John Aubrey
My Own Life
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
John Aubrey
Buy for $24.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Mark Elstob
-
By:
-
Ruth Scurr
About this listen
Shortlisted for the 2015 Costa Biography Award.
This is the autobiography that John Aubrey never wrote.
You may not know his name. Aubrey was a modest man, a gentleman-scholar who cared far more for the preservation of history than for his own legacy. But he was a passionate collector, an early archaeologist and the inventor of modern biography. With all the wit, charm and originality that characterises her subject, Ruth Scurr has seamlessly stitched together John Aubrey's own words to tell his life story and a captivating history of 17th-century England unlike any other.
©2015 Ruth Scurr (P)2022 W F HowesListeners also enjoyed...
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 36 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 7,542
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,971
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,929
Between his work on the 2014 Audible Audiobook of the Year, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, and his performance of Classic Love Poems, narrator Richard Armitage ( The Hobbit, Hannibal) has quickly become a listener favorite. Now, in this defining performance of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield, Armitage lends his unique voice and interpretation, truly inhabiting each character and bringing real energy to the life of one of Dickens' most famous characters.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A PERFECT narration of an English classic!
- By Wayne on 09-03-17
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Greater Journey
- Americans in Paris
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,408
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,819
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,818
The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
McCullough takes it to the next level
- By gregory m loyd on 07-12-11
By: David McCullough
-
Shakespeare
- The World as Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,857
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,284
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,272
William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Too Little, Too Short
- By Charles L. Burkins on 11-30-07
By: Bill Bryson
-
The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor
- Elizabeth I, Thomas Seymour, and the Making of a Virgin Queen
- By: Elizabeth Norton
- Narrated by: Sarah Nichols
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 424
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 376
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 376
England, late 1547. King Henry VIII is dead. His 14-year-old daughter Elizabeth is living with the king's widow, Catherine Parr, and her new husband, Thomas Seymour. Seymour is the brother of Henry VIII's third wife, the late Jane Seymour, who was the mother to the now-ailing boy king. Ambitious and dangerous, Seymour begins an overt flirtation with Elizabeth that ends with Catherine sending her away. When Catherine dies a year later and Seymour is arrested for treason soon after, a scandal explodes.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Thomas Seymour Biography
- By Janice B. on 10-17-20
By: Elizabeth Norton
-
Jane Austen at Home
- A Biography
- By: Lucy Worsley
- Narrated by: Ruth Redman
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 592
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 521
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 518
Take a trip back to Jane Austen's world and the many places she lived as historian Lucy Worsley visits Austen's childhood home, her schools, her holiday accommodations, the houses - both grand and small - of the relations upon whom she was dependent, and the home she shared with her mother and sister towards the end of her life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
As a Devoted Janeite - I loved this book!
- By Dorothy on 07-17-17
By: Lucy Worsley
-
Tipperary
- A Novel of Ireland
- By: Frank Delaney
- Narrated by: Frank Delaney
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 399
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 309
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 312
Born into a respected Irish-Anglo family in 1860, Charles loves his native land and its long-suffering but irrepressible people. As a healer, he travels the countryside dispensing traditional cures while soaking up stories and legends of bygone times - and witnessing the painful, often violent birth of land-reform measures destined to lead to Irish independence. At the age of 40, summoned to Paris to treat his dying countryman - the infamous Oscar Wilde - Charles experiences the fateful moment of his life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Delightful
- By Kathy on 12-08-07
By: Frank Delaney
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 36 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 7,542
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,971
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,929
Between his work on the 2014 Audible Audiobook of the Year, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, and his performance of Classic Love Poems, narrator Richard Armitage ( The Hobbit, Hannibal) has quickly become a listener favorite. Now, in this defining performance of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield, Armitage lends his unique voice and interpretation, truly inhabiting each character and bringing real energy to the life of one of Dickens' most famous characters.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A PERFECT narration of an English classic!
