Listen to Best Full Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical Popular Authors

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Title: Forgotten Dreams

Author: Katie Flynn

Narrator: Anne Dover

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-09-07

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Lottie and her mother, Louella, share a house in Victoria Court with Mr Magic and his son, Baz. Lottie is a child star, dancing and singing at the Gaiety Theatre to an enraptured audience; Louella acts as Max Magic's assistant. But a road accident causes Lottie to lose her memory. Louella tries to help, but the white mist remains. Then Lottie meets a boy with golden-brown eyes who calls her "Sassy" and accuses her of running away. It is after this meeting that the dreams start, dreams of another life, almost another world, and Lottie, sharing them with Baz, begins to believe he knows more than he chooses to tell.

©2007 Katie Flynn; (P)2007 Soundings

Critic Reviews:

"Few writers have a fan base as varied as Katie Flynn and devotees won't be disappointed." (Scottish Daily Record)

"One of the best Liverpool writers." (Liverpool Echo)

"If you pick up a Katie Flynn book it's going to be a wrench to put it down again." (Holyhead and Anglesey Mail)

Members Reviews:

Cozy Read

The tale meandered a bit, but essentially this is a nice cozy read by the fire. Well worth the time investment.

Boring

Not one off the best books i have listen to quite honestly found it boring

Boring

Lovely gentle read

A great one from Katie Flynn, featuring the stage and the canal lives of characters. The main character lottie was v likeable and I didn't want the story to finish. Anne did an excellent job reading as always.

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Title: Leonardo's Swans

Author: Karen Essex

Narrator: Elizabeth Sastre

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-12-06

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 39 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Though Isabella weds the Marquis of Mantua, a man she has loved since childhood, Beatrice's fortunes rise effortlessly through her marriage to Ludovico. The two sisters compete for supremacy in the illustrious courts of Europe, and Isabella vows that she will not rest until she wrestles back her true fate and plays temptress to the sensuous Ludovico and muse to the great Leonardo. But when Ludovico's grand plan to control Europe begins to crumble, immortality through art becomes a luxury, and the two sisters must choose between familial loyalty and survival in the treacherous political climate.

Leonardo's Swans is an exceptionally vivid evocation of the artist during his years in the glittering court of Milan, re-creating the thrilling moments when he conceived The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. It portrays a genius ahead of his time who can rarely escape the demands of his noble patrons long enough to express his own artistic vision.

Critic Reviews:

"Powerful historical fiction." (Booklist)

"The stories of Isabella and Beatrice d'Este along with the occasional investigations of Leonardo's artworks, methods, and personality are always engrossing." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Renaissance history brought to life...

The story's so good in this book, you don't realize most of the history is actual. I knew many of the referernces made to Leonardo's works were based on facts, but I didn't realize that this incredible story of the d'Este sisters was also based on facts until I started researching them on the web.

Leonardo Da Vinci is not the major character in this book. The heroines are Isabella and Beatrice d'Este, two Italian princesses from the Ferra family. Both girls were bargained off into politically advantageous marriages before they turned 8, and married by the age of 15. This story follows them into their marriages and through the political power struggles between the ever-competing kingdoms in Italy. Leonardo is simply one of the more valued assets during this period. You'll see why principalities compete for him and how he ended up serving the King of France.

The author definately takes dramatic license to let you into the lives of these two women, but she did her homework first. You'll be able to vividly imagine the power struggles within the courts and between Renaissance Kingdoms. You'll understand why Leonardo spent as much time devising Military Machines as he did painting. You'll learn why Isabella d'Este is often referred to as the "First Lady of the Renaissance".

Note: Should this book intrigue you as much as it did me, you'll find it easy to view gorgeous portraits of Isabella and Beatrice D'Este on the internet. You can also view Leonardo's Brass Horse Sculpture project. It was finally completed in Milan, Italy - only 500 years after his death!

Solid and fun, but disappointing

I enjoyed this book for its period character, and it is a good story with strong characters. Somehow, the overall effect did not reach its full potential. Very little detail of the times of DaVinci in the book, quite a trivial tale really. Was it Leonardo's swans to ride the coattails of the DaVinci Code?

