Listen to Best Full Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical Popular Authors

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Title: Wolf Hall

Author: Hilary Mantel

Narrator: Dan Stevens

Format: Abridged

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-23-09

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2009

'Lock Cromwell in a deep dungeon in the morning,' says Thomas More, 'and when you come back that night he'll be sitting on a plush cushion eating larks' tongues, and all the gaolers will owe him money.'

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor.

Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.

From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.

Members Reviews:

Wolf Hall, revisited

This audio has added to my understanding and pleasure in the novel. I found both the abridgment and Dan Stevens' reading true in characterization, narrative voice, and plot. Overall, my already enthusiastic appreciation of Mantel's book was enhanced by this interpretation.

mantel just keeps getting better!

Although I found Wolf Hall hard going at times and really had to occassionally focus, there were many many moments where I was drawn back in just to relish the prose - the story for me, was secondary - the writing is superb!

Wolf Hall

I began this book with the pre-conception that Thomas Cromwell was a deeply unpleasant man and finished it with much respect for a very clever and rather likeable one driven by circumstance. The narration of the abridged version is superb, the characters came alive for me and I cannot wait for the planned second part of this saga - I know the ending but the story has never been so well told.

Brilliant

Hilary Mantel creates a world which I only every considered through the lense of Shakespearean drama, or Shakespearean biopic. The characterisation is believable, thoughtful and consistent. The great names from history lose enough of their shine to become personable, yet also maintain a weight about them that reminds us that these were world-shapers. Historical drama it may be, and so the details to these events are fictional, but a great read (listen).

So good

This is such a good book. I looked forward to it every time. I am waiting for the next (continuation) of this book. You will not regret getting this. Hours of pleasure.

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Title: The Angel Doll

Subtitle: A Christmas Story

Author: Jerry Bledsoe

Narrator: J. Charles

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr

Language: English

Release date: 11-13-09

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Set in a North Carolina manufacturing town in the 1950s, this is the story of two young boys, best friends, both 10 years old. One has a four-year-old sister, desperately ill with polio, whose favorite book is The Littlest Angel. She longs for one thing: an angel doll for Christmas - something nobody in town has ever seen. The boys set out to get her one, at great cost and even greater reward.

Critic Reviews:

"Because Bledsoe doesn't milk the emotions, the poignant ending is neither manipulative nor preachy, but authentically moving." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Read The Sequel Too

I have read Mr. Bledsoeâs true crime books & enjoyed them very much. It is a genre that intrigues me & the crime in Blood Games occurred only about 20 miles from where I lived for over 50 years. I was quite surprised to learn that he had written a Christmas story also. One of the special things I do each year is collect Christmas books & stories to read the month of December. So, I purchased The Angel Doll & also the sequel, A Gift of Angels. These are very short books. You can read one in an afternoon or evening. After I finished the first one, I realized that the books are about real events in Mr. Bledsoeâs life. The setting is the time period when I grew up in the early 50âs, so it brings back fond memories of growing up in a simpler time & place. This will be a book I may share with close friends but one I will keep to reread in later years. The day I started reading this book, I got a call that my five year old grandson had thrown up at school & would miss a special Christmas event the family had planned at a childrenâs museum with elves. Mom & Dad still wanted to take Little Brother so SOS went out to Nana. I went over & did my best to comfort the kindergartener. We watched a movie, he slept some, I read some childrenâs Christmas stories to him. He asked about the book I was reading that lay on the bed. I told him the story in oral storytelling fashion & he was also very interested in the story. He asked about polio & I explained we are so lucky now that someone invented medicine so children donât get polio anymore. So, this story is appealing to people from 5 years old to 70 & older. And I now live not far from where Mr. Bledsoe lives in NC. I would love to meet him & tell him how much I have enjoyed his books.

Ok read.

Sweet book.

An true Christmas gem

Like many Christmas novellas, this is one you can read in under an hour. You end up with a well-spent hour.

