Iron Blood: 300 Years of the Dmitri Kantemir Dynasty

By: Princess Eleonora Borisovna Kantemir

Narrated by: Jo-Ann E. Hess

Prince Dmitri Kantemir (1673-1723), also the Prince of Moldavia, Prince of the Russian Empire, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and Imperial Chancellor to Peter the Great of Russia, lived in forced exile in Istanbul for 22 years. He became a great writer, statesman, scientist, and composer of Ottoman music. His children were prominent in Russian history: Antioch Kantemir became Russia's first satirist and Maria Kantemir was the last love of Peter the Great. Centuries later, American Ella Kantemir, hoping to learn about her ancestry, makes a startling discovery: Her father was hunted by the KGB! Portions of the Kantemir estate, namely, a palace in St. Petersburg and Istanbul were confiscated! Heirloom art was stolen, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Aside from missing castles, jewels, and land, Ella learned that she had a living sister with her same name - and that her own true identity is that of a Princess: She is Her Serene Highness Eleonora Borisovna Kantemir!

What other secrets did the Kantemir dynasty harbor? Why do mysterious and clandestine events still follow the Kantemir descendants into the 21st century? Iron Blood chronicles 300 years of the Kantemir family's intriguing history, taking us to the mystical intrigues of the Ottoman Empire, the charms of Moldavia, the raw romances of Czarist Russia, and the exotic country of Azerbaijan and more.

©2015 Princess Ella Kantemir (P)2015 Bettie Youngs / Bettie Youngs Book Publishers

Compelling story well read

Where does Iron Blood: 300 Years of the Dmitri Kantemir Dynasty rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Not usually a history or biography fan, but the story is very compelling with a human side, not just a recitation of atrocities.

Have you listened to any of Jo-Ann E. Hess’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Performance of the reader is outstanding. She goes a long way to personalize the story and makes one think the author is reading their own work.

loved the narration! Good was ok.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The book was ok.

Have you listened to any of Jo-Ann E. Hess’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Many narrators sound awful when voicing someone of the opposite sex, but this narrator can handle it all - accents, emotions, personalities, genders, ages - and make them all sound entirely authentic and easily differentiated from the other characters during the same conversation. I'm going to seek out more of Ms. Hess's performances. She totally elevated this book for me.