Because of the clandestine nature of these women's relationship to history, their stories are half-formed at best. Each novel on this list works to fill in those gaps—via historical fact and a whole lot of imagination. Full of drama, passion, deception and fact-filled tidbits, these tales make it oh-so-satisfying to experience life as the mistress—if only for the time it takes to get to the end of the audiobook. Enjoy! (I won't tell if you don't tell.) —Tricia, Audible Editor
-
-
Freud's Mistress
- By: Karen Mack, Jennifer Kaufman
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A page-turning novel inspired by the true-life love affair between Sigmund Freud and his sister-in-law....
-
-
What a Super Ego
- By Mel on 07-12-13
-
Freud's Mistress
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Release date: 07-09-13
- Language: English
- Sisters and Husband
- Victorian-era Vienna—and the fascination with the new science of psychoanalysis and a drug-fueled intellectualism—sets the backdrop to this scandalous family drama. While I’d prefer the mistress to be a little more critical of this particular lover, Minna Bernay nonetheless has her own take on the then-revolutionary ideas she so passionately explores with her brother-in-law, Sigmund Freud.
-
-
-
Mistress Shakespeare
- A Novel
- By: Karen Harper
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning half a century of Elizabethan and Jacobean history and sweeping from the lowest reaches of society to the royal court, this novel tells the real story of Shakespeare in love....
-
-
very interesting what if ...
- By Kindle Customer on 07-09-24
-
Mistress Shakespeare
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Release date: 02-05-09
- Language: English
- 'Wife Not of His Hearth But of His Heart'
- Spun from scarce, intriguing snippets in the historical record, this fictionalized autobiography of William Shakespeare’s first (and secret) wife reveals Anne Whately to be the bard’s true muse. From the time they were children in Stratford-upon-Avon, through more than half a century, Anne and Will Will (as he’s referred to in this book) again and again separate and come back together. They survive deaths of friends and family members, political witch hunts, fire and plague, despair, and phenomenal success.
-
-
-
Carnegie's Maid
- A Novel
- By: Marie Benedict
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the author of The Other Einstein, the mesmerizing tale of what kind of woman could have inspired an American dynasty....
-
-
Shallow
- By Mary Smiroldo on 06-26-18
-
Carnegie's Maid
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Release date: 01-16-18
- Language: English
- Love and Generosity In Turn-of-the-Century Pittsburgh
- Is it possible that a poor Irish immigrant doing domestic work for an American dynasty was the true inspiration that sparked the philanthropic works of Andrew Carnegie? Clara Kelley is a resourceful young woman who becomes a priceless part of the household. But just how far did her influence go?
-
-
-
Mrs. Hemingway
- By: Naomi Wood
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Summer, 1926. Ernest Hemingway and his wife, Hadley, take refuge from the heat of Paris in a villa in the south of France. But wherever they go they are accompanied by the glamorous and irrepressible Fife....
-
-
Only for the great man’s biggest fans
- By Songsmith on 08-12-19
-
Mrs. Hemingway
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Release date: 05-27-14
- Language: English
- Paramour Becomes Wife X Four
- Okay. So what if he put a ring on it? Hemingway's four wives were all secondary to his writing. Still, they did have good times in glamorous places like Paris, Key West, Cuba, and Idaho (yes, Idaho has its allure!) Whatever you think of this man's writing and behavior, it's certainly eye-opening to look at his life and work through the perspective of each of these four women.
-
-
-
The Summer I Met Jack
- A Novel
- By: Michelle Gable
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1950, a young, beautiful Polish refugee arrives in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, to work as a maid for one of the wealthiest families in America....
-
-
Camelot It is Not
- By Sugarloafer on 08-15-19
-
The Summer I Met Jack
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Release date: 05-29-18
- Language: English
- Falling Under that Kennedy Spell
- Just when you thought you’d heard everything there was to hear about the Kennedys: meet Alicia Corning Clark. While so much of her relationship with JFK has remained secret, this book takes what little is known and blows it up into a fascinating tale of a young Polish immigrant who eventually moves on to live a life full of excitement, but will forever long for that lovely young man she first met in Hyannisport, Massachussets.
-
-
-
White Houses
- A Novel
- By: Amy Bloom
- Narrated by: Tonya Cornelisse
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hick's bond with Eleanor is tested by forces both extraordinary and common, and as she grows as a woman and a writer, she never loses sight of the love of her life....
-
-
Uneven, problematic performance
- By Suzanne on 05-03-18
-
White Houses
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Tonya Cornelisse
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Release date: 02-13-18
- Language: English
- First Lady and First Friend
- No one was closer to Eleanor Roosevelt than Lorena "Hick" Hickok. Their relationship was clearly built from a long-standing respect and love for each other—and while it was something of an open secret, surprisingly, no one really gossiped about this unconventional (for the time) pairing.
-
-
-
Nell Gwyn
- Mistress to a King
- By: Charles Beauclerk
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written by a direct descendant of the union between Nell Gwyn and King Charles II, Nell Gwyn tells the story of one of England's great folk heroines....
