The Dark Lady's Mask
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.
The Dark Lady's Mask
Buy for $33.84
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jilly Bond
-
By:
-
Mary Sharratt
About this listen
Aemilia Bassano Lanier is beautiful and accomplished, but her societal conformity ends there. She frequently cross-dresses to escape her loveless marriage and gain freedoms only men enjoy, but a chance encounter with a ragged, little-known poet named Shakespeare changes everything. They leave plague-ridden London for Italy, where they begin secretly writing comedies. Their Italian idyll, though, cannot last, and their collaborative affair comes to a devastating end.
Will gains fame and fortune for their plays back in London and, years later, publishes the sonnets mocking his former muse. Not one to stand by in humiliation, Aemilia takes up her own pen in her defense and in defense of all women.
The Dark Lady's Mask gives voice to a real Renaissance woman.
©2016 Mary Sharratt (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLCListeners also enjoyed...
-
Revelations
- By: Mary Sharratt
- Narrated by: Polly Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 12
Bishop’s Lynn, England, 1413. At the age of forty, Margery Kempe has nearly died giving birth to her fourteenth child. Fearing that another pregnancy might kill her, she makes a vow of celibacy, but she can’t trust her husband to keep his end of the bargain. Desperate for counsel, she visits the famous anchoress Dame Julian of Norwich. Pouring out her heart, Margery confesses that she has been haunted by visceral religious visions. Julian then offers up a confession of her own: she has written a secret, radical book about her own visions, Revelations of Divine Love.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hooked
- By Jana Stew on 05-19-23
By: Mary Sharratt
-
Ecstasy
- A Novel
- By: Mary Sharratt
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 20
Gustav Klimt gave Alma her first kiss. Gustav Mahler fell in love with her at first sight and proposed only a few weeks later. Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius abandoned all reason to pursue her. But who was this woman who brought these eminent men to their knees? In Ecstasy, Mary Sharratt answers that question. Coming of age in the midst of a creative and cultural whirlwind, Alma Schindler yearned to make her mark as a composer. But when Alma lost her heart to the great composer Gustav Mahler, he demanded that she give up music.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Please NO SINGING!
- By margarete mehrabian on 07-12-20
By: Mary Sharratt
-
I, Mona Lisa
- By: Natasha Solomons
- Narrated by: Amelia Donkor
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 15
For 500 years we've been looking at the Mona Lisa, and it turns out that she's been looking right back at us. Over the centuries, few could hear her voice, but now we are let into the secret, as she tells us her story in her own words - a tale of rivalry, murder and heartbreak. And a mystery of Leonardo's greatest lost painting. Weaving through the years, she takes us from the dazzling world of da Vinci's Florentine studio to the French courts at Fontainebleau and Versailles, and into the 20th century.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Creative & Fascinating
- By Lelawala on 06-06-24
By: Natasha Solomons
-
Illuminations
- A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
- By: Mary Sharratt
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
Skillfully interweaving historical fact with psychological insight and vivid imagination, Sharratt's redemptive novel brings to life one of the most extraordinary women of the Middle Ages: Hildegard von Bingen, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Offered to the Church at the age of eight, Hildegard was entombed in a small room where she was expected to live out her days in silent submission as the handmaiden of a renowned but disturbed young nun, Jutta von Sponheim.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Strong woman; weak novel
- By connie on 12-01-12
By: Mary Sharratt
-
The Dark Queens
- The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World
- By: Shelley Puhak
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 338
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 281
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 281
Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet - in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport - these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating & Long Overdue
- By Mary E Birdsong on 10-22-22
By: Shelley Puhak
-
The Hearth and Eagle
- A Novel
- By: Anya Seton
- Narrated by: Nancy Peterson
- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 19
In the mid-1940s, the great historical novelist Anya Seton embarked on a fervent search for her forebears that led her to Marblehead, Massachusetts, a "sea-girdled town of rocks and winding lanes and clustered old houses". There she found not only an ancestor, but also the setting for this, her fourth novel.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
MEDITATION ON A HOUSE
- By mymimisthebest on 08-22-24
By: Anya Seton
-
Revelations
- By: Mary Sharratt
- Narrated by: Polly Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 12
Bishop’s Lynn, England, 1413. At the age of forty, Margery Kempe has nearly died giving birth to her fourteenth child. Fearing that another pregnancy might kill her, she makes a vow of celibacy, but she can’t trust her husband to keep his end of the bargain. Desperate for counsel, she visits the famous anchoress Dame Julian of Norwich. Pouring out her heart, Margery confesses that she has been haunted by visceral religious visions. Julian then offers up a confession of her own: she has written a secret, radical book about her own visions, Revelations of Divine Love.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hooked
- By Jana Stew on 05-19-23
By: Mary Sharratt
-
Ecstasy
- A Novel
- By: Mary Sharratt
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 20
Gustav Klimt gave Alma her first kiss. Gustav Mahler fell in love with her at first sight and proposed only a few weeks later. Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius abandoned all reason to pursue her. But who was this woman who brought these eminent men to their knees? In Ecstasy, Mary Sharratt answers that question. Coming of age in the midst of a creative and cultural whirlwind, Alma Schindler yearned to make her mark as a composer. But when Alma lost her heart to the great composer Gustav Mahler, he demanded that she give up music.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Please NO SINGING!
