
The Confessions of Young Nero
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Narrated by:
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Steve West
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Susan Denaker
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Katharine Lee McEwan
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By:
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Margaret George
About this listen
The New York Times best-selling and legendary author of Helen of Troy and Elizabeth I now turns her gaze on Emperor Nero, one of the most notorious and misunderstood figures in history.
Built on the backs of those who fell before it, Julius Caesar's imperial dynasty is only as strong as the next person who seeks to control it. In the Roman Empire, no one is safe from the sting of betrayal: man, woman - or child.
As a boy Nero's royal heritage becomes a threat to his very life, first when the mad emperor Caligula tries to drown him, then when his great-aunt attempts to secure her own son's inheritance. Faced with shocking acts of treachery, young Nero is dealt a harsh lesson: It is better to be cruel than dead.
While Nero idealizes the artistic and athletic principles of Greece, his very survival rests on his ability to navigate the sea of vipers that is Rome. The most lethal of all is his own mother, a cold-blooded woman whose singular goal is to control the empire. With cunning and poison, the obstacles fall one by one. But as Agrippina's machinations earn her son a title he is both tempted and terrified to assume, Nero's determination to escape her thrall will shape him into the man he was fated to become - an emperor who became legendary.
With impeccable research and captivating prose, The Confessions of Young Nero is the story of a boy's ruthless ascension to the throne. Detailing his journey from innocent youth to infamous ruler, it is an epic tale of the lengths to which man will go in the ultimate quest for power and survival.
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Critic reviews
“George’s reconstruction of the man, in terms both of his public life and private character, is more than a revisiting of fact: It’s a subtle exploration of identity and the insidious effects of power.... ‘Confessions’ is all about identity: How is it made, lost, reinvented?... Margaret George occupies that blurry space between history and fiction. And between Tacitus and Margaret George, I rather think it’s George’s account that is not only most sympathetic but most truthful.” (Diana Gabaldon, Washington Post)
“Margaret George has performed about the most audacious act imaginable for a historical novelist - an epic work of fiction not merely sympathetic to Nero, but told largely in his own voice. I applaud. And so, I imagine, does that connoisseur of the arts Nero, watching from Elysium.” (Steven Saylor, author of Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome)
"Margaret George has an incredible talent in that she can stand in the shoes of her protagonist and speak in his or her voice.” (Barbara Taylor Bradford, author of The Cavendon Luck and A Woman of Substance)
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Helen Wilcox has one desire: to successfully launch her daughters into society. From the upper crust herself, Helen's unconventional--if happy--marriage has made the girls' social position precarious. Then her husband gambles the family fortunes on an elevated railroad that he claims will transform the face of the city and the way the people of New York live, but will it ruin the Wilcoxes first? As daughters Jemima and Alice navigate the rise and fall of their family--each is forced to re-examine who she is, and even who she is meant to love.
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Listened to it three times
- By Antoinette on 09-30-23
By: Carol Wallace
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Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc
- By: Katherine J. Chen
- Narrated by: Hannah Morrish
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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1412. France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. From this chaos emerges a teenage girl who will turn the tide of battle and lead the French to victory, becoming an unlikely hero whose name will echo across the centuries.
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Fascinating, Beautifully written
- By Anne Sanchez on 06-16-24
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My Roman History
- A Memoir
- By: Alizah Holstein
- Narrated by: Alizah Holstein
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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From the time she first felt called to its gates as a high school student fascinated by Dante and Italian thanks to a life-changing teacher, Rome has been a fixed star around which Alizah Holstein’s life has rotated—despite the fact that she bears no Italian heritage, and has never lived there long enough to call it home. In this kaleidoscopic yet intimate memoir, her shifting relationship to a vibrant city layered with human history becomes a lens on why we look to the past, on the mysteries of affinity and desire, and on what it means to grow up.
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The long road to finding your calling
- By Cath on 12-15-24
By: Alizah Holstein
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Elizabeth
- The Forgotten Years
- By: John Guy
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Elizabeth was crowned at 25 after a tempestuous childhood as a bastard and an outcast, but it was only when she reached 50 and all hopes of a royal marriage were dashed that she began to wield real power in her own right. For 25 years she had struggled to assert her authority over advisers who pressed her to marry and settle the succession; now, she was determined not only to reign but also to rule.