- By Wayne on 09-03-17
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Greater Journey
- Americans in Paris
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,408
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,819
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,818
The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
McCullough takes it to the next level
- By gregory m loyd on 07-12-11
By: David McCullough
-
Shakespeare
- The World as Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,857
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,284
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,272
William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Too Little, Too Short
- By Charles L. Burkins on 11-30-07
By: Bill Bryson
-
The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor
- Elizabeth I, Thomas Seymour, and the Making of a Virgin Queen
- By: Elizabeth Norton
- Narrated by: Sarah Nichols
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 424
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 376
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 376
England, late 1547. King Henry VIII is dead. His 14-year-old daughter Elizabeth is living with the king's widow, Catherine Parr, and her new husband, Thomas Seymour. Seymour is the brother of Henry VIII's third wife, the late Jane Seymour, who was the mother to the now-ailing boy king. Ambitious and dangerous, Seymour begins an overt flirtation with Elizabeth that ends with Catherine sending her away. When Catherine dies a year later and Seymour is arrested for treason soon after, a scandal explodes.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Thomas Seymour Biography
- By Janice B. on 10-17-20
By: Elizabeth Norton
-
Jane Austen at Home
- A Biography
- By: Lucy Worsley
- Narrated by: Ruth Redman
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 592
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 521
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 518
Take a trip back to Jane Austen's world and the many places she lived as historian Lucy Worsley visits Austen's childhood home, her schools, her holiday accommodations, the houses - both grand and small - of the relations upon whom she was dependent, and the home she shared with her mother and sister towards the end of her life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
As a Devoted Janeite - I loved this book!
- By Dorothy on 07-17-17
By: Lucy Worsley
-
Tipperary
- A Novel of Ireland
- By: Frank Delaney
- Narrated by: Frank Delaney
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 399
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 309
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 312
Born into a respected Irish-Anglo family in 1860, Charles loves his native land and its long-suffering but irrepressible people. As a healer, he travels the countryside dispensing traditional cures while soaking up stories and legends of bygone times - and witnessing the painful, often violent birth of land-reform measures destined to lead to Irish independence. At the age of 40, summoned to Paris to treat his dying countryman - the infamous Oscar Wilde - Charles experiences the fateful moment of his life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Delightful
- By Kathy on 12-08-07
By: Frank Delaney
-
Letters
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 171
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 170
This volume of short essays and other pieces by C. S. Lewis is part of a larger collection, C. S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces. In addition to his many books, letters, and poems, C. S. Lewis wrote a great number of essays and shorter pieces on various subjects. He wrote extensively on Christian theology and the defense of faith but also on ethical issues and the nature of literature and storytelling. Within this audiobook is a treasure trove of Lewis' reflections on diverse topics.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Just Lewis
- By William on 02-07-21
By: C. S. Lewis
-
The Prince and the Pauper
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Steve West
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 159
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 133
They look alike, but they live in very different worlds. Tom Canty, impoverished and abused by his father, is fascinated with royalty. Edward Tudor, heir to the throne of England, is kind and generous but wants to run free and play in the river - just once. How insubstantial their differences truly are becomes clear when a chance encounter leads to an exchange of clothing - and roles. The pauper finds himself caught up in the pomp and folly of the royal court, and the prince wanders horror-stricken through the lower strata of English society.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful author, terrific narrator, splendid book
- By Rahni on 10-01-17
By: Mark Twain
-
Turner
- The Extraordinary Life and Momentous Times of J. M. W. Turner
- By: Franny Moyle
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 17 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
J. M. W. Turner is one of the most important figures in Western art, and his visionary work paved the way for a revolution in landscape painting. Over the course of his lifetime, Turner strove to liberate painting from an antiquated system of patronage. Bringing a new level of expression and color to his canvases, he paved the way for the modern artist.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Balanced biography of a complex artist
- By Thomas S. on 05-05-17
By: Franny Moyle
-
Julian
- A Novel
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner, George Newbern, David de Vries, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 287
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 242
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 240
Julian the Apostate, nephew of Constantine the Great, was one of the brightest yet briefest lights in the history of the Roman Empire. A military genius on the level of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, a graceful and persuasive essayist, and a philosopher devoted to worshipping the gods of Hellenism, he became embroiled in a fierce intellectual war with Christianity that provoked his murder at the age of thirty-two, only four years into his brilliantly humane and compassionate reign.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant narration!