- By margarete mehrabian on 07-12-20
By: Mary Sharratt
-
I, Mona Lisa
- By: Natasha Solomons
- Narrated by: Amelia Donkor
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 15
For 500 years we've been looking at the Mona Lisa, and it turns out that she's been looking right back at us. Over the centuries, few could hear her voice, but now we are let into the secret, as she tells us her story in her own words - a tale of rivalry, murder and heartbreak. And a mystery of Leonardo's greatest lost painting. Weaving through the years, she takes us from the dazzling world of da Vinci's Florentine studio to the French courts at Fontainebleau and Versailles, and into the 20th century.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Creative & Fascinating
- By Lelawala on 06-06-24
By: Natasha Solomons
-
Illuminations
- A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
- By: Mary Sharratt
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
Skillfully interweaving historical fact with psychological insight and vivid imagination, Sharratt's redemptive novel brings to life one of the most extraordinary women of the Middle Ages: Hildegard von Bingen, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Offered to the Church at the age of eight, Hildegard was entombed in a small room where she was expected to live out her days in silent submission as the handmaiden of a renowned but disturbed young nun, Jutta von Sponheim.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Strong woman; weak novel
- By connie on 12-01-12
By: Mary Sharratt
-
The Dark Queens
- The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World
- By: Shelley Puhak
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 338
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 281
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 281
Brunhild was a foreign princess, raised to be married off for the sake of alliance-building. Her sister-in-law Fredegund started out as a lowly palace slave. And yet - in sixth-century Merovingian France, where women were excluded from noble succession and royal politics was a blood sport - these two iron-willed strategists reigned over vast realms, changing the face of Europe.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating & Long Overdue
- By Mary E Birdsong on 10-22-22
By: Shelley Puhak
-
The Hearth and Eagle
- A Novel
- By: Anya Seton
- Narrated by: Nancy Peterson
- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 19
In the mid-1940s, the great historical novelist Anya Seton embarked on a fervent search for her forebears that led her to Marblehead, Massachusetts, a "sea-girdled town of rocks and winding lanes and clustered old houses". There she found not only an ancestor, but also the setting for this, her fourth novel.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
MEDITATION ON A HOUSE
- By mymimisthebest on 08-22-24
By: Anya Seton
-
The Secret Keeper
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15,970
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 14,269
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14,243
England, 1959: Laurel Nicolson is 16 years old, dreaming alone in her childhood tree house during a family celebration at their home, Green Acres Farm. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and then observes her mother, Dorothy, speaking to him. And then she witnesses a crime.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Kate Morton (and Caroline Lee) does it again!
