historical detail, it had me laughing out loud much of the time. I'm a very picky and discerning reader--I don't give 5 stars lightly, but boy howdy does this deserve 5 stars! I loved it. Highly entertaining.

The story of Anne Bonny and Mary Read is usually reduced to a small paragraph in pirate history books. They sailed with Calico Jack. They dressed like men. They were spared the noose because they were pregnant. Jack was not so lucky, and was hung out to dry as a warning to other pirates on an island not far from Port Royal. Mary died soon after from a fever. Anne Bonny and her child disappeared into the mist.

Well, this book fills in the details deliciously. The author paints a portrait of Mary, Anne, and Jack in a wild tale that leaves you hungry for more.

I've been on a pirate book binge for months, and this is definitely at the top of my favorites list along with Matt Tomerlin's "Devil's Fire" trilogy and Tim Powers' "On Stranger Tides" (You know, the book the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise butchered).

I listed to the audio version, and Ms. Arserio is brilliant. Wouldn't change a thing about her performance, and I hardly ever say that either.

Bravo!!

Swashbuckling historic fiction fun!

Well-told tale deftly narrated.

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Title: The Funeral Dress

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Susan Gregg Gilmore

Narrator: Tavia Gilbert

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-24-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A deeply touching Southern story filled with struggle and hope. Emmalee Bullard and her new baby are on their own. Or so she thinks, until Leona Lane, the older seamstress who sat by her side at the local shirt factory where both women worked as collar makers, insists Emmalee come and live with her. Just as Emmalee prepares to escape her hardscrabble life in Red Chert holler, Leona dies tragically. Grief-stricken, Emmalee decides she'll make Leona's burying dress, but there are plenty of people who don't think the unmarried Emmalee should design a dress for a Christian woman - or care for a child on her own. But with every stitch, Emmalee struggles to do what is right for her daughter and to honor Leona the best way she can, finding unlikely support among an indomitable group of seamstresses and the town's funeral director.

In a moving tale exploring Southern spirit and camaraderie among working women, a young mother will compel a town to become a community.

Members Reviews:

finally

a coming of age girl story where am oppressed girl of even current times can hold her own. Bravo!

Disappointing

I found the story slow and predictable. Not the uplifting, heartfelt story I was expecting.

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Title: Legacy of the Musketeers

Subtitle: The Novella Range, Book 1

Author: Ian Shimwell

Narrator: Alan Ceppos

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-17-14

Publisher: Shimwell's Scripts

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

At last, after 165 years, the sequel to The Man in the Iron Mask... 17th Century France, two years after D'Artagnan's death: Deep beneath the Palais de Versailles, Aramis is shocked and astonished by the directives of D'Artagnan's Legacy. To follow, he must betray his honour; his King and, perhaps most damning of all, his fellow Musketeers. The Sun King will be eclipsed by darkness once more... Or can the ageing Musketeers really reunite, for one last time - for the glory of France?