- By Abhishek Deepak on 10-23-19
By: Gore Vidal
-
Chapters from My Autobiography
- By: Mark Twain
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 240
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 166
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 163
This book is part memoir, part philosophical text, part study in human behavior, from one of America's greatest literary treasures. Narrated masterfully by Bronson Pinchot, this audiobook also includes Twain’s popular short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fabulous Performance AND Read
- By Douglas on 10-24-10
By: Mark Twain
-
Marmee and Louisa
- The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother
- By: Eve LaPlante
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
Biographers have consistently credited her father, Bronson Alcott, for Louisa May Alcott's professional success, assuming that this outspoken idealist was the source of her progressive thinking and remarkable independence. But in this riveting dual biography, Eve LaPlante explodes those myths, drawing on unknown and unexplored letters and journals to show that Louisa's "Marmee", Abigail May Alcott, was in fact the intellectual and emotional center of her daughter's world. It was Abigail who urged Louisa to write, who inspired many of her stories, and who gave her the support and courage she needed to pursue her path.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hardworking women and the man they supported
- By Chris on 04-26-13
By: Eve LaPlante
-
Queen Mary
- The Official Biography
- By: James Pope-Hennessy, Hugo Vickers
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 89
When Queen Mary died in 1953, James Pope-Hennessy was commissioned to write an official biography of her - unusual for a queen consort. Queen Mary's life, contrary to popular belief, was essentially dramatic, and she played a far more important and influential role in the affairs of the British monarchy than her public image might have otherwise suggested. Using material from the Royal Archives, private papers, and Queen Mary's personal diaries and letters, Pope-Hennessy's biography was a remarkable portrait of a remarkable woman and received rave reviews across the press.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent! UPDATED review after 2nd listen.
- By Geri A on 07-31-21
By: James Pope-Hennessy, and others
-
Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller, and Countrywoman
- By: Judy Taylor
- Narrated by: Patricia Routledge
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Starting with the publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, in 1902, Beatrix Potter went on to become one of the world’s most successful children’s authors. This biographical audiobook takes the reader through the whole of her life, from her Victorian childhood in London to her final years farming in the Lake District. Regarded as a standard work on Beatrix Potter’s life, this work has been updated regularly to include fresh material that has come to light as interest in Beatrix Potter continues to grow.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it!
- By Kimberly on 06-14-17
By: Judy Taylor
-
The Grandees
- America's Sephardic Elite
- By: Stephen Birmingham
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
In 1654, 23 Jewish families arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York) aboard a French privateer. They were the Sephardim, members of a proud orthodox sect that had served as royal advisors and honored professionals under Moorish rule in Spain and Portugal but were then exiled by intolerant monarchs. A small, closed, and intensely private community, the Sephardim soon established themselves as businessmen and financiers. They became powerful forces in society, with some, like banker Haym Salomon, even providing financial support to George Washington's army during the American Revolution.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing American History - Jews Made a Profound Impact
- By Jimmy Rosen on 12-27-21
-
Louisa May Alcott
- The Woman Behind Little Women
- By: Harriet Reisen
- Narrated by: Harriet Reisen
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
Louisa May Alcott portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcott's life: the effect of her father's self-indulgent utopian schemes; her family's chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; and the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
interesting life, strange reader
- By h and l on 01-10-10
By: Harriet Reisen
-
Gentleman Jack
- A Biography of Anne Lister, Regency Landowner, Seducer and Secret Diarist
- By: Angela Steidele
- Narrated by: Heather Peace
- Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 134
The extraordinary life of history's first modern lesbian who inspired the television series Gentleman Jack. Anne Lister's journals were so shocking that the first person to crack their secret code hid them behind a fake panel in his ancestral home. Anne Lister was a Regency landowner, an intrepid world traveller...and an unabashed lover of other women. In this bold new biography, prizewinning author Angela Steidele uses the diaries to create a portrait of Anne Lister as we've never seen her before: a woman in some ways very much of her time and in others far ahead of it.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well researched, thorough and entertaining
- By Rose Swartz on 05-29-22
By: Angela Steidele
-
Prince Albert
- The Man Who Saved the Monarchy
- By: A. N. Wilson
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Drawn from the Royal archives, including Prince Albert’s voluminous correspondence, this brilliant and ambitious book offers fascinating never-before-known details about the man and his time. A superb match of biographer and subject, Prince Albert, at last, gives this important historical figure the reverence and recognition that is long overdue.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Bio!
