Roman Games
A Plinius Secundus Mystery
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Roman Games
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Narrated by:
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Bronson Pinchot
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By:
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Bruce Macbain
About this listen
Rome, September A.D. 96.
When the body of Sextus Verpa, a notorious senatorial informer and libertine, is found stabbed to death in his bedroom, his slaves are suspected. Pliny, a very respectable young senator and lawyer, is ordered by the emperor Domitian to investigate. However, the Ludi Romani, “the Roman Games”, have just begun, and for the next 15 days the law courts are in recess. If Pliny can’t identify the murderer in that time, Verpa’s entire slave household will be burned alive in the arena.
Pliny teams up with Martial, a starving author of bawdy verses and denizen of the Roman demimonde. Pooling their respective talents, they unravel a plot that involves Jewish and Christian “atheists”, exotic Egyptian cultists, and a missing horoscope that forecasts the emperor’s death. Their investigation leads them into the heart of the palace, where no one is safe from the paranoid Domitian. As the deadline approaches, Pliny struggles with the painful dilemma of a good man who is forced to serve a brutal regime - a situation familiar in our own age as well.
The novel provides an intimate glimpse into the palaces and tenements, bedrooms and brothels of imperial Rome’s most opulent and decadent age.
Bruce Macbain holds a B.A. in classics from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in ancient history from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught Greek and Roman history at Vanderbilt University and Boston University. His special interest is religion in the Roman Empire.
©2010 Bruce Macbain (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
Walter of Gurnie, bastard son of an English peer, is forced to flee from Oxford for his part in the university riots of 1273. Inspired by Friar Bacon, he determines to travel to China. With his friend Tristam, he fights his way to the heart of the fabulous Mongol Empire and returns famous, to find that he must choose between the first love he thought lost and the exotic flower that he found in the East.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Book
- By Jean on 03-09-13
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The Secret History
- A Novel of Empress Theodora
- By: Stephanie Marie Thornton
- Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
In sixth-century Constantinople, one woman, Theodora, defied every convention and all the odds and rose from common theater tart to empress of a great kingdom - the most powerful woman the Roman Empire would ever know. The woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told....
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3 out of 5 stars
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How very hard to sympathize with a narcissist
- By DrBon on 03-15-22
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Dreamers
- Legacies of the Ancient River, Book 1
- By: Angela Hunt
- Narrated by: Stina Nielsen
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 81
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Story5 out of 5 stars 81
In the land of Pharaoh, Tuya has always been a slave. As a little girl, she was sold as a playmate to a wealthy child who became her best friend. But as she approaches womanhood, beautiful Tuya is betrayed and cast out. Now she belongs to Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Yet her heart is owned by handsome Joseph, sold into slavery by his own brothers. Proud, arrogant Joseph dreams of freedom, of his own household, of Tuya as his queen.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I was so immersed in the story I couldn’t sleep until done.
- By Micah70 on 05-17-23
By: Angela Hunt
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The Lotus Palace
- By: Jeannie Lin
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Story4 out of 5 stars 40
It is a time of celebration in the Pingkang li, where imperial scholars and bureaucrats mingle with beautiful courtesans. At the center is the Lotus Palace, home of the most exquisite courtesans in China. aidservant Yue-ying is not one of those beauties. Street-smart and practical, she's content to live in the shadow of her infamous mistress - until she meets the aristocratic playboy Bai Huang.
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5 out of 5 stars
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always an excellent story.
- By Rdow on 11-14-22
By: Jeannie Lin
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The Throne of Caesar
- By: Steven Saylor
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 95
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
It's Rome, 44 BC, and the Ides of March are approaching. Julius Caesar has been appointed dictator for life by the Roman Senate. Having pardoned his remaining enemies and rewarded his friends, Caesar is now preparing to leave Rome with his army to fight the Parthian Empire. Gordianus the Finder, after decades of investigating crimes and murders involving the powerful, has set aside enough that he's been raised to the Equestrian rank and has firmly and finally retired. On the morning of March 10th, though, he's first summoned to meet with Cicero and then with Caesar himself.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Oh, How Disappointing!
