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In the Shadow of the Empress
- The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters
- Narrated by: Emma Newman
- Length: 23 hrs and 8 mins
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In the Shadow of the Empress
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Publisher's summary
In the Shadow of the Empress is the sweeping family saga of beautiful Maria Theresa, the only woman to inherit and rule the vast Habsburg empire in her own name, and three of her remarkable daughters: lovely, talented Maria Christina, governor general of the Austrian Netherlands; spirited Maria Carolina, the resolute queen of Naples; and the youngest, Marie Antoinette, the glamorous, tragic queen of France, perhaps the most famous princess in history. Unfolding against an irresistible backdrop of courts from Vienna to Versailles, this epic history of Maria Theresa and her daughters is a tour de force of desire, adventure, ambition, treachery, sorrow and glory.
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-
Gossip
- By Amazon Customer on 10-02-19
By: Paul Strathern
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Blood, Fire & Gold
- The Story of Elizabeth I & Catherine de Medici
- By: Estelle Paranque
- Narrated by: Anna Wilson-Jones
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Sixteenth-century Europe was a hostile world dominated by court politics and patriarchal structures, and yet against all odds, two women rose to power: Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici. One a young Virgin Queen who ruled her kingdom alone, and the other a more experienced and clandestine leader who used her children to shape the dynasties of Europe, much has been written about these shrewd and strategic sovereigns. But though their individual legacies have been heavily scrutinized, nothing has been said of their complicated relationship.
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5 out of 5 stars
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16th Century Feminists
- By Tommy on 01-23-23
By: Estelle Paranque
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The Rival Queens
- Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal That Ignited a Kingdom
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 795
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 717
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 714
Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for 30 years. Her youngest daughter, Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Definitely not a dull bio!
- By Nella on 07-04-15
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Scourge of Henry VIII
- The Life of Marie de Guise
- By: Melanie Clegg
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4 out of 5 stars 35
Mary, Queen of Scots continues to intrigue both historians and the general public - but the story of her mother, Marie de Guise, is much less well known. A political power in her own right, she was born into the powerful and ambitious Lorraine family, spending her formative years at the dazzling, licentious court of François I. Although briefly courted by Henry VIII, she instead married his nephew, James V of Scotland, in 1538.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Find a Better Bio
- By Amazon Customer on 04-14-20
By: Melanie Clegg
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Emperor
- A New Life of Charles V
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 26 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 197
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 196
The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Amazing.
- By bigdjunta on 10-21-19
By: Geoffrey Parker
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The Howe Dynasty
- The Untold Story of a Military Family and the Women Behind Britain's Wars for America
- By: Julie Flavell
- Narrated by: Polly Lee
- Length: 17 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
In December 1774, Benjamin Franklin met Caroline Howe, the sister of British General Sir William Howe and Richard Admiral Lord Howe, in a London drawing room for “half a dozen Games of Chess”. But as historian Julie Flavell reveals, these meetings were about much more than board games: They were cover for a last-ditch attempt to forestall the outbreak of the American War of Independence.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A very interesting, slightly partisan history
- By Anne Ruszkiewicz on 04-03-22
By: Julie Flavell
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The Tigress of Forli
- Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici
- By: Elizabeth Lev
- Narrated by: Edita Brychta
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story5 out of 5 stars 42
In this glittering biography, Elizabeth Lev reexamines Caterina Sforza's extraordinary life and accomplishments. Raised in the court of Milan and wed at age ten to the pope’s corrupt nephew, Caterina was ensnared in Italy’s political intrigues early in life. After turbulent years in Rome’s papal court, she moved to the Romagnol province of Forlì. Following her husband’s assassination, she ruled Italy’s crossroads with iron will, martial strength, political savvy—and an icon’s fashion sense. In finally losing her lands to the Borgia family, she put up a resistance that inspired all of Europe.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Incredibly boring
- By Colonist ancestor on 10-20-23
By: Elizabeth Lev
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Francis I
- The Maker of Modern France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 126
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 112
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
Catherine de Medici's father-in-law, King Francis of France, was the perfect Renaissance knight, the movement's exemplar and its Gallic interpreter. An aesthete, diplomat par excellence, and contemporary of Machiavelli, Francis was the founder of modern France, whose sheer force of will and personality molded his kingdom into the first European superpower. Arguably the man who introduced the Renaissance to France, Francis was also the prototype Frenchman - a national identity was modeled on his character.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Rekindling salamandrine fires...