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Skips all over the place
- By Shannon on 06-28-23
By: John Guy
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Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
- The Siege, Book 1
- By: K. J. Parker
- Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all. To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.
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An Adventure the Questions Empire
- By Joe Kraus on 01-29-20
By: K. J. Parker
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Our Wicked Histories
- By: Amy Goldsmith
- Narrated by: Laoise Sweeney
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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There’s something in the lake at Wren Hall. At least, that’s what the locals say. Not that Meg cares much about the rumors. When she’s asked to spend Halloween weekend at the Ireland retreat of the wealthy Wren twins, she recognizes the invitation for exactly what it is: her last, and only, chance to save her spot at Greyscott’s, the exclusive British art school she attended on scholarship until last summer. Clever, beautiful, and talented, the twins are the pride of Greyscott’s, and kindhearted Lottie Wren was once Meg’s closest friend. But not anymore.
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Fun dark academia/paranormal vibes
- By Shannon M Wolz on 10-05-24
By: Amy Goldsmith
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The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre
- By: Natasha Lester
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Alix St. Pierre. An unforgettable name for an unforgettable woman. She grew up surrounded by Hollywood glamor, but, as an orphan, never truly felt part of that world. In 1943, with WWII raging and men headed overseas to fight, she lands a publicity job to recruit women into the workforce. Her skills—persuasion, daring, quick-witted under pressure—catch the attention of the U.S. government and she finds herself with an even bigger assignment: sent to Switzerland as a spy. Soon Alix is on the precipice of something big, very big. But how far can she trust her German informant…?
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Excellent & Captivating
- By Steven Pugh on 02-10-23
By: Natasha Lester
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The Shores of Tripoli
- Lieutenant Putnam and the Barbary Pirates
- By: James L. Haley
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1801, and President Thomas Jefferson has assembled a deep-water navy to fight the growing threat of piracy, as American civilians are regularly kidnapped by Islamist brigands and held for ransom, enslaved, or killed, all at their captors' whim. The Berber States of North Africa, especially Tripoli, claimed their faith gave them the right to pillage anyone who did not submit to their religion.
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Listen to the sample
- By Mike on 10-30-18
By: James L. Haley
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Nero
- Matricide, Music, and Murder in Imperial Rome
- By: Anthony Everitt, Roddy Ashworth
- Narrated by: Greg Patmore
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The Roman emperor Nero’s name has long been a byword for cruelty, decadence, and despotism. As the stories go, he set fire to Rome and thrummed his lyre as it burned. He then cleared the charred ruins and built a vast palace. He committed incest with his mother, who had schemed and killed to place him on the throne, and later murdered her. But these stories, left behind by contemporary historians who hated him, are hardly the full picture, and in this nuanced biography, celebrated historian Anthony Everitt and investigative journalist Roddy Ashworth reveal the contradictions inherent in Nero
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An amazing 360 degree portrait
- By Cooper A Day on 01-01-23
By: Anthony Everitt, and others
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The Incorrigibles
- A Novel
- By: Meredith Jaeger
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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1890, San Francisco. Seduced by her employer’s nephew, Annie Gilmurray, an Irish maid, is accused of stealing the ring he promised her. Sentenced to one year in San Quentin, Annie is heartbroken and frightened among the inmates of the women’s ward: prostitutes, murderers, and pickpockets. But Annie finds beauty and friendship in a brutal place, where the women look out for one another, dreaming of a better life after release. But their world inside San Quentin's walls is a dangerous one, and when the unthinkable happens, Annie makes a choice that will alter the course of her future forever.
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A page-turner following strong women finding their agency imbued with rich, local SF history
- By S. Brett on 06-04-24
By: Meredith Jaeger
stunning
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inspiring look at a misunderstood leader
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Fascinating
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Love this book 
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Refreshing, plausible and more balanced
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Bringing history to life
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Have we been lied to about Nero all along ?
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This book is brimming with tremendous amounts of historical information, but Ms. George has written it in a way that keeps the story entertaining. Well done.
I'm placing my pre-order for this novel's sequel, "The Splendor Before the Dark: A Novel of the Emperor Nero", coming out Nov. 6, 2018, immediately!
Informative / Good Remedy for Fake News
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The result is a very boring read.
A super boring PR Campaign
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Enjoyable story with a new perspective
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