The heart of the story is about two boys growing up in a moderately poor 1950s North Carolina town. The narrator and Whitey Black meet at a part-time job and end up fast friends. Whitey's sister, who is afflicted with polio, is fascinated with angels, so Whitey looks all over to find an angel doll. I won't give away much more of the plot since to do so is to encroach on the ending.

"The Angel Doll" has quite a bit going for it. The writing rings true, capturing the mood of the narrator, both as a boy and as an adult, and the time. There is no artifice here; the writing is to the point, and the story stays focused without meandering unnecessarily. Nor does Mr. Bledsoe allow the writing to interfere with the story.

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Title: The Winter Ghosts

Author: Kate Mosse

Narrator: Julian Rhind-Tutt

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-13-09

Publisher: Orion Publishing Group Limited

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 40 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When his car crashes, Freddie stumbles down from the hills to a village nearby. There he meets Marie, a beautiful young woman who is also mourning a lost generation.

Her story of the fate of her family moves him deeply. But it will also lead Freddie to the caves above the village - and to the heart of a shocking secret. By turns thrilling, poignant and haunting, this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage.

Members Reviews:

Deadly boring

I'm not sure there's a plot here. Just self involved ruminations by a young man regarding his dead brother. There's no suspense and no "ghosts". The only interest was the setting in rural France which does give a touch of "atmosphere." Unfortunately the narrator is a boring as the "story."

Another Great Kate Mosse Book!

The Winter Ghosts is in some ways very different from Kate's previous books, but also similar in other ways. It is a great "read/listen" and I highly recommend it!

loved it!

what a great story. the characters are well developed and the story moves along nicely.

Terrible narration

What disappointed you about The Winter Ghosts?

The narrator has such a thick accent that you cannot understand a word he says. I stopped listening within 15 minutes of starting so I have no idea if this would be a good story or not.

What was most disappointing about Kate Mosses story?

Narration

Would you be willing to try another one of Julian Rhind-Tutts performances?

NO

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Frustration - could not understand a word the narrator spoke

Good reader shame about the book

I am always reluctant to leave a negative review for anything; after all people have worked hard to produce something which I myself could not do, why then cast aspersions? I do so on this occasion principally because I wish to save any other trusting soul from wasting a good credit and 5 hours of their life on this wearisome tosh.

Marketed as ghost story it is less frightening or shocking than just plain dull; the characters are never more than two dimensional and the sentiments expressed never less than trite. This is the first book by Kate Mosse that I have ever read or listened to and it will be the last. I only thank my stars that I started with a novella rather than one of her epic novels!

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Title: American Adulterer

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Jed Mercurio

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-06-09

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

American Adulterer examines the psychology of a habitual womanizer in hypnotically clinical prose. Like any successful philanderer, the subject must be circumspect in his choice of mistresses and employ careful calculation in their seduction; he must exercise every effort to conceal his affairs from his wife and jealous rivals. But this is no ordinary adulterer. He is the thirty-fifth president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

JFK famously confided that if he went three days without a woman, he suffered severe headaches. Acclaimed author Jed Mercurio takes inspiration from the tantalizing details surrounding the president's sex life to conceive this provocatively intimate perspective on Kennedy's affairs.

Yet this is not an indictment. Startlingly empathetic, darkly witty, and deft, American Adulterer is a moving account of a man not only crippled by back pain but enduring numerous medical crises, a man overcoming constant suffering to serve as a highly effective commander-in-chief, committed to a heroically idealistic vision of America. But each affair propels him into increasingly murky waters. President Kennedy fears losing the wife and children to whom he's devoted and the office to which he's dedicated.

This is a stunning portrait of a virtuous man enslaved by an uncontrollable vice and a novel that poses controversial questions about society's evolving fixation on the private lives of public officials and, ultimately, ignites a polemic on monogamy, marriage, and family values.

Editorial Reviews:

The smooth, masculine voice of actor Paul Boehmer (Star Trek) guides the listener through the strange and provocative world of male hyper-sexuality, pharmaceutical dependence, and power in American Adulterer, a novel. The male in question is fallen president John F. Kennedy.