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Title: Fragrant Harbour

Author: John Lanchester

Narrator: David Yip

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-27-05

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Tom Stewart leaves England just before the Great Depression to seek his fortune and find it running Hong Kong's best hotel. Sister Maria is a beautiful, uncompromising Chinese nun whom Stewart meets on the boat out from England; their friendship spans decades and changes both their lives. Dawn Stone is an English journalist who becomes the public face of money and power and big business. And Matthew Ho is a Chinese entrepreneur facing difficulties and opportunities in the twenty-first century. Fragrant Harbour is the story of these four people, whose intertwined lives span Asia's last 70 years.

©2002 John Lanchester;

Members Reviews:

Fascinating, entertaining and informative

Fragrant Harbour refers to Hong Kong. It was originally the meaning of the Cantonese name of a small harbour on the island, but was adopted as the name for the whole island when it became a British Crown Colony in 1842.

The four main characters are completely different, but well described and we can easily relate to each different approach or point of view. The interactions and relationships between them is carefully woven and each person is entirely believable in their own way. The overall plot worked out well but be prepared for a wide range of emotions and a few shocks. It is quite complex at times and needs concentration, but this is part of the pleasure given by this book.

As we follow their stories we also get some idea of how local and world events affect the city itself and the lives of the people living there. These include the Japanese invasion of China, World War 2, the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the handing back of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

It was equally as interesting to get an idea of Hong Kong - the history, the city itself, the atmosphere, way of life and importance in business through all the changes. I knew very little of Hong Kong's history so needed to look it up and check a map to try and place the different locations in and around Hong Kong and in China in relation to each other, as the action in the story moved and changed.

Corruption, manipulation, favours for favours, courting of powerful influence and the expectation of bribes is an accepted way of doing business throughout Asia and this reality is very clearly illustrated in the story and summed up by two particular expressions used The mountains are high and the Emperor far away and To deal with a big gorilla you need a bigger gorilla.

David Yip did an excellent job, there were many different characters and nationalities to reflect and differentiate between and it cannot have been easy. I loved Fragrant Harbour, it contains so much to enjoy on many levels and I recommend it unreservedly.

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Title: The Book of Kings

Author: James Thackara

Narrator: Robert Whitfield

Format: Unabridged

Length: 35 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-23-05

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The title alludes to God's prophetic warning to Samuel about the rise of man-made kings. James Thackara, as John Walsh wrote in The New Yorker, "watches Hitler's rise from a dozen different perspectives: at Nuremberg rallies; as reported in dinner table gossip; in close-up appearances at Hindenburg's side; in letters and rumors of war; in the gradually thickening atmosphere of fright and inevitability."

A work of extraordinary vision and range, The Book of Kings magnificently fuses myth and the inexorable events of history.

Critic Reviews:

"Absorbing...when you encounter one of the huge set-pieces that punctuate the action you are rocked on your heels." (The New Yorker)

"The book nobody should miss reading....Comparisons to War and Peace may be effusive but not totally unwarranted....A crowning achievement." (The Seattle Times)

Members Reviews:

Overblown

This is billed as fine literature with a lot of gushing reviews from the literary world, but I guess that I am just an unsophisticated Phillistine as I found in overblown, difficult to follow (at times), and somewhat snooty.

I spend a lot of time in my car, so I tend to chose long unabridged audiobooks and I prefer history. I chose this one for these reasons and was prepared for a good account of the WWII years.

What I got was long tedious story of elite sophisticates, all in love with each other's spouses, long, endless and tiresome metaphors, and a story line that failed keep me involved. I found it particularly annoying that when ever there was a crucial point of the story, the author buried it in vagueness, so I kept rewinding repeatedly to see if "I got it". Also, I wish had a nickel for every time Mr. Thackera used the phrase "his/her heart lept"; there was a lot of hearts leaping. Lastly none of the characters ever seemed real to me. No one thinks and talks like these people, but then they are all rich, sophisticated, and highly educated layabouts for the most part.

However, there were some excellent accounts of Guderian's tank campaigns in France and Russia. if the rest of the 50 plus hours had been similar, this Phillistine would have enjoyed it more.

Cabbages and Kings

A rather strange book a cross between a script for a mini-series and an attempt at a 20th century Tolstoy novel. The basic concept is intriguing, and there are elements of a good yarn here, but somehow theres a hollowness that doesnt ring true. Its hard to put a finger on whether this is because of the dialogue, the emotional depth of the characters or the storyline probably a combination of all three. Ultimately, the work is more cabbage than king.

