In the Name of the Family
A Novel
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In the Name of the Family
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Narrated by:
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Nicholas Boulton
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By:
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Sarah Dunant
About this listen
The author of Blood and Beauty returns with another captivating novel about Renaissance Italy and one of history's most notorious families. Before the Corleones, before the Lannisters, there were the Borgias.
Best-selling novelist Sarah Dunant has long been drawn to the high drama of Renaissance Italy: power, passion, beauty, brutality, and the ties of blood. With In the Name of the Family, she offers a thrilling exploration of the House of Borgia's final years, in the company of a young diplomat named Niccolò Machiavelli.
It is 1502, and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, age 22 - already three times married and a pawn in her father's plans - is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, brilliant, ruthless, and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with Machiavelli that gives the Florentine diplomat a master class in the dark arts of power and politics. What Machiavelli learns will go on to inform his great work of modern politics, The Prince. But while the pope rails against old age and his son's increasingly erratic behavior, it is Lucrezia who must navigate the treacherous court of Urbino, her new home, and another challenging marriage to create her own place in history.
Sarah Dunant again employs her remarkable gifts as a storyteller to bring to life the passionate men and women of the Borgia family as well as the ever-compelling figure of Machiavelli, through whom the listener will experience one of the most fascinating - and doomed - dynasties of all time.
©2017 Sarah Dunant (P)2017 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Story4 out of 5 stars 155
12-year-old Isabella, a French princess marries the King of England - only to discover he has a terrible secret. Ten long years later she is in utter despair - does she submit to a lifetime of solitude and a spiritual death - or seize her destiny and take the throne of England for herself? Isabella is just twelve years old when she marries Edward II of England. For the young princess it is love at first sight - but Edward has a terrible secret that threatens to tear their marriage - and England apart.
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1 out of 5 stars
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A Bizarre "Reader's Digest" Version of History...
- By Sara on 01-06-15
By: Colin Falconer
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The Queen's Bastard
- A Novel of Elizabeth I and Arthur Dudley
- By: Robin Maxwell
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4 out of 5 stars 52
Historians have long whispered that Elizabeth "the Virgin Queen's" passionate, lifelong affair with Robin Dudley, Earl of Leicester, may have led to the birth of a son, Arthur Dudley. In this exquisite sequel to The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn, Robin Maxwell fashions a stunning fictional account of the child switched at birth by a lady-in-waiting who foresaw the deleterious political consequences of a royal bastard.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Story? what Story?
- By A User on 06-08-13
By: Robin Maxwell
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Mademoiselle Boleyn
- By: Robin Maxwell
- Narrated by: Suzan Crowley
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Story4 out of 5 stars 79
When her father is assigned the task of spying on the French Court, the charming and sweetly innocent Anne Boleyn is delighted by the thought of a new adventure. And she is not to be disappointed, for her beautiful sister, Mary, has been handed a mission: to let herself be seduced by the King of France in order to uncover his secrets. Mesmerized by the thrilling passion, intrigue, and betrayal that unfolds, Anne discovers the power of being a woman who catches the eye of a powerful king.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Intriguing
- By Anonymous User on 11-10-18
By: Robin Maxwell
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The Speckled Monster
- A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox
- By: Jennifer Lee Carrell
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
The Speckled Monster is both a hair-raising tale of courage in the face of the deadliest disease that has ever struck mankind, and a gripping account of the birth of modern immunology. Jennifer Lee Carrell's dramatic story follows two parents who, after barely surviving the agony of smallpox themselves, flouted 18th century European medical tradition by borrowing folk knowledge from African slaves and Eastern women in frantic bids to protect their children. Their heroic struggles gave rise to immunology.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wish it was another 19 hours long!
- By Book reader on 06-10-14
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The Agincourt Bride
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Catherine Harvey
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 350
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 304
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 303
When her own first child is tragically still-born, the young Mette is pressed into service as a wet-nurse at the court of the mad king, Charles VI of France. Her young charge is the princess, Catherine de Valois, caught up in the turbulence and chaos of life at court. Mette and the child forge a bond, one that transcends Mette’s lowly position. But as Catherine approaches womanhood, her unique position seals her fate as a pawn between two powerful dynasties.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing
- By Michelle on 02-16-13
By: Joanna Hickson
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Equal of the Sun
- A Novel
- By: Anita Amirrezvani
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 737
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 662
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Story4 out of 5 stars 665
Iran in 1576 is a place of peace, wealth, and dazzling beauty. But when the Shah dies without having named an heir, the court is thrown into tumult. Princess Pari, the Shah's daughter and closest adviser, knows more about the inner workings of the state than almost anyone, but the princess's maneuvers to instill order after her father's sudden death incite resentment and dissent. Pari and her trusted servant, a eunuch able to navigate the harem as well as the world beyond the palace walls, are in possession of an incredible tapestry....
