Simply The Best Audiobooks in Fiction, Historical to Download

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Title: The Road to Compiègne

Author: Jean Plaidy

Narrator: Jilly Bond

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-16-15

Publisher: Isis Publishing Ltd

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

No longer the well-beloved, Louis XV is becoming ever more unpopular - the huge expense of his court and decades of costly warfare having taken their toll. As the discontent grows, Louis seeks refuge in his extravagances and his mistress, the powerful Marquise de Pompadour.

Suspicions, plots and rivalry are rife as Louis daughters and lovers jostle for his attention and their own standing in Court. Ignoring the unrest in Paris, Louis continues to indulge in frivolities.

But how long will Paris stay silent when the death of the Marquise de Pompadour leads to yet another mistress influencing the King?

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

Good book!

Five Stars

Loved it

Opulent

Very enlightening book , hinting on the upcoming revolution. What a life these royals led at the time! So opulent and perverse. A good easy book to get through, though sometimes repetitive, as in Plaidy's usual style.

In Versailles, Louis XV Reigns with his Pompadour

Louis the Well-Beloved has been replaced by Louis the Well-Despised. It is the same man, Louis XV, but the people have a different regard for him. He was hated so much that he feared passing through the city of Paris. He built an alternate route: The Road to Compiegne.

He is known for his many mistresses. Probably the most famous is Madame de Pompadour. She reigns supreme in the court of Versailles, much to the dissatisfaction of the King's family: a pious wife, and equally pious Dauphin and Dauphine, and a flock of slightly mad daughters. As Madame de Pompadour's romantic attraction fades, she comes up with a brilliant plan: the Parc aux Cerfs, basically a brothel of young girls for the King. In doing so, she gives up her role as mistress and becomes the King's best friend. She remains so for over 20 years, and is able to keep her power, a feat that is almost impossible with Louis XV. When she dies, he is desolate, and tries to replace his beloved Pompadour. Jest when he is about ready to give up all hope of doing so, he meets and falls in love with no other but Madame du Barry . . .

This book isn't the best book by Jean Plaidy. Unlike most of her other books, this one drags on at points. Also, some parts are confusing. That may be because I am not familiar with the French names. But Madame de Pompadour has always fascinated me, and I was glad to learn more about her.

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Title: The Queen of Washington

Author: Francis Hamit

Narrator: Melanie A. Mason

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-14-15

Publisher: Brass Cannon Meida LLC

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Alternative history about Rose Greenhow and her activities as a spy before and during the American Civil War. She was the Confederate spy who gave the South the information it needed to win at the first Battle of Bull's run, but had she been a spy all along, working for the French and British in their efforts to undermine American Manifest Destiny and split the nation into two or more new countries? The story begins in 1850 in Mexico City and San Francisco.

Members Reviews:

The Queen of Washington

Very enjoyable read. This is a great story about a female Confederate spy, Rose Greenhow. Mr. Hamit did considerable research into the Civil War and put together a great historical novel based on real people. What Rose had to endure in her fight for the South was heroic. If you like stories of the Civil War, you will like The Queen of Washington. I also recommend his book Shenandoah Spy, another female Confederate spy, from a different background.

Second in Confederate Secret Service (Women) Adds Colorful Background to War Stories!

I had thoroughly enjoyed The Shenandoah Spy by Francis Hamit,telling the story of the first woman in American history to be formally commissioned an Army officer. While Hamit's series focuses on the Civil War era, his decision to move backward and create an alternative history for some of the key players during the war is a delightful fun read while being historically informative).

Mainly because today's political environment includes spotlighting the sexual activities of those working in government that often becomes world-wide news...

While Hamit hypothesizes that sex was routinely used by women in particular, during that time to gain vital information, especially for the South, or for gaining personal power or positions for their husbands, And the most famous, Rose Greenhow, became the one they crowned as Queen. She started by becoming an active participant of the social set that centered in Washington D.C. and was wife of the Translator and Librarian for the U.S. State Department where he ranked third to the Secretary. But while his position lowered as he got into activities of the Land Commission, traveling west into Mexico and California, Rose spent most of her time in Washington garnering more and more political influence.