A super extended version of 'Allo 'Allo

The publisher's notes say that this "epic novel" describes the lifes of 4 young men from their student days in pre-war Paris through the dark days of the war to post war Europe.

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Title: The Last Kingdom

Subtitle: The Last Kingdom Series, Book 1

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Narrator: Jamie Glover

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-17-05

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 37 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The story is seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a dispossessed English nobleman. Captured as a child and raised by the Danes, he now finds his allegiances divided. But the one thing he knows is that he wants to recover his father's land, the fort by the wild northern sea that we now know as Bamburgh.

Bernard Cornwell is a master of historical fiction and this new series, looking with a fresh light at Alfred the Great, his kingdom, and his legacy, will be as outstanding and as popular as the Grail Quest and the Warlord Chronicles.

Critic Reviews:

"Cornwell is a virtuoso of historical fiction." (Sunday Telegraph)

"Cornwell's narration is quite masterly and supremely well-researched." (Observer)

"Bernard Cornwell is a literary miracle. Year after year, hail, rain, snow, war, and political upheavals fail to prevent him from producing the most entertaining and readable historical novels of his generation." (Daily Mail)

Members Reviews:

Parts missing

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is an interesting novel but there are parts missing, and almost an entire chapter at the end. It probably does not make much difference for the story but it makes one wonder how much more is missing.

If only I'd realised.

A great listen but missing a bit of je ne sais pas. Then I looked carefully - this was an abridged version with no full length ones available. In fact the series appears to have some in the abridged and some in the unabridged. Audible you have missed a trick.

The Last Kingdom

Incredibly well-researched as usual, Bernard has drawn upon Saga material, Norse alliterative poetry, Alfredian Prose and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles to conjure up a credible early medieval world of personal relationships, differing social and cultural values, the conflicts created by the Danes' need for new land, and the clash of religions - the new and already dogma-bound christianity versus the highly personalised and individual beliefs of the pagan world of the Norse. A cracking good tale with superb authentic background detail from this master storyteller. As they say, 'vitud er enn, eda hvat?'

Simply the best!

I have read all the Sharpe books and thought they couldn't be beaten but I adore the Saxon chronicles. Both Sharpe and Utred share the same gritty, lack of respect for authority, impulsive stupidity and the love of a good fight! This is the first of the series explaining the origins of Utred, his upbringing by the Danes and his contact with Alfred the Great. As with all this series, the story twists and turns until you are sure he is done for, but ultimately Utred wins through with fair measures of luck, skill and violence. (Hope I haven't ruined the plot for you!)

While events do seem to be largely based on historical fact, there is also a fair bit of artist's licence in the detail.

I heartily recommend the whole series. I don't know how many times I have listened to them. I can''t wait until the next and probably the final book in the series, Pagan Lord.

One of the best books I have read.

I have to say the Bernard has done it again, this is a stunning book. He just keeps on producing thes books that take into another world. Keep them comming.

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Title: The Preservationist

Author: David Maine

Narrator: Tyler Bunch, Full Cast, Barbara Rosenblat

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-27-05

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 158 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In this brilliant debut novel, Noah's family (or Noe, as he's called here), his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law, tell what it's like to live with a man touched by God, while struggling against events that cannot be controlled or explained. When Noe orders his sons to build an ark, he can't tell them where the wood will come from. When he sends his daughters-in-law out to gather animals, he can offer no directions, money, or protection. And once the rain starts, they all realize that the true test of their faith is just beginning. Because the family is trapped on the ark with thousands of animals, with no experience feeding or caring for them and no idea when the waters will recede, what emerges is a family caught in the midst of an extraordinary Biblical event, with all the tension, humanity, and even humor that implies.

©2004 David Maine (P)2004 HighBridge Company

Editorial Reviews:

Imagine you are one of Noah's grown sons and suddenly your father starts to talk about the coming flood and the need to build the largest ship ever made. Imagine you're Noah's wife and you have to gather provisions to feed a large family and an even larger collection of animals for a sea journey of unknown duration. Imagine you are on that ship with all those wild animals while the amount of food shrinks and the quantity of dung expands. Have you ever wondered what Noah did after the rain stopped and the ark finally came to rest upon some land? You don't need to be religious to enjoy one of the greatest adventure stories ever told.