- By Nancy on 04-24-24
By: A. N. Wilson
Critic reviews
"An audacious and successful attempt to write a biography in the subject's own words. Scurr has ingeniously edited Aubrey's swift, vivid prose into a coherent account of the life lived by one of the most interesting (and interested—in everything) writers of our most exciting century, the 17th. Irresistible." (Guardian)
"To me this book is a delight and…it is the one that I would take with me to a desert island." (The Times)
"Writing a biography of a biographer that doubles as an experimental analysis of biography itself is a formidable and astonishing achievement. That it is also profoundly affecting is what makes John Aubrey: My Own Life a triumph." (Stuart Kelly, The Times Literary Supplement)
Related to this topic
-
Book of Ages
- The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin
- By: Jill Lepore
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 178
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 156
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 156
From one of our most accomplished and widely admired historians, a revelatory portrait of Benjamin Franklin' s youngest sister and a history of history itself. Like her brother, Jane Franklin was a passionate reader, a gifted writer, and an astonishingly shrewd political commentator.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Back story of Ben Franklin
- By Candi Collier on 05-30-14
By: Jill Lepore
-
Castles, Customs, and Kings
- True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors
- By: Debra Brown, M.M. Bennetts
- Narrated by: Ruth Golding
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 60
A compilation of essays from the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, this book provides a wealth of historical information from Roman Britain to early 20th-century England. Over 50 different authors share hundreds of real life stories and tantalizing tidbits discovered while doing research for their own historical novels.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Historical Tidbits
- By Troy on 08-03-15
By: Debra Brown, and others
-
Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World
- By: Leo Damrosch
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Jonathan Swift is best remembered today as the author of Gulliver’s Travels, the satiric fantasy that quickly became a classic and has remained in print for nearly three centuries. Yet Swift also wrote many other influential works, was a major political and religious figure in his time, and became a national hero, beloved for his fierce protest against English exploitation of his native Ireland. What is really known today about the enigmatic man behind these accomplishments? Can the facts of his life be separated from the fictions?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
JOHNATHAN SWIFT AND POWER OF THE PEN
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 09-30-14
By: Leo Damrosch
-
Beatrix Potter
- A Life in Nature
- By: Linda Lear
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Linda Lear offers the astonishing portrait of an extraordinary woman who gave us some of the most beloved children's books of all time. Beatrix Potter found freedom from her conventional Victorian upbringing in the countryside. Nature inspired her imagination as an artist and scientific illustrator, but "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" brought her fame, financial success, and the promise of happiness when she fell in love with her editor, Norman Warne. After his tragic and untimely death, Potter embraced a new life as the owner of Hill Top Farm in the English Lake District.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Narration is difficult!
- By Grateful Listener SME on 11-12-19
By: Linda Lear
-
Young Benjamin Franklin
- The Birth of Ingenuity
- By: Nick Bunker
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
From his early career as a printer and journalist to his scientific work and his role as a founder of a new republic, Benjamin Franklin has always seemed the inevitable embodiment of American ingenuity. But in his youth, he had to make his way through a harsh colonial world, where he fought many battles with his rivals, but also with his wayward emotions. Taking Franklin to the age of 41, when he made his first electrical discoveries, Bunker goes behind the legend to reveal the sources of his passion for knowledge.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good Book but LOTS of Names
- By Tim on 10-31-19
By: Nick Bunker
-
Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller, and Countrywoman
- By: Judy Taylor
- Narrated by: Patricia Routledge
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Starting with the publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, in 1902, Beatrix Potter went on to become one of the world’s most successful children’s authors. This biographical audiobook takes the reader through the whole of her life, from her Victorian childhood in London to her final years farming in the Lake District. Regarded as a standard work on Beatrix Potter’s life, this work has been updated regularly to include fresh material that has come to light as interest in Beatrix Potter continues to grow.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it!