Rose was definitely a spy for the South. But Hamit posed the question was she a spy earlier for the French, the English and many others--perhaps anybody who would willingly share "pillow-talk" which included gifts and financial support to keep her in the home she needed and hosting the many events that were necessary to keeping her image in front of the Washington set...

But she went too far and had a child to one of her lovers and brought her into their home...she had broken trust with her husband, Robert!

Robert later shared his personal pain with Judah Benjamin, who had become a friend (and who later became a Senator). Judah quickly pointed out, "Your wife, eh? That's grounds for a suit at law." But Robert merely responded, "That would mean scandal...you see. We don't do scandal..." There were also several truly treasonous or criminal actions that she had convinced her husband should be done.

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Title: Tangled Threads

Author: Rc Marlen

Narrator: Violet Meadow

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-08-15

Publisher: Rosalie Marlen Schele

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Ellie's father believed one should reach for dreams, and before he disappeared he instilled that quest in his daughter. However, he also taught her about secrets, and, like the tornado that raged the day of Ellie's birth, unpredictable and disastrous secrets formed to whirl throughout her life.

This is a family saga based on real lives, and Al Capone comes to St. Louis and meets the main character, Ellie.

Members Reviews:

Tangled Threads

Any mystery reader, along with readers who love nostalgia, will enjoy this book. The book takes you down Memory Lane with its references to soda fountains, streetcars, penny candy, etc. Because of the author's expertise in describing her characters, you can almost picture the people written about and, by the end of the book, feel as though you know them. Once you start reading "Tangled Threads" you won't want to put the book down until you're finished.

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Title: Us Conductors

Author: Sean Michaels

Narrator: Steve Coulter

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-07-15

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Us Conductors is the story of the man who created the most magical musical instrument in the world, the theremin. It's a tale of electricity and espionage, jazz and kung-fu, Harlem and Siberia, and the way even doomed love can keep you alive. Locked in a cabin aboard a ship bearing him back to Russia and away from the love of his life, Lev Sergeyvich Termen begins to type his story: a tale of electricity, romance, and the invention of the world's strangest instrument, the theremin. He recollects his early years as a scientist forging breakthroughs during the Bolshevik Revolution and his decade as a Manhattan celebrity and reluctant Soviet spy. Against the backdrop of Prohibition and the 1929 crash, Termen spends his days in his workshop, devising inventions, and his nights in Harlem clubs, jostling with famous bandleaders and falling in love with the young violinist Clara Reisenberg. When the boat reaches his homeland, Termen finds it is not the Russia he remembers. He is imprisoned in the gulag system, sent first to a Siberian work camp and then to a secret laboratory. In the face of all this, his love for Clara remains constant, passing through the ether like the theremin's song. Steeped in beauty, wonder, and looping heartbreak, Sean Michaels' debut novel explores the lies we tell, the truths we imagine, and the lengths we go to to survive.

Members Reviews:

Worthy Winner of the Giller Prize

There are those among us who create. There are musicians and poets, performers and conductors, and scientists and engineers. Now one could ask, what is the best way to motivate these people to create? Is it money, love, or sex? Is it patriotic fervour? Or is it fear? Or does it depend on the world around us? These are some of the questions at the heart of this gripping novel that takes the reader from America in the Roaring '20s to much darker days in the Soviet Union as it follows the fictionalized life of a brilliant scientist who always manages to create under all circumstances and for all motivations. A fascinating read, although there are some surprising loose ends I could not understand, such as the (lack of) consequences following what happens to Danny Finch. Overall an excellent read, a well-crafted story and a worthy recipient of the Giller Prize.

Align your expectations

This novel, while based on the author's notes about being loosely based on Leon's actual life, reads like an enhanced biography. I think if you approach it more as a biography and not a pure fictional novel then you might have a more aligned expectation of the book. I enjoyed it very much but felt the end left something to be desired.

An unsettling fiction of the life of Lev Thermen. ...

An unsettling fiction of the life of Lev Thermen. The story is well written. But I was left with questions as to what parts of this story were possible true occurrences. The story is more of an account of this time in history.