Critic Reviews:

"A literary debut that makes a familiar story enthralling." (Booklist) "A perfect fit for audio. Maine's witty, always credible monologues, performed by an exceptional cast, will draw listeners into familiar yet stunningly original territory." (AudioFile) "Wildly different in temperament, age, and provenance, these characters, each telling part of the story, help create a brilliant kaleidoscopic analysis of the situation....A story of faith and survival (think Life of Pi thousands of years earlier with a much larger cast of characters), this debut is a winner." (Publishers Weekly)

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: Eric Brighteyes

Author: Henry Rider Haggard

Narrator: Shelly Frasier

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-05-04

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 40 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

This deftly crafted Viking tale depicts the terror, tragedy, and vanity of life. The ill fated lovers, Eric and "Gudruda the Fair", fall victim to the jealous Swanhild's sorcery. Eric and his 'thrall' must overcome treachery, bloodthirsty foes, the open sea and blizzards as he battles to win his beloved Gudruda. Will the star-crossed lovers triumph over the fate of the Norns and the spite of Swanhild?

© and (P)2003 Tantor Media, Inc.

Members Reviews:

Outstanding Viking Tale

Eric Brighteyes is a Viking type tale told in an old way with all the twists, turns and tragedy of a Shakespearian saga.

The narration done by Shelly Frasier makes the told tale even more absorbing and attention binding. Her voice and way of speaking for this book was perfectly matched. I enjoyed every word and cried at the end for Eric Brighteyes and Gudruda the Fair.

Eric Brighteyes

I really enjoyed listening to this story. It was narrated very well and each character's voice was unique. The story itself was very enjoyable and I would recommend it to others.

Complicated

Way to complicated and hard to understand. I never got over the hump and into the story. I should have saved my credits.

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Title: Almost a Turkish Soap Opera, Volume 1

Author: Anne-Rae Vasquez

Narrator: Nicole Quinn

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-03-14

Publisher: AR Publishing

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A humorous look at arranged marriages, betrayals and affairs...Finalist New Generation Indie Book Awards 2013. Adel and Kamil, two young good-looking Turkish men, try to immigrate to North America. Adel's ruthless grand-uncle arranges him to marry Yonka (his spoiled obnoxious cousin) in exchange for his immigration status in Canada. The problem is Yonka and Adel hate each other. The drama heats up even more when Adel has an affair with Nora, his beautiful English teacher which ruins Yonka's plans. And to add to this, his best friend Kamil has a big secret of his own. How did his life turn into a Turkish soap opera? The novel paints a vivid portrayal of the lives and struggles of young modern Muslim adults trying to make a life in the West.

The story will attract audiences of popular contemporary movies such as the Kite Runner and the Brick Lane. Anne-Rae Vasquez's work includes Almost a Turkish Soap Opera (released in 2012), Gathering Dust - a collection of poems, and Teach Yourself Great Web Design in a Week, published by Sams.net (a division of Macmillan Publishing). Almost a Turkish Soap Opera was adapted into an award winning feature film and web series and is also Anne-Rae's directorial debut and was produced by Joseph Khalil, Sababa Emporium Film Productions (sababaemporium.com) with AR Films. Updated information can be found at almostaturkishsoapopera.com

Members Reviews:

Highly entertaining - a page turner

Almost a Turkish Soap Opera becomes more interesting as you read on. As the drama goes into full swing, it's difficult to put the book down even for a short break. The characters of this book are colorful; perhaps many of them resemble the characters in some Turkish soap operas, though I haven't watched one.

Action begins when the 25-year-old Adel -- handsome, business savvy, and sometimes quixotic -- leaves his home in Istanbul and arrives at Los Angeles with his best friend Kamil. He meets Nora, who visits LA from Vancouver, Canada, and then falls for her, but the meeting is cut short because Adel is manipulated by his grand uncle, a domineering, contemptible figure to Adel's family. Mirwan, a pawn of Adel's grand uncle, reports Adel to the U.S. immigration services. Adel is detained and subsequently deported back to Turkey. After a short stay in Istanbul, Adel heads for Vancouver where Kamil lives with his new wife Ayca. There, at the cultural crossroads of the West and the Middle East, Adel, his cousin Yonka, Kamil, Nora, Ayca, and other characters intersect.