- By Kimberly on 06-14-17
By: Judy Taylor
-
Book of Ages
- The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin
- By: Jill Lepore
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 178
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 156
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 156
From one of our most accomplished and widely admired historians, a revelatory portrait of Benjamin Franklin' s youngest sister and a history of history itself. Like her brother, Jane Franklin was a passionate reader, a gifted writer, and an astonishingly shrewd political commentator.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Back story of Ben Franklin
- By Candi Collier on 05-30-14
By: Jill Lepore
-
Castles, Customs, and Kings
- True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors
- By: Debra Brown, M.M. Bennetts
- Narrated by: Ruth Golding
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 60
A compilation of essays from the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, this book provides a wealth of historical information from Roman Britain to early 20th-century England. Over 50 different authors share hundreds of real life stories and tantalizing tidbits discovered while doing research for their own historical novels.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Historical Tidbits
- By Troy on 08-03-15
By: Debra Brown, and others
-
Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World
- By: Leo Damrosch
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Jonathan Swift is best remembered today as the author of Gulliver’s Travels, the satiric fantasy that quickly became a classic and has remained in print for nearly three centuries. Yet Swift also wrote many other influential works, was a major political and religious figure in his time, and became a national hero, beloved for his fierce protest against English exploitation of his native Ireland. What is really known today about the enigmatic man behind these accomplishments? Can the facts of his life be separated from the fictions?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
JOHNATHAN SWIFT AND POWER OF THE PEN
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 09-30-14
By: Leo Damrosch
-
Beatrix Potter
- A Life in Nature
- By: Linda Lear
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Linda Lear offers the astonishing portrait of an extraordinary woman who gave us some of the most beloved children's books of all time. Beatrix Potter found freedom from her conventional Victorian upbringing in the countryside. Nature inspired her imagination as an artist and scientific illustrator, but "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" brought her fame, financial success, and the promise of happiness when she fell in love with her editor, Norman Warne. After his tragic and untimely death, Potter embraced a new life as the owner of Hill Top Farm in the English Lake District.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Narration is difficult!
- By Grateful Listener SME on 11-12-19
By: Linda Lear
-
Young Benjamin Franklin
- The Birth of Ingenuity
- By: Nick Bunker
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
From his early career as a printer and journalist to his scientific work and his role as a founder of a new republic, Benjamin Franklin has always seemed the inevitable embodiment of American ingenuity. But in his youth, he had to make his way through a harsh colonial world, where he fought many battles with his rivals, but also with his wayward emotions. Taking Franklin to the age of 41, when he made his first electrical discoveries, Bunker goes behind the legend to reveal the sources of his passion for knowledge.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Good Book but LOTS of Names
- By Tim on 10-31-19
By: Nick Bunker
-
Beatrix Potter: Artist, Storyteller, and Countrywoman
- By: Judy Taylor
- Narrated by: Patricia Routledge
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
Starting with the publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, in 1902, Beatrix Potter went on to become one of the world’s most successful children’s authors. This biographical audiobook takes the reader through the whole of her life, from her Victorian childhood in London to her final years farming in the Lake District. Regarded as a standard work on Beatrix Potter’s life, this work has been updated regularly to include fresh material that has come to light as interest in Beatrix Potter continues to grow.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it!
- By Kimberly on 06-14-17
By: Judy Taylor
-
The Life and Times of Chaucer
- By: John Gardner
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 76
In this exquisite biography, John Gardner brings to life Geoffrey Chaucer, illuminating his writings and their inspiration like never before. Through exhaustive research and expert storytelling, Gardner takes readers through Chaucer’s varied career - from writing The Canterbury Tales to performing diplomatic work at the Parliament - and creates a fully realized portrait of an author whose work would remake the English language forever. Written with passion and insight, this a must-listen for those interested in Chaucer and the medieval time period.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good book, but quoted passages are in Old English
- By Kathi on 02-26-14
By: John Gardner
-
A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland
- By: Samuel Johnson, James Boswell
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull, Alexander Spencer
- Length: 4 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 56
In 1773, 63-year-old literary giant Samuel Johnson joined James Boswell, a 32-year-old Scottish lawyer, on an historic horseback expedition across the Scottish Highlands to the Western Islands. The unlikely duo's travelogue records their fascinating conversations and encounters with great wit and incredible detail. Johnson, one of the 18th century's most celebrated writers, provided an elegant and stately account of everything from Loch Ness's medicinal waters to Scotland's puzzling lack of trees.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Tasty, but abridged
- By Tad Davis on 08-22-13
By: Samuel Johnson, and others
-
The Shadow of Vesuvius
- A Life of Pliny
- By: Daisy Dunn
- Narrated by: Mike Grady
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