Author Jed Mercurio, a novelist and television writer with a background in medicine, makes his book equal parts fictionalized biography and medical speculation. Kennedy is seen here not only as a liberal hero or a scheming philanderer or any number of other identities that have been placed upon him through the years, but rather as a victim of unrelenting medical crises which result in a compulsion to philander. Not purely clinical, however, Boehmer and Mercurio give the plot plenty of action.

Critic Reviews:

"JFK's contemporaries are also cast in provocative roles, with the coke-sniffing Marilyn Monroe plotting to be first lady, the mobbed-up Frank Sinatra and Kennedy's Soviet counterpart - a peace-seeking Nikita Khrushchev - all making memorable appearances. Kennedy has figured prominently in hundreds of books, but Mercurio's take on the subject is fresh, bold and provocative." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Astounding insights to JFK's daily life.

A friend recommended this book and I have to say it was very interesting. Aside from the infidelity that he practiced nearly every day of his life, there was a huge medical problem that I do not recall reading or hearing about. It amazes me that he could function enough to give outstanding speeches while in such pain. The drugs and alcohol that he secretly used to get through the day would have put the average person into treatment, and unemployment. So my interest in turning the pages soon became about the pain, drugs and alcohol instead of the women. The rationale for his "needs" is laughable.

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Title: Ice Land

Author: Betsy Tobin

Narrator: Davina Porter

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-25-09

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 30 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Iceland, AD 1000: Freya knows that her people are doomed. Warned by the Fates of an impending disaster, she must embark on a journey to find a magnificent gold necklace, one said to possess the power to alter the course of history. But even as Freya travels deep into the mountains of Iceland, the country is on the brink of war. The new world order of Christianity is threatening the old ways of Iceland's people, and tangled amidst it all are two star-crossed lovers who destiny draws them together - even as their families are determined to tear them apart.

Infused with the rich history and mythology of Iceland, Betsy Tobin's sweeping novel is an epic adventure of forbidden love, lust, jealousy, faith, and magical wonder, set under the shadow of a smoldering volcano.

Critic Reviews:

"Magic....[this] flight through the seamy side of Scandinavian myth is not as cold as the title might suggest. It's a story of sex, love, blood, and the twilight of the gods, punctuated with hot pools, boiling magma, and volcanic explosions. Very steamy!" (Diana Gabaldon)

"[Her] rich understanding of the source material, backed up by deft historical touches...brings the narrative to life." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

The ancient past of Iceland

This was an excellent story weaving in Norse mythology along with ancient past of Iceland.

I loved the characters and especially Davina Porter's performance.

hard to get into

I didn't get interested until half way through the book. I had trouble keeping the characters straight. if not for the narration of Davina Porter the whole book would have been a bust. Once I was half way through I was drawn into it and found it entertaining.

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Title: Hottentot Venus

Author: Barbara Chase-Riboud

Narrator: Robin Miles

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-11-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 18 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Barbara Chase-Riboud is an award-winning poet, novelist, scholar, and sculptor. Hottentot Venus, a 2004 BCALA Literary Award winner, focuses on Sarah Blaartman, an African tribewoman who, because of her prominent sexual characteristics, was paraded as a freak before audiences in England and Paris. This mesmerizing novel reflects the racism and cruelty of turn-of-the-century Eurocentric culture, but it also reveals Sarah's remarkable strength of spirit.

