For King or Commonwealth
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For King or Commonwealth
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Narrated by:
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Andrew Wincott
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By:
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Richard Woodman
About this listen
1649: England has been torn asunder by a civil war that has pitted Parliamentarians against Royalists. Captain Kit Faulkner, bound to the Royalist cause, has been living in exile for the past four years. Faulkner must now support himself with the tiny rump of the Royal Navy that remains loyal. But his loyalties are torn, partly by the desire of his old patron, Sir Henry Mainwaring, who wishes to return home, and partly by the predatory nature of Prince Charles, who has his eyes on the beautiful Katherine Villiers.…
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 458
At the time of the French Revolution, one of Britain's most skillful naval officers, Charles Saunders Hayden, is a young lieutenant, the son of an English father and a French mother. His abilities and his loyalty to the king of England are beyond dispute, yet his career seems doomed by his "mixed" heritage and lack of political connections. Consequently, Hayden is assigned to an aging frigate, the Themis, under the command of Captain Josiah Hart, a man known as "Faint Hart" throughout the service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect for first timer
- By Blackmac on 08-07-08
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The King's Coat
- By: Dewey Lambdin
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 732
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 627
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 620
It is 1780, and 17-year-old Alan Lewrie is a brash, rebellious young libertine. So much so that his callous father believes a bit of naval discipline will turn the boy around. Fresh aboard the tall-masted Ariadne, Midshipman Lewrie heads for the war-torn Americas, finding - rather unexpectedly - that he is a born sailor, equally at home with the randy pleasures of the port and the raging battles on the high seas. But in a hail of cannonballs comes a bawdy surprise.
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5 out of 5 stars
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"Sex, Swords, Sailing Ships"
- By Andrew on 05-16-10
By: Dewey Lambdin
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Mr Midshipman Hornblower
- By: C. S. Forester
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,911
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,712
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,696
Shaking off this label, a shy and lonely 17-year-old, Horatio Hornblower, embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy on HMS Justinian. In action, adventure, and battle he is forged into one of the most formidable junior officers in the service.
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5 out of 5 stars
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First rate historical fiction
- By Jason on 04-30-17
By: C. S. Forester
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Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 555
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 499
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 499
Herman Melville’s tale of corporate discontent, Bartleby, the Scrivener, tells the story of a quiet, hardworking legal copyist who works in an office in the Wall Street area of New York City. The business where he works handles the official financial paperwork of wealthy men. One day, Bartleby’s employer requests he proofread one of the documents he has copied. Bartleby declines the assignment with the inscrutable “I would prefer not,” the first of what will become many refusals.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very strange, very haunting
- By Tad Davis on 11-24-11
By: Herman Melville
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Benito Cereno
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 275
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 240
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Story4 out of 5 stars 238
This is the epic sea adventure, a harrowing tale of slavery and revolt aboard a Spanish ship, is often regarded as Melville's finest short story. The balance of forces is complete, the atmosphere one of epic significance, the light cast upon the hero intense to the highest degree, the realization of the human soul profound, and the telling of the story orchestrated like a great symphony.
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3 out of 5 stars
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The literary equivalent of a caste painting from the same time
- By Auggie on 09-10-20
By: Herman Melville
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The Catalpa Rescue
- The Gripping Story of the Most Dramatic and Successful Prison Break in Australian History
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 112
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 98
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
The incredible true story of one of the most extraordinary and inspirational prison breaks in history. Boston, 1869. Members of the Clan na Gael - agitators for an Irish republic - hatch a daring plan to free six Irish political prisoners from the most remote gaol on earth, Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. Under the guise of a whale hunt, Captain Anthony sets sail on the Catalpa, risking his life to rescue the men from the prison, known among the inmates as 'a living tomb'.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Terrific yarn
- By Garrett on 05-13-19
By: Peter FitzSimons
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Quillifer
- Quillifer, Book 1
- By: Walter Jon Williams
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 161
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 149
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
Quillifer is young, serially in love, studying law, and living each day keenly aware that his beloved homeport of Ethlebight risks closure due to silting of the harbor. His concerns for the future become much more immediate when he returns from a summery assignation to find his city attacked by Aekoi pirates, leading to brigands in the streets and his family and friends in chains.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The opposite of George R R Martin (in a good way)
- By A reader on 10-30-17
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Stars & Stripes Forever
- A Novel of Alternate History
- By: Harry Harrison
- Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 128
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
In a war room in Washington, William Tecumseh Sherman and General Robert E. Lee huddle together and plan their next, joint military operation. In the jungles of Mexico, Ulysses S. Grant is locked in brutal combat with the best of the British Army. And in the heart of the new American South a fragile peace is threatened...