- By Gillian on 03-01-18
By: Steven Saylor
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The Seven Wonders
- A Novel of the Ancient World
- By: Steven Saylor
- Narrated by: Stephen Plunkett
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 201
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 175
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Story4 out of 5 stars 174
USA Today hails Steven Saylor as a “modern master of historical fiction.” Rich in intrigue and period detail, his novels set in ancient Rome have garnered acclaim the world over. A prequel to his epic Roma Sub Rosa series, The Seven Wonders follows series star Gordianus the Finder as an 18-year-old traveling the Mediterranean to witness the wonders of that fabled age. At each stop, the young investigator finds a beguiling mystery that pushes his powers of deduction to the limit.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Interesting History, Not much of a story
- By Mark on 08-10-12
By: Steven Saylor
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The Darwin Affair
- A Novel
- By: Tim Mason
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 423
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 376
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Story4 out of 5 stars 375
London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later - and only a block away - Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that these crimes are connected to an even more sinister plot. Was Victoria really the assassin's target? Are those closest to the Crown hiding something? Soon, Field's investigation exposes a shocking conspiracy in which the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species sets off a string of murders, arson, kidnapping, and the pursuit of a diabolical madman.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Dickensian “Jack the Ripper”
- By Kate on 07-14-19
By: Tim Mason
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The King’s Gambit
- By: John Maddox Roberts
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 462
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 412
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 411
In this Edgar Award-nominated mystery, John Maddox Roberts takes listeners back to a Rome filled with violence and evil. Vicious gangs ruled the streets of Crassus and Pompey, routinely preying on plebeian and patrician alike. So the garroting of a lowly ex-slave and the disembowelment of a foreign merchant in the dangerous Subura district seemed of little consequence to the Roman hierarchy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great start to a series
- By P. Johnson on 09-21-17
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Daughter of the Gods
- A Novel of Ancient Egypt
- By: Stephanie Marie Thornton
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 68
Egypt, 1400s BC. The pharaoh's pampered second daughter, lively, intelligent Hatshepsut, delights in racing her chariot through the marketplace and testing her archery skills in the Nile's marshlands. But the death of her elder sister, Neferubity, in a gruesome accident arising from Hatshepsut's games forces her to confront her guilt...and sets her on a profoundly changed course.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great story
- By Anonymous User on 01-30-21
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Mage's Blood
- The Moontide Quartet, Book 1
- By: David Hair
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,040
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,791
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Story4 out of 5 stars 2,788
Most of the time the Moontide Bridge lies deep below the sea, but every 12 years the tides sink and the bridge is revealed, its gates open for trade. The Magi are hell-bent on ruling this new world, and for the last two Moontides they have led armies across the bridge on "crusades of conquest". Now, the third Moontide is almost here, and this time the people of the East are ready for a fight... but it is three seemingly ordinary people that will decide the fate of the world.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Nick Podehl
- By Logan on 01-05-15
By: David Hair
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Barrowlands
- Iconoclasts, Book 0
- By: Mike Shel
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 1 hr
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 545
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 497
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 495
No one enters the doom-haunted Barrowlands without royal sanction. But Hesk Atterley has. Accompanied by seedy companions and a hunger for riches, what he finds may change his life forever...if it doesn't kill him first.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Short but Interesting
- By Michael on 02-01-21
By: Mike Shel
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The Dragon Waiting
- By: John M. Ford
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4 out of 5 stars 39
In a snowbound inn high in the Alps, four people meet who will alter fate. A noble Byzantine mercenary.... A female Florentine physician.... An ageless Welsh wizard.... And Sforza, the uncanny duke. Together they will wage an intrigue-filled campaign against the might of Byzantium to secure the English throne for Richard, Duke of Gloucester - and make him Richard III.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Read not listen.