Four Stars

Great combination of suspense, love story, and historical fiction. Very pleasurable to read.

Brilliant and original prose - Highly recommended.

This novel just won the prestigious Giller Prize and I can see why. The novel is about a real life Russian scientist who in the invented, among many other things, the Theremin, an early electronic musical instrument - a very cool device named after its inventor.

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Titel: Thorag der Germane (Die Saga der Germanen 1)

Autor:: Jörg Kastner

Erzähler: Josef Vossenkuhl

Format: Unabridged

Spieldauer: 6 hrs and 52 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 07-02-15

Herausgeber: Audible Studios

Kategorien: Fiction, Historical

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

In den Romanen von Jörg Kastner wird die Zeit des Cheruskers Arminius und der berühmten Schlacht, in der er die Legionen des Varus vernichtete, wieder lebendig.

Im Mittelpunkt steht Thorag der Cherusker, der gemeinsam mit seinem Waffenbruder Arminius das Land der freien Germanen vor den Römern zu beschützen versucht. Von den Urwäldern Germaniens bis zu den römischen Stützpunkten am Rhein, von den sieben Hügeln Roms bis zur reichen Hafenstadt Ravenna entfaltet sich das dramatische Geschehen, in dem eine längst vergangene Zeit mitsamt ihren Bräuchen und Ansichten detailliert geschildert wird.

Nicht minder wichtig als die großen politischen Fragen ist Jörg Kastner das persönliche Glück der Hauptfiguren - und mehr als einmal muss Thorag um seine große Liebe Auja kämpfen.

>> Diese ungekürzte Hörbuch-Fassung wird Ihnen exklusiv von Audible präsentiert und ist ausschließlich im Download erhältlich.

©2013 Jörg Kastner (P)2015 Audible GmbH

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Title: Winds of the Rio Grande

Author: Francis Louis Guy Smith

Narrator: Bill Pryce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-25-15

Publisher: booksbyguy

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

After the great civil war, many of the survivors sought a safe haven in the promised land called Texas.

Some stayed to help a struggling republic grow into the great state it was destined to become.

Some looked to steal and plunder, ever on the outside of the law, while others wanted to simply be left alone. These were the men who would seek solitude in the great mountains of the west. A few stayed in Texas to trap in the Big Bend.

Others wanted to see the high country of the Rocky Mountains. This is the story of one of those men.

Sam Raines would follow the wild and raging Rio Grande from its entrance to the canyons of Big Bend to its start in the San Juan mountains of Colorado territory.

Along the way he would find many challenges.

Members Reviews:

Enjoyable Read

Winds of the Rio Grande is a fairly typical Western fiction with a decidedly Christian emphasis that I appreciated. The hero is Sam, the strong silent trapper who just wants to be left alone to enjoy God and explore His creation. He imperceptibly falls in love with an Indian girl, Spotted Fawn, who also enjoys solitude; only now the solitude expands to includes God and each other. This is a sweet and pure love story imagining their strenuous journey through the wildest parts of the Rio Grande valley and canyons together.

I liked this book even though it has a few unique word uses, typos, and formatting glitches that shouldn't cost it a whole star, but I couldn't split one. It held my interest enough that I essentially read it through in a single session.

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Title: Watch the Lady

Author: Elizabeth Fremantle

Narrator: Georgina Sutton, Roy McMillan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-18-15

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audio edition of Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Freemantle, read by Georgina Sutton and Roy McMillan.

Penelope Devereux is a legendary beauty in the court of Elizabeth, but it's not just her looks which mark her apart. With her canny instinct for being in the right place at the right time and her skilled political manipulation, she has become a formidable adversary to anyone who stands in her path. And now Penelope must secure the future of the Devereux dynasty at whatever cost. Even treason. For the Queen is just one more pawn in a deadly game.