©2003 Barbara Chase-Riboud; (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic Reviews:

"In 1810, Sarah Baartman sailed willingly from her home in South Africa to England with her English husband, believing that fame awaited her as an African dancing queen. Well, she certainly found fame. Based on the true story of a woman who was exhibited as part of a freak show in London's Piccadilly and upon her death at age 27 was publicly dissected in France, this novel by poet, sculptor and novelist Chase-Riboud (Sally Hemings) conveys Sarah's victimization so well that the reader is still cringing after the last page is turned.....Kudos to Chase-Riboud for exploring this story of oppression and for humanizing a woman who was virtually regarded as an animal, according to the ideology of the day." (Publishers Weekly)

"A compelling story about racism and sexism and European imperialism, a story about the cruelty of curiosity that, in the end, should force many people to take a long hard look at themselves." (Ebony)

Members Reviews:

Extremely sad

This was one of the saddest books I have ever read. Although I believe this was a fictionalized account, I doubt that the truth was far from the fiction. The story just reiterates our propensity, down through the ages, to look at any living being as a freak and/or a monstrosity, if it differs from us in form or color. I have never understood how the white race acquired its arrogance and cruelty. And of course, this being the world of men, that arrogance and superiority did not deny them from indulging in sexual acts with the very same beings that they so despised. I was fascinated by Sara's story and deeply saddened by the trials she endured. I found the window on this part of the world and later, Europe of that era, fascinating and would recommend this book, if for nothing else than to be reminded of what we can become if enough power is granted.

Venus was not from Mars

The hurt and the degradation this poor woman went trough to be loved and accepted is no less than woman go through now. Except now they are willing to let there selves be demoralized and dehumanized purposely for attention or whatever self forfilliing prophecy and its sad . Some will put there selves through unneeded surgery s and procedures just to become what hottentrot could not help.

Do not miss reading this finest-kind novel

I stayed up late last night finishing a truly tremendously fine book: Hottentot Venus by Barbara Chase-Riboud. It's definitely in the do-not-miss category and is very close to being best book of the year (so far).

Sometimes a novel can be too heavily loaded with detail but, in this one, the superb writing and language balance perfectly the detail. The book evokes its time (1789-1820 or so) richly and satisfyingly with a story that is more than a match for the times and the writing. To my eye, there's only one misstep and, likely, others wouldn't find it so.

Good Story, Poor Editing

I could not finish this.

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Title: Walk About

Subtitle: Outback Series, Book 3

Author: Aaron Fletcher

Narrator: Kevin Foley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-02-09

Publisher: Books in Motion

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Fleeing the pain of being abandoned by his mother, eight-year-old Jeremy Kerrick wanders the rough-and-ready gold towns of the frontier and comes to manhood among the primitive Aborigines of the vast, unexplored interior. At one with the land, he draws from it an indomitable strength that enables him to win the woman of his dreams. Together, they will meet the challenge of the outback or die trying.

Members Reviews:

Aussie Accent

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed the story but these books should be read by an Aussie... somebody with a REAL Australian accent. It would have been so much better.

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Title: Farewell to My Concubine: A Novel

Author: Lilian Lee

Narrator: Nancy KwAN

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-19-09

Publisher: Phoenix Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The novel focuses on the all-consuming love Xiao Douzi holds for the boy he befriends, and the beautiful female courtesan who comes between them. As these three remarkable individuals are caught up in the great historical events devastating China, they are forced to betray each other in order to protect the one they love.

One of the most unusual epic romances of all time, Farewell to My Concubine moves swiftly from the decadent glamour of 1930's China through the horrors of the Japanese occupation right up to Hong Kong in the 1980's.

Members Reviews:

A Trip to another world.

Where does Farewell My Concubine: A Novel rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Not one of the best, but quite good still.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Farewell My Concubine: A Novel?

In the first scene, the opera is putting on a play of the Monkey King. The actor playing the Monkey King takes a fall and the other actors fall like dominos.

Which character as performed by Nancy KwAN was your favorite?

I'm not certain. They're all excellent.

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

There was already a film made in 1993.

Any additional comments?

My first foray into Chinese Opera.

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Title: Trail of the Red Butterfly

Author: Karl Schlesier

Narrator: Jonathan Davis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-22-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 68 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Whirlwind, the twin brother of Stone, disappears during a raid into northeastern New Spain. So Stone brings together Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Gataka warriors to go after his missing brother - but there are many things between earth and sky that oppose his quest.