- By Anna Marie on 08-08-21
By: John M. Ford
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The Book of Longings
- A Novel
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò, Sue Monk Kidd
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,906
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,167
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,137
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with 18-year-old Jesus changes everything.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Made me cringe
- By Joan on 05-08-20
By: Sue Monk Kidd
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Rebel Daughter
- By: Lori Banov Kaufmann
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
A young woman survives the unthinkable in this stunning and emotionally satisfying tale of family, love, and resilience, set against the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic historical fiction!
- By Lisa C. Schneider on 02-28-21
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The Wild Child
- By: Mary Jo Putney
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
More pagan than lady, Meriel spends her days running barefoot through her English estate, cultivating her flowers and her mystical connection to nature. She is mute and, according to most people, mad. But handsome Dominic Renbourne, who has been sent by his twin to court her, senses in Meriel a kindred spirit. He manages to inspire her trust, and against his better judgement, her passion.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Where is China Bride, the 2nd book?
- By KaitlynRAH on 10-24-18
By: Mary Jo Putney
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Blood in the Forum
- A Novella of Ancient Rome
- By: Vincent B. Davis II
- Narrated by: Joshua Saxon
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 25
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22
Rome, 133 BC. Gaius Marius is back from war in the West. They fought for the peace and prosperity of Rome, but the legions return to find the Eternal City far less peaceful and prosperous than they had hoped. People are starving, homelessness abounds, war after war has overtaxed the legions. And the revolutionary tribune, Tiberius Gracchus, thinks he has a solution for everything. Political parties are developing, the people are up in arms, the senate is enraged. And Tiberius is at the center of it all.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Well done, makes history come alive
- By Gail N. on 12-20-19
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Dragon's Child
- The King Arthur Trilogy, Book 1
- By: M. K. Hume
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 105
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
The future of Britain is at stake. In the turbulent times of the Dark Ages, the despotic Uther Pendragon, High King of Celtic Britain, is nearing death, and his kingdom is being torn apart by the squabbling of minor kings. But only one man can bring the Celts together as a nation and restore peace - King Arthur. Artorex (Arthur) doesn't yet seem like the great man he will grow into. We meet him as a shy, subservient twelve-year-old living in the foster home of Lord Ector, who took in Artorex as a babe to protect him from murderous kin.
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1 out of 5 stars
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A Dry, Dull Tale, Marred in "Realism"
- By Steven on 09-21-15
By: M. K. Hume
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A Vision of Light
- A Margaret of Ashbury Novel, Book 1
- By: Judith Merkle Riley
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 121
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 120
Margaret of Ashbury wants to write her life story. However, like most women in 14th-century England, she is illiterate. Three clerics contemptuously decline to be Margaret’s scribe, and only the threat of starvation persuades Brother Gregory, a Carthusian friar with a mysterious past, to take on the task. As she narrates her life, we discover a woman of startling resourcefulness.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Old fashioned heroine
- By Margaret on 06-22-13
What listeners say about Roman Games
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- jessica
- 01-28-14
terrible
I didn't listen to a sample when I saw this was read by Bronson Pinchot. I remember him as a good actor with a gift for voices. Well I don't know what happened but this is one of the worst listens I have ever heard. Its like the worst cartoon, painfully over acted with bad voices. The story is not well enough written to survive it. The dialog is clunky and the story is awkward. Its just bad. I like the Maddox books, spqr though I am sure the story would have been better served read by Simon Vance and love Ruth Downie and Colleen McCullough's rome books and Richard Harris with Cicero and Tiro to give u a sense of where I am coming from
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Bigpete
- 01-16-24
Terrible
If you’re into bogus historical fiction and talk of young boys buttocks this book is for you. If you like your historical fiction with some actual history in it skip. The protagonist is also married to a 14yr old. Different times, of course, but the book wasn’t written then. He could’ve easily written her older.
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