- By Maria on 10-20-12
By: Kate Morton
-
Jackdaws
- By: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat, Colin Stinton
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 923
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 723
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 724
D-Day is approaching. They don’t know where or when, but the Germans know it’ll be soon, and for Felicity "Flick" Clariet, the stakes have never been higher. A senior agent in the ranks of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) responsible for sabotage, Flick has survived to become one of Britain’s most effective operatives in Northern France. She knows that the Germans’ ability to thwart the Allied attack depends upon their lines of communications, and in the days before the invasion, no target is of greater strategic importance than the largest telephone exchange in Europe.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By vxdvxn on 10-25-10
By: Ken Follett
-
Company of Liars
- By: Karen Maitland
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 18 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 376
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 245
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 246
On this day of ill omen, plague makes its entrance. Within weeks, swathes of England will be darkened by death's shadow. While panic and suspicion flood the land, a small band of travelers comes together to outrun the breakdown in law and order. But when one of their number is found hanging from a tree, the chilling discovery confirms that something more sinister than plague is in their midst.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A teller of tales
- By Richard on 03-29-09
By: Karen Maitland
-
The Marriage of Opposites
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Gloria Reuben, Tina Benko, Santino Fontana, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,371
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,935
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,927
Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel's mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. Growing up, Rachel's salvation is their maid Adelle's belief in her strengths and her deep, lifelong friendship with Jestine, Adelle's daughter. But Rachel's life is not her own.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Intoxicating and Complex Journey
- By Mel on 09-02-15
By: Alice Hoffman
-
Cathedral
- By: Ben Hopkins
- Narrated by: Malk Williams, Sophie Roberts
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 68
A sweeping story about obsession, mysticism, art and earthly desire. At the centre of this story is the Cathedral. Its design and construction in the 13th and 14th centuries in the fictional town of Hagenburg unites a vast array of unforgettable characters whose fortunes are inseparable from the shifting political factions and economic interests vying for supremacy. From the bishop to his treasurer, from local merchants to lowly stonecutters, the fate of everyone, both Gentile and Jew, is affected by the slow rise of Hagenburg’s cathedral.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting description of life in the Middle Ages
- By leongork on 06-30-21
By: Ben Hopkins
-
Mr. Emerson's Wife
- By: Amy Belding Brown
- Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 135
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 135
In this novel about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s wife, Lidian, Amy Belding Brown examines the emotional landscape of love and marriage. Living in the shadow of one of the most famous men of her time, Lidian becomes deeply disappointed by marriage, but consigned to public silence by social conventions and concern for her family’s reputation. Drawn to the erotic energy and intellect of close family friend Henry David Thoreau, she struggles to negotiate the confusing territory between love and friendship while maintaining her moral authority and inner strength.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book I have heard
- By Eliza Chisholm on 10-23-22
-
The Lady of the Rivers
- By: Philippa Gregory
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,693
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,957
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,937
Jacquetta always has had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she met his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and saw her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the wheel of fortune before Joan is taken to a horrific death. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream. Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, and he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Philippa back on track
- By Bonnie-Ann on 11-26-11
By: Philippa Gregory
-
The Passion
- By: Jeanette Winterson
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues, Daniel Pirrie
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
Set during the tumultuous years of the Napoleonic Wars, The Passion intertwines the destinies of two remarkable people: Henri, a simple French soldier, who follows Napoleon from glory to Russian ruin; and Villanelle, the red-haired, web-footed daughter of a Venetian boatman, whose husband has gambled away her heart. In Venice’s compound of carnival, chance, and darkness, the pair meets their singular destiny.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellence.
- By Scottie V. on 10-07-19
-
The King's Witch
- A Novel
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 364
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 325
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 324
In March of 1603, as she helps to nurse the dying Queen Elizabeth of England, Frances Gorges dreams of her parents’ country estate, where she has learned to use flowers and herbs to become a much-loved healer. She is happy to stay at home when King James of Scotland succeeds to the throne. His court may be shockingly decadent, but his intolerant Puritanism sees witchcraft in many of the old customs - punishable by death.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I’ve read hundreds of historical fiction books....
- By K&T on 08-03-18
By: Tracy Borman
-
The Swift and the Harrier
- By: Minette Walters
- Narrated by: Emma Gregory
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17
Dorset, 1642. When bloody civil war breaks out between the king and Parliament, families and communities across England are riven by different allegiances. A rare few choose neutrality. One such is Jayne Swift, a Dorset physician from a Royalist family, who offers her services to both sides in the conflict. Through her dedication to treating the sick and wounded, regardless of belief, Jayne becomes a witness to the brutality of war and the devastation it wreaks.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Character development and historical details
- By Kathleen P Bogacz on 07-11-24
By: Minette Walters
-
The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn
- By: Robin Maxwell
- Narrated by: Suzan Crowley
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 265
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 242