Members Reviews:

Plains Indian Culture Brought to Life

Imagine yourself, a Spanish lancer in the early 19 century, caught in an ambush in a narrow mountain pass in Northern Mexico, with war paint adorned men shooting muskets and arrows at your troop; as your horses rear uncontrollably preventing you from escaping from certain death. This is but one scene in a richly written tale of life in what became the southwest U.S. and Mexico. The author masterfully describes the rituals which the plains indians invoke in their preparation for battles, including how they are dressed and painted; how they strategize their plans for revenge against the killers of their tribesmen; the rituals they employ after killing their enemies to request their spirit's forgiveness for having killed them.

The book is filled with insights into the culture of plains indians, in this case Cheyenne, Kiowa and Gataka (a tribe closely related to Kiowas and Apaches)

This is a truly entertaining, and excellently written narrative of adventure on the plains.

A 200 year leap back.

I found the Trail of the Red Butterfly gripping novel. The author has obviously invested years of research into the period and locale for this story. Though the book was written in English, enough of the local Indian dialects and Spanish are used to give the story a flavor of reality. The Southwestern U.S. of 1800 retained the primativeness of the previous thousand years. Indians still lived off the wandering bands of buffalo, wild game and food they could gather. Select a small band of Indians and send them on a 2000 mile circuitious quest to find a lost brother. and you will understand the terms bravery and brotherly love. Make this your next read.

Slow start but hang in there

I almost gave up on this book at the very beginning because it has a slow start. But after about the first two hours I was hooked. This is a very good story. The narrator speaks slow but it is just right for the story being told. I really really enjoyed this book and actually slowed down listening to it toward the end because I didn't want it to end but then speeded up at the very end because I wanted to know what happened. :-) I highly recommend.

You can almost imagine being there is person

I don't remember how I came across this book, but I am glad I bought it. The author did a great job bringing the American plains from back then alive. I am no authority on Indian history so I cannot talk to whether the culture depicted is authentic or not. But what I can say is that I felt like I was there riding along as another member of the party. The author have this ability to bring everything to life using words alone.

The story itself was plain.

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Title: Etta

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Gerald Kolpan

Narrator: Kirsten Potter

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-24-09

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 16 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Etta initially earns her way as a "Harvey Girl" waitress in a remote Colorado railroad outpost, but fate and murder soon intervene and Etta joins forces with Butch Cassidy's notorious gang, the Wild Bunch.

In their hideout at Hole-in-the-Wall, Wyoming, Etta meets Harry Longbaugh, a.k.a. the Sundance Kid, and begins the passionate and tragic romance that will be the greatest of her life.

Critic Reviews:

"Great fun and - beneath the hijinks - a surprisingly substantial novel." (Kirkus Reviews)

"[A] winning tale of the Wild West....Kolpan's snappy storytelling makes it impossible not to want to ride along as the characters careen toward their tragic ends." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

The romance of the old west as seen in the life of a female bandit

The author kept my attention and kept me wanting more. The characters came to life on the page. The story line was charming and captivating. Good book for anyone who likes to read about the old west and life in those times. I also appreciated the authorâs honesty at the end on what was real and what was inspired to make this a great read.

this was a good "butch cassidy and the sundance kid" story with more ...

this was a good "butch cassidy and the sundance kid" story with more about etta and less about butch and sundance. totally unlike the movie but i kept seeing robert redford, paul newman and catherine ross in the parts as i read the book. an engaging read

Not worth it.

Concept and the first 100 or so pages were great, but it peters out and then crash lands at the end. The further into the book, the less "Etta" you get, and the story just gets too fantastical for reasonable suspension of disbelief. Disappointing.

ETTA PLACE

The first half of the book is interesting and the historical setting believable. The second half of the book is implausible. Turning the selfish and profane Sundance Kid into a generous communist advocate in South America is so far from historical fact that it ruined an otherwise good book.

Excellent

This story is a seamless blending of fact and mostly fiction. Etta becomes a breathing person. Her story from east to west and then south is artistically done. The good guys and the bad guys are very real.