- By Adeliese Baumann on 09-29-18
By: Leonie Frieda
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Victoria's Daughters
- By: Jerrold M. Packard
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 218
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 186
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 184
Vicky, Alice, Helena, and Beatrice were historically unique sisters, born to a sovereign who ruled over a quarter of the earth's people and who gave her name to an era: Queen Victoria. Two of these princesses would themselves produce children of immense consequence. All five would curiously come to share many of the social restrictions and familial machinations borne by 19th-century women of less-exulted class.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Terrible Narrator
- By Kijana Mayfield on 03-28-17
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She-Wolves
- The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth
- By: Helen Castor
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 105
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
In the tradition of Antonia Fraser and Alison Weir, prize-winning historian Helen Castor delivers a compelling, eye-opening examination of women and power in England, witnessed through the lives of six women who exercised power against all odds - and one who never got the chance. Exploring the narratives of the Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of France, Margaret of Anjou, and other "she-wolves," as well as that of the Nine Days' Queen, Lady Jane Grey, Castor invokes a magisterial discussion of how much - and how little - has changed through the centuries.
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2 out of 5 stars
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STORY TELLING IS ERRATIC
- By The Louligan on 07-22-20
By: Helen Castor
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The Lost Queen
- The Life & Tragedy of the Prince Regent's Daughter
- By: Anne M. Stott
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
As the only child of the Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick, Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796-1817) was the heiress presumptive to the throne. Her parents' marriage had already broken up by the time she was born. She had a difficult childhood and a turbulent adolescence, but she was popular with the public, who looked to her to restore the good name of the monarchy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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excellent
- By meganajjcec on 10-12-20
By: Anne M. Stott
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Catherine de Medici
- Renaissance Queen of France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Sarah Le Fevre
- Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 467
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 400
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 397
Poisoner, despot, necromancer - the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds - from a troubled childhood in Florence to her marriage to Henry, son of King Francis I of France; from her transformation of French culture to her fight to protect her throne and her sons' birthright. Based on thousands of private letters, it is a remarkable account of one of the most influential women to wear a crown.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Narrator didn't get one name right
- By Georgina García- Menocal on 09-15-19
By: Leonie Frieda
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The Women of the Cousins' War
- The Duchess, the Queen and the King's Mother
- By: Philippa Gregory, David Baldwin, Michael Jones
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 495
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 449
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 450
In her essay on Jacquetta, Philippa Gregory uses original documents, archaeology and histories of myth and witchcraft to create the first-ever biography of the young duchess who was to survive two reigns and two wars to become the first lady at two rival courts. David Baldwin, established author on the Wars of the Roses, tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the first commoner to marry a king of England for love, and Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes of Margaret Beaufort, the almost-unknown matriarch of the House of Tudor. The Women of the Cousins’ War will appeal to all.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great book
- By Stacey Wallace on 11-14-11
By: Philippa Gregory, and others
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Hero of Two Worlds
- The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution
- By: Mike Duncan
- Narrated by: Mike Duncan
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 3,090
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,785
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,768
From the massively popular podcaster and New York Times best-selling author comes the story of the Marquis de Lafayette's lifelong quest to protect the principles of democracy, told through the lens of the three revolutions he participated in: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Revolution of 1830.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thrillingly storytelling — brilliant narration
- By Byron on 08-24-21
By: Mike Duncan
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The Last King of America
- The Misunderstood Reign of George III
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: Phillipe Stevens
- Length: 36 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 451
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 390
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 389
Most Americans dismiss George III as a buffoon - a heartless and terrible monarch with few, if any, redeeming qualities. The best-known modern interpretation of him is Jonathan Groff's preening, spitting, and pompous take in Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway masterpiece. But this deeply unflattering characterization is rooted in the prejudiced and brilliantly persuasive opinions of 18th-century revolutionaries. After combing through hundreds of thousands of pages of never-before-published correspondence, award-winning historian Andrew Roberts has uncovered the truth.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic .. a proud defense of George III
- By Wyatt on 11-12-21
By: Andrew Roberts
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Tudor History
- A Captivating Guide to the Tudors, the Wars of the Roses, the Six Wives of Henry VIII and the Life of Elizabeth I
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Five Tudor monarchs sat on the throne of England and Ireland from 1485 to 1603. The family earned their royal rights through strategic planning and battlefield prowess, and kept them because of intellect, strength, and sheer determination. The Tudors, one of England’s most powerful and famous royal dynasties, knitted together a fragmented and small island nation that became one of the world’s financial, colonial, and technological superpowers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A facinating guide.
- By James Mark on 03-07-19
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What listeners say about In the Shadow of the Empress
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Margaret M. Bell
- 03-17-23
Fascinating
I really enjoyed this book. I've read a couple of others by the same author and enjoyed those too. If you like listening to history, this could be for you.
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