When Pliny the Elder perished at Stabiae during the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, he left behind an enormous compendium of knowledge, his 37-volume Natural History, and a teenaged nephew who revered him as a father. Grieving his loss, Pliny the Younger inherited the Elder's notebooks - filled with pearls of wisdom - and his legacy. At its heart, The Shadow of Vesuvius is a literary biography of the younger man, who would grow up to become a lawyer, senator, poet, collector of villas, and chronicler of the Roman Empire.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Enjoyable but lost track at times
- By Joshua Miller on 12-16-20
By: Daisy Dunn
-
The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Volume I: 1660 - 1663
- By: Samuel Pepys
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh, David Timson
- Length: 42 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 102
The Diary of Samuel Pepys is one of the most entertaining documents in English history. Written between 1660 and 1669, as Pepys was establishing himself as a key administrator in the naval office, it is an intimate portrait of life in 17th-century England covering his professional and personal activities, including, famously, his love of music, theatre, food, wine and his peccadilloes.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
"Mens cuiusque is est quisque“ or "Mind is the Man”
- By Darwin8u on 11-06-15
By: Samuel Pepys
-
Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 36 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
In this carefully crafted novel, Dickens reveals the complexity of London society in the enterprising 1840s as he takes the listener into the business firm and home of one of its most representative patriarchs, Paul Dombey.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfect pair
- By Philip on 03-25-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Club
- Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age
- By: Leo Damrosch
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 372
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 308
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 303
In 1763, the painter Joshua Reynolds proposed to his friend Samuel Johnson that they invite a few friends to join them every Friday at the Turk's Head Tavern in London to dine, drink, and talk until midnight. Eventually, the group came to include among its members Edmund Burke, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, and James Boswell. It was known simply as "the Club". In this captivating audiobook, Leo Damrosch brings alive a brilliant, competitive, and eccentric cast of characters.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful survey
- By Tad Davis on 05-10-19
By: Leo Damrosch
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,261
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,941
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,931
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed, Interesting and Entertaining
- By Marc-Andr? on 05-13-10
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Shakespeare by Another Name
- The Life of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, the Man who Was Shakespeare
- By: Mark Anderson
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 151
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 117
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 117
Actor William Shaksper of Stratford had little education, never left England, and apparently owned no books. How could he have written the great plays and poetry attributed to him? Journalist Mark Anderson's biography offers tantalizing proof that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, courtier, spendthrift, scholar, traveler, soldier, scoundrel, and writer, was the real "Shakespeare".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brings the period to life
- By Dan on 01-15-06
By: Mark Anderson
-
Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know
- By: Colm Toibin
- Narrated by: Colm Toibin
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 40
Elegant, profound, and riveting, Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know illuminates not only the complex relationships between three of the greatest writers in the English language and their fathers, but also illustrates the surprising ways these men surface in their work. Through these stories of fathers and sons, Tóibín recounts the resistance to English cultural domination, the birth of modern Irish cultural identity, and the extraordinary contributions of these complex and masterful authors.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Eminently re-readable
- By Ellen-A on 01-02-19
By: Colm Toibin
-
The Earl and the Pharaoh
- From the Real Downton Abbey to the Discovery of Tutankhamun
- By: The Countess of Carnarvon
- Narrated by: The Countess of Carnarvon
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Bestselling author the Countess of Carnarvon tells the thrilling behind-the-scenes story of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun on its centennial, and explores the unparalleled life of family ancestor George Herbert—the famed Egyptologist, world-traveler, and 5th Earl of Carnarvon behind it—whose country house, Highclere Castle, is the setting of the beloved series Downton Abbey.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Plodding Family History…Akin to Listening to Paint Dry
- By J. Willis-Opalenik on 10-31-23
-
Prince Albert
- The Man Who Saved the Monarchy
- By: A. N. Wilson
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Drawn from the Royal archives, including Prince Albert’s voluminous correspondence, this brilliant and ambitious book offers fascinating never-before-known details about the man and his time. A superb match of biographer and subject, Prince Albert, at last, gives this important historical figure the reverence and recognition that is long overdue.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Bio!
- By Nancy on 04-24-24
By: A. N. Wilson
-
The Greater Journey
- Americans in Paris
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,408
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,819
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,818
The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
McCullough takes it to the next level
- By gregory m loyd on 07-12-11
By: David McCullough