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Woman in a Man's World
- By JGrace on 06-26-13
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The Serpent Garden
- By: Judith Merkle Riley
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 49
Susanna Dallet is the daughter of a Flemish painter and wife to a philandering husband, living in the court of Henry VIII. When her husband is murdered, Susanna is suddenly left with a household to provide for and nothing to her name. Her days of anonymity are over when Susanna finds that guild rules preventing women from working do not apply at the king’s court, and she manages to secure a position as a miniature-portrait painter. Before long, she has not only made a name for herself, she is close to those who surround Princess Mary. But even in this lofty company, Susanna is not safe....
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3 out of 5 stars
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DON'T FALL FOR THE PRINT VERSION AMAZON REVIEWS
- By The Louligan on 03-06-14
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The Boleyn King
- Boleyn Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Laura Andersen
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 333
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 295
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Story4 out of 5 stars 294
Just seventeen years old, Henry IX, known as William, is a king bound by the restraints of the regency yet anxious to prove himself. With the French threatening battle and the Catholics sowing the seeds of rebellion at home, William trusts only three people: his older sister Elizabeth; his best friend and loyal counselor, Dominic; and Minuette, a young orphan raised as a royal ward by William’s mother, Anne Boleyn.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Great idea, bad story
- By S. D. Ristick on 09-22-14
By: Laura Andersen
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The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
- A Novel
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,154
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,000
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 998
In this brilliantly imagined novel, acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power. From the fairy-tale chateaux of the Loire Valley to the battlefields of the wars of religion to the mob-filled streets of Paris, this is the extraordinary untold journey of one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Pretty good but historical details are terrible
- By Kindle Customer on 07-10-11
By: C. W. Gortner
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A Triple Knot
- By: Emma Campion
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4 out of 5 stars 76
Joan of Kent, renowned beauty and cousin to King Edward III, is destined for a politically strategic marriage. As the king begins a long dynastic struggle to claim the crown of France, plunging England into the Hundred Years' War, he negotiates her betrothal to a potential ally and heir of a powerful lordship. But Joan, haunted by nightmares of her father's execution at the hands of her treacherous royal kin, fears the king's selection and is not resigned to her fate. She secretly pledges herself to one of the king's own knights, one who has become a trusted friend...
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4 out of 5 stars
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GOOD HISTORICAL FICTION - FOR A CHANGE
- By The Louligan on 10-05-14
By: Emma Campion
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The Queen’s Vow
- A Novel of Isabella of Castile
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 562
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 489
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 487
“No one believed I was destined for greatness.” So begins Isabella’s story, in this evocative, vividly imagined novel about one of history’s most famous and controversial queens - the warrior who united a fractured country, the champion of the faith whose reign gave rise to the Inquisition, and the visionary who sent Columbus to discover a new world. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner envisages the turbulent early years of a woman whose mythic rise to power would go on to transform a monarchy, a nation, and the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent historical fiction!
- By nursebettyknitting on 07-30-12
By: C. W. Gortner
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The Family
- By: Mario Puzo, completed by Carol Gino
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 200
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
Mario Puzo first answered the question 'What is a family?' with the creation of the Corleones in his landmark best seller The Godfather. Now, 30 years later, Puzo enriches us all with his ultimate vision of the subject: the story of the greatest crime family in Italian history, the Borgias.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding look at the Papacy
- By Gary on 11-12-08
By: Mario Puzo, and others
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Push Not the River
- By: James Conroyd Martin
- Narrated by: Dawn Harvey
- Length: 19 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 200
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 171
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Story4 out of 5 stars 174
Push Not the River is the rich story of Poland in the late 1700's - a time of heartache and turmoil as the country's once peaceful people are torn apart by neighboring countries and divided loyalties. It is then, at the young and vulnerable age of seventeen, that Lady Anna Maria Berezowska loses both of her parents and must leave the only home she has ever known.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Save your time; buy something else.
- By AMS on 10-22-15
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Hand of Isis
- By: Jo Graham
- Narrated by: Gigi Shane
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Charmian is handmaiden to Cleopatra. She is also an oracle, gifted with ancient memories that may hold the key to preserving Egypt. Through blood and fire, war and peace, love and death, she will face a desperate struggle that will remake the future of the world.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Reader does not know how to pronounce words
- By Gail N. on 07-31-19
By: Jo Graham
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Antoinette's Sister
- By: Diana Giovinazzo
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 292
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 259
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 259
As Marie Antoinette took her last breath as queen of France in Paris, another formidable monarch - Antoinette’s dearly beloved sister, Charlotte - was hundreds of miles away, in Naples, fighting desperately to secure her release from the revolutionaries who would take her life. Little did Charlotte know, however, that her sister’s execution would change the course of history - and bring about the end of her own empire.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Started off good, but I lost interest as time went
- By Tess of the D'urbervilles on 02-02-22
By: Diana Giovinazzo
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Royal Mistress
- By: Anne Easter Smith
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 265
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 236
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 233
Jane Lambert, the quick-witted and alluring daughter of a silk merchant, is twenty-two and still unmarried. When Jane’s father finally finds her a match, she’s married off to the dull, older silk merchant William Shore. Marriage doesn’t stop Jane from flirtation, however, and when the king’s chamberlain, Will Hastings, comes to her husband’s shop, Will knows King Edward will find her irresistible.
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2 out of 5 stars
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All history, no romance!
- By Erin on 07-05-13