Members Reviews:

Excellent

A wonderful interesting insight into this time in our history. A thoroughly enjoyable well read story showing insight into this period of our history.

waste of money

the only good part was the authors notes at the end. dont waste your time

Excellent

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I have all 3 of Elizabeth Fremantle's books on Audible. It is well aced and flows very well, carefully and cleverly weaving fact and fiction to make a 'hard to put down' story

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Title: The Lost Child

Author: Caryl Phillips

Narrator: Julia Franklin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-18-15

Publisher: Whole Story AudioBooks

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

A sweeping story of orphans and outcasts, haunted by the past and fighting to liberate themselves. At its centre is Monica Johnson, cut off from her parents after falling in love with a foreigner, and her bitter struggle to raise her sons in the shadow of the wild moors of the north of England. Intertwined with her modern narrative is the ragged childhood of Emily Brontës Heathcliff, the antihero of Wuthering Heights and one of literatures most enigmatic lost boys.

Members Reviews:

Dismal, overrated

Out of the way first, Julia Franklin puts in a good attempt, with what are clearly well-practiced accents and voices, but poor, hissy mic and an inattentive editor who clearly let a lot of mispeaking errors slide totally let her down.

For the novel, Phillips presents an ill conceived pastiche on Wuthering Heights which fails to really get going or stop being anything but utterly miserable.

Every time I came away from this one, I was always in a really foul mood.

My favourite critiquing rule of thumb is this "stupid on purpose? stupid by accident? who cares, it's still stupid"... Just switch the word stupid out for 'depressing'.

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Title: The Guillotine Squad

Author: Guillermo Arriaga, Alan Page - translator

Narrator: P. J. Ochlan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-17-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Full of Arriaga's trademark humor and irony present in his films and novels, The Guillotine Squad takes us back to one of the most exciting times in Mexican history. Feliciano Velasco y Borbolla de la Fuente, a lawyer, sells his famous invention, the guillotine, to Pancho Villa, the renowned insurgent general of the Mexican Revolution. Soon Feliciano finds himself immersed in the logic of this simultaneously bizarre, heroic, and cruel world of Villa's troops.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

amazing author!

An Ironic Look Into The Mexican Revolution

I am a fan of Guillermo Arriaga's films "The Burning Plain", "Babel", and "21 Grams", so I decided to find out what his writing is like. Mr. Arriaga writes in Spanish, of course, and unfortunately I was only able to purchase 3 of his 5 titles in English, and one (Retorno 201) in Greek. I was not disappointed in The Guillotine Squad. It's a delightful, humerous, historical novel that centers around an aristocrat, who finds himself "accidentally" fighting for the insurgent general of the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa. Feliciano Velasco soon begins to enjoy the cruel world of Villa's troops, and consequently sacrifices his "true destiny"... In an ironic, and climactic ending, Feliciano tries to redeem himself. I was laughing out loud every few pages. This is a great read, and very hard to put down. I recommend this, and the other titles which have been translated into English.

Funny, ironic and historic.

funny, ironic and historic.. short cool story ha Guillermo Arriaga, writer of Amores perros, Babel and 21grams. the best Mexican screenwriters and a great novelist. Don't expect Shakespeare, but very entretaining.

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Title: The Memory of Midnight

Author: Pamela Hartshorne

Narrator: Helen Longworth

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-15-15

Publisher: Oakhill Publishing

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In Elizabethan York, young Nell Appleby is trapped in a chest, and a horror of the dark dogs her for the rest of her life. Wed to the sadistic Ralph Maskewe, Nell must find joy where she can, until her childhood sweetheart offers her escape to the New World.

Four and a half centuries later, Tess moves to York, eager to start a new life away from her overbearing husband. But time in York has a way of shifting strangely, and memories of a past that is not her own begin to surface....

Critic Reviews:

"A rattling good read." (York Press)

"What a terrific novel. I really enjoyed it and became deeply involved in the lives of the two heroines." (Elizabeth Buchan)

"A very enjoyable read and the story is intriguing from the beginning as you engage with both the characters, leaving you wanting to read more. I find that Pamela's knowledge of 16th Century York fascinating and the historical detail is very interesting and compliments the story perfectly." (Yorkshire Times)

Members Reviews:

Engrossing, detailed story.

An engrossing story with vivid period detail that pulled me in and had me listening well into the night to find out what happened. I thoroughly enjoyed both the story and the narration and would read/listen to more from this author.