-
Nell Gwyn
- Mistress to a King
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Release date: 04-28-14
- Language: English
- How to Woo a King
- Author Charles Beauclerk is a direct descendent of Charles II and one of history's most famous mistresses, Nell Gwyn. Charles was king and Nell started out as a child of the streets and daughter of a madam. This is the story of their 17-year affair colored by all of the cultural changes going on during the period of England’s great Restoration.
-
-
-
The Other Boleyn Girl
- The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels
- By: Philippa Gregory
- Narrated by: Vanessa Kirby
- Length: 22 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of 14, she catches the eye of the handsome and charming Henry VIII. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to wane....
-
-
Okay
- By #amazoncustomer on 10-20-19
-
The Other Boleyn Girl
- The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels
- Narrated by: Vanessa Kirby
- Series: The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, Book 9
- Length: 22 hrs and 13 mins
- Release date: 01-29-19
- Language: English
- Henry VIII Was the Worst
- Mary Boleyn is a bit of a mystery—making her perfectly cast as the center figure in this epic endeavor of historical fiction. Philippa Gregory is the master of the genre. She takes the facts and brings this slippier-than-a-soap opera sisterly drama to life!
-
More Mistresses
-
The King's Mistress
- A Novel
- By: Emma Campion
- Narrated by: Donada Peters
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the wake of this tragedy, Alice learns that her husband kept many secrets - secrets that result in a price on her own head and that of her beloved daughter. Her only chance to survive lies in the protection of King Edward and Queen Philippa, but she therefore must live at court as a virtual prisoner. When she is singled out by the king for more than just royal patronage, the stakes are raised. Disobeying Edward is not an option, not when her family is at risk, but the court is full of ambitious men and women, many of whom will stop at nothing to see her fall from grace.
-
-
Good Story
- By Rebecca on 07-05-11
-
Mary Anne
- By: Daphne du Maurier
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She set men's hearts on fire and scandalized a country. An ambitious, stunning, and seductive young woman, Mary Anne finds the single most rewarding way to rise above her station: She will become the mistress to a royal duke. In doing so, she provokes a scandal that rocks Regency England.
-
-
Beautifully done
- By Penny C Roberts on 06-03-16
-
The Sisters of Versailles
- Mistresses of Versailles Series # 1
- By: Sally Christie
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set against the lavish backdrop of the French Court in the early years of the 18th century, The Sisters of Versailles is the extraordinary tale of the five Nesle sisters - Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne - four of whom became mistresses to King Louis XV. Their scandalous story is stranger than fiction but true in every shocking, amusing, and heartbreaking detail.Court intriguers are beginning to sense that young King Louis XV, after seven years of marriage, is tiring of his Polish wife.
-
-
Best book I've listened to in ages
- By Dr. A. on 01-09-16
-
The Accidental Empress
- By: Allison Pataki
- Narrated by: Madeleine Maby
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year is 1853, and the Habsburgs are Europe's most powerful ruling family. With his empire stretching from Austria to Russia, from Germany to Italy, Emperor Franz Joseph is young, rich, and ready to marry.
-
-
learn your pronounciation
- By SK on 03-18-15
-
The King's Mistress
- A Novel
- By: Emma Campion
- Narrated by: Donada Peters
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the wake of this tragedy, Alice learns that her husband kept many secrets - secrets that result in a price on her own head and that of her beloved daughter. Her only chance to survive lies in the protection of King Edward and Queen Philippa, but she therefore must live at court as a virtual prisoner. When she is singled out by the king for more than just royal patronage, the stakes are raised. Disobeying Edward is not an option, not when her family is at risk, but the court is full of ambitious men and women, many of whom will stop at nothing to see her fall from grace.
-
-
Good Story
- By Rebecca on 07-05-11
-
Mary Anne
- By: Daphne du Maurier
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She set men's hearts on fire and scandalized a country. An ambitious, stunning, and seductive young woman, Mary Anne finds the single most rewarding way to rise above her station: She will become the mistress to a royal duke. In doing so, she provokes a scandal that rocks Regency England.
-
-
Beautifully done
- By Penny C Roberts on 06-03-16
-
The Sisters of Versailles
- Mistresses of Versailles Series # 1
- By: Sally Christie
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set against the lavish backdrop of the French Court in the early years of the 18th century, The Sisters of Versailles is the extraordinary tale of the five Nesle sisters - Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne - four of whom became mistresses to King Louis XV. Their scandalous story is stranger than fiction but true in every shocking, amusing, and heartbreaking detail.Court intriguers are beginning to sense that young King Louis XV, after seven years of marriage, is tiring of his Polish wife.
-
-
Best book I've listened to in ages
- By Dr. A. on 01-09-16
-
The Accidental Empress
- By: Allison Pataki
- Narrated by: Madeleine Maby
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year is 1853, and the Habsburgs are Europe's most powerful ruling family. With his empire stretching from Austria to Russia, from Germany to Italy, Emperor Franz Joseph is young, rich, and ready to marry.
-
-
learn your pronounciation
- By SK on 03-18-15