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5 out of 5 stars
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Terrific alternate history
- By Michael Jacobi on 10-02-15
By: Harry Harrison
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John Paul Jones
- Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy
- By: Evan Thomas
- Narrated by: Dan Cashman
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 199
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 126
John Paul Jones is more than a great sea story. Jones is a character for the ages. John Adams called him the "most ambitious and intriguing officer in the American Navy." The renewed interest in the Founding Fathers reminds us of the great men who made this country, but John Paul Jones teaches us that it took fighters as well as thinkers, men driven by dreams of personal glory as well as high-minded principle to break free of the past and start a new world. Jones' spirit was classically American.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Swashbuckler or Saviour
- By Bruce on 03-16-04
By: Evan Thomas
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James Cook
- The Story Behind the Man Who Mapped the World
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 21 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 272
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 230
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Story5 out of 5 stars 231
The name Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in Australian history - an almost mythic figure who is often discussed, celebrated, reviled and debated. But who was the real James Cook? This Yorkshire farm boy would go on to become the foremost mariner, scientist, navigator and cartographer of his era, and to personally map a third of the globe. His great voyages of discovery were incredible feats of seamanship and navigation.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great. But...
- By Virgil Tracy on 05-01-21
By: Peter FitzSimons
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The Lion at Sea
- Captain Kelly Maguire Trilogy Series, Book 1
- By: Max Hennessy
- Narrated by: Christopher Weeks
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Kelly Maguire knew from a young age that he could accomplish great things. As World War I begins, Kelly enlists in the Royal Navy, hoping to win both the war and glory. But from the barbarous battles of Gallipoli to the nightmarish action of Antwerp, Kelly learns the trials a soldier must face: trials that will forge him into a man. As the epic battle of Jutland approaches, everything is at stake.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Navy Tale
- By David on 10-21-20
By: Max Hennessy
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The Devil and the Dark Water
- By: Stuart Turton
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 17 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 807
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 717
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 717
It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered. And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel. Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?
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3 out of 5 stars
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A decent yarn
- By Molly on 10-16-20
By: Stuart Turton
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Seize the Fire
- Heroism, Duty, and the Battle of Trafalgar
- By: Adam Nicolson
- Narrated by: Adam Nicolson
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 91
Adam Nicolson takes the great naval battle of Trafalgar, fought between the British and Franco-Spanish fleets in October 1805, and uses it to examine our idea of heroism and the heroic. A story rich with modern resonance, Seize the Fire reveals the economic impact of the battle as a victorious Great Britain emerged as a global commercial empire. Nicolson not only vividly describes the brutal realities of battle but enters the hearts and minds of the men who were there.
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5 out of 5 stars
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great narration
- By Tito on 12-06-17
By: Adam Nicolson
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Commander
- The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain
- By: Stephen Taylor
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 124
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
Edward Pellew, captain of the legendary Indefatigable, was quite simply the greatest British frigate captain in the age of sail. Left fatherless at age eight, with a penniless mother and five siblings, Pellew fought his way from the very bottom of the navy to fleet command. Victories and eye-catching feats won him a public following. Yet he had a gift for antagonizing his better-born peers, and he made powerful enemies. Redemption came with his last command, when he set off to do battle with the Barbary States and free thousands of European slaves.
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3 out of 5 stars
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OK
- By peter on 02-02-21
By: Stephen Taylor
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The Sea Wolf
- By: Jack London
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 802
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 686
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 692
Wealthy ne'er-do-well Humphrey Van Weyden is a castaway who is put to work on the schooner Ghost, run by brutal Wolf Larsen. Toughened by life at sea, Humphrey develops the strength to protect another castaway, Maud Brewster, and stand up to the increasingly deranged Larsen. Experience the crashing, relentless power of the sea through this compelling story, made hauntingly immediate by author London's vivid prose.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great entertainment
- By Ross on 05-31-03
By: Jack London