Adel's presence (and perhaps Kamil's as well) in Vancouver was arranged by Adel's grand uncle, whose aim is to marry Adel to his beloved granddaughter Yonka, a cunning and egocentric woman who lives a life of decadence. Adel plunges into the whirlwind of Yonka's schemes (into the untenable and unconsummated marriage) and of falling in love with Nora again. Eastern and Muslim culture collides with Western ways and ideas and brings the characters together at times and pulls them apart at others.

To many Western readers, the culture of the Middle East, which still exercises arranged marriages along with dowries and marriages among cousins, could be strange.

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Title: Summary of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Author: EasySummaries Books

Narrator: Elisabeth Lagelee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-30-17

Publisher: EasySummaries Books

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Note: this is an unofficial summary and analysis of the original book, meant to enhance your listening experience, and not the original book.

Here's an excerpt from the book:

The story, documenting the horrors of slavery and the hope instilled by the Underground Railroad, is set in the 1800s. Cora is a teenager who may not even be 17 years old yet. She is a slave at Randall plantation in Georgia and is the third generation of captives there. Cora's grandmother, Ajarry, was kidnapped by Dahomeyan raiders from her village and separated from her family when she was really young. She spent her life picking cotton on the plantation after being brutalized and raped and passing through a chain of owners. Ajarry had three husbands during her lifetime and of her five children, Cora's mother was the only one who survived. While Ajarry died on the plantation, Cora's mother, Mabel, escaped from the farm when Cora was 10 or 11. Cora despises her mother and has an array of negative emotions towards her for leaving her behind to face the brutality of the plantation alone. Cora has seen it all from extremely hard labor to rape, and witnessing torture. Life on the plantation is a never-ending black hole that sucks every positive thing inside. When another slave, Caesar, puts forward the proposition that Cora run away with him to the north, Cora declines at first since she does not want to die a quick death.

If you want more, download and start listening now - even if it's 3 a.m.!

This is a premium summary and analysis of Colson Whitehead's popular book The Underground Railroad. Designed with busy people in mind, it will give you a firm grasp on the story without sacrificing quality! Give it a try!

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Title: Swordland

Author: Edward Ruadh Butler

Narrator: Richard Mitchley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-14-17

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Robert FitzStephen is a warrior down on his luck. Arrogant, cold, but a brilliant soldier, FitzStephen commands a castle despite his checkered lineage. When a Welsh rebellion brings defeat and a crippling siege, FitzStephen's highborn comrades scorn him, betraying him to the enemy. A hostage of his cousin, Prince Rhys, FitzStephen is disgraced and seemingly doomed to a life of obscurity and shame.

Then King Diarmait arrives, the ambitious overlord of an Irish kingdom. Forced to flee by the High King of Ireland, he seeks to reclaim his lands by any means possible, including inviting the Normans. With nothing left to lose, FitzStephen agrees to lead the Irishman's armies and drive Diarmait's enemies from his kingdom. His price? Acceptance...or perhaps a kingdom of his own?

Members Reviews:

A Gripping Tale

A gripping tale featuring Norman, Welsh, Irish, Ostmen and Flemish combatants and their duplicitous maneuvers to stake a claim or a kingdom in Ireland. ÂThe main protagonist is Robert FitzStephen, a Norman warrior who falls upon hard times but is offered the chance to regain his honor leading the army of the deposed Irish King Diarmait Mac Murchada. ÂThe author had my attention from page one. ÂWell researched and written in a manner that stays as true as possible to the known historical record, although, as is true of any good tale, some facts can be rearranged to make the fiction more compelling. ÂThe battles are ferocious without being overly gory; the tension brought on by the many competing groups and goals permeate the story lines. ÂAn admirable and enjoyable read of yet, to me anyway, another time and place of British history. Â4 stars

A Good Read

Good story loosely based on historic event. Good character development which stays true through story. Good descriptions of ancient weapons, how they worked, and injury/ damage they could cause. Easily recommend.

Readable. A dark picture of Ireland.

About medieval Ireland. I read it all the way. Too many complicated Irish names. More gore than you can believe. It does keep your attention, if you can sort out the characters.

Fabulous book!

Enjoyed reading about medieval Ireland and the coming of the Normans. Well written characters and a page turning storyline. Looking forward to reading the second in the series.

Swordland soars

Great story line and characters. Thoroughly enjoyed the scoundrel who is the primary "hero" of the story. Will definitely get the rest for this series.