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 243
Robin Maxwell’s debut novel introduces Anne Boleyn and her daughter, Elizabeth: one was queen for a thousand days, the other for more than 40 years. Both were passionate, headstrong women, loved and hated by Henry VIII. At the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign, her mother’s private diary is given to her by a mysterious lady. In reading it, the young ruler - herself embroiled in a dangerous love affair - discovers a great deal about her much maligned mother.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the Best Tudor Novels Availalbe
- By Bonnie-Ann on 03-02-13
By: Robin Maxwell
-
The Vatican Princess
- A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 16 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,380
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,257
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,253
Glamorous and predatory, the Borgias fascinated and terrorized 15th-century Renaissance Italy, and Lucrezia Borgia, beloved daughter of the pope, was at the center of the dynasty's ambitions. Slandered as a heartless seductress who lured men to their doom, was she in fact the villainess of legend, or was she trapped in a familial web, forced to choose between loyalty and survival?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Compelling story
- By Picky purchaser on 05-11-16
By: C. W. Gortner
Related to this topic
-
The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn
- By: Robin Maxwell
- Narrated by: Suzan Crowley
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 265
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 242
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 243
Robin Maxwell’s debut novel introduces Anne Boleyn and her daughter, Elizabeth: one was queen for a thousand days, the other for more than 40 years. Both were passionate, headstrong women, loved and hated by Henry VIII. At the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign, her mother’s private diary is given to her by a mysterious lady. In reading it, the young ruler - herself embroiled in a dangerous love affair - discovers a great deal about her much maligned mother.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the Best Tudor Novels Availalbe
- By Bonnie-Ann on 03-02-13
By: Robin Maxwell
-
Ophelia
- By: Lisa Klein
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 48
In this re-imagining of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, it is Ophelia who takes center stage. A rowdy, motherless girl, she grows up at Elsinore Castle to become the queens most trusted lady-in-waiting. She catches the attention of the captivating, dark-haired Prince Hamlet, and their love blossoms in secret. But bloody deeds soon turn Denmark into a place of madness, and ultimately, Ophelia must choose between her love for Hamlet and her own life.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
nice idea, poorly executed
- By Darryl on 06-11-16
By: Lisa Klein
-
Illuminations
- A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
- By: Mary Sharratt
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
Skillfully interweaving historical fact with psychological insight and vivid imagination, Sharratt's redemptive novel brings to life one of the most extraordinary women of the Middle Ages: Hildegard von Bingen, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Offered to the Church at the age of eight, Hildegard was entombed in a small room where she was expected to live out her days in silent submission as the handmaiden of a renowned but disturbed young nun, Jutta von Sponheim.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Strong woman; weak novel
- By connie on 12-01-12
By: Mary Sharratt
-
The Last Queen
- A Novel of Juana La Loca
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 482
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 399
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 397
One of history's most enigmatic women tells the haunting, passionate story of her tumultuous life. Juana of Castile is just thirteen when she witnesses the fall of Moorish Granada and the uniting of the fractured kingdoms of Spain under her warrior parents, Isabel and Fernando. Intelligent, beautiful, and proud of her heritage, Juana rebels when she is chosen as a bride for the Hapsburg heir.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A NEUROTIC BIT OF PULP FICTION
- By The Louligan on 11-19-09
By: C. W. Gortner
-
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
- A Novel
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,151
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 997
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 995
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.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Pretty good but historical details are terrible
- By Kindle Customer on 07-10-11
By: C. W. Gortner
-
While Beauty Slept
- By: Elizabeth Blackwell
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 321
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 295
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 295
I am not the sort of person about whom stories are told.And so begins Elise Dalriss's story. When she hears her great-granddaughter recount a minstrel's tale about a beautiful princess asleep in a tower, it pushes open a door to the past, a door Elise has long kept locked. For Elise was the companion to the real princess who slumbered-and she is the only one left who knows what actually happened so many years ago. Her story unveils a labyrinth where secrets connect to an inconceivable evil. As only Elise understands all too well, the truth is no fairy tale...
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
EVIL THOUGHTS TAKE STRENGTH IN THE DARK,
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 02-08-15
-
The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn
- By: Robin Maxwell
- Narrated by: Suzan Crowley
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 265
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 242
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 243
Robin Maxwell’s debut novel introduces Anne Boleyn and her daughter, Elizabeth: one was queen for a thousand days, the other for more than 40 years. Both were passionate, headstrong women, loved and hated by Henry VIII. At the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign, her mother’s private diary is given to her by a mysterious lady. In reading it, the young ruler - herself embroiled in a dangerous love affair - discovers a great deal about her much maligned mother.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the Best Tudor Novels Availalbe
- By Bonnie-Ann on 03-02-13
By: Robin Maxwell
-
Ophelia
- By: Lisa Klein
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 48
In this re-imagining of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, it is Ophelia who takes center stage. A rowdy, motherless girl, she grows up at Elsinore Castle to become the queens most trusted lady-in-waiting. She catches the attention of the captivating, dark-haired Prince Hamlet, and their love blossoms in secret. But bloody deeds soon turn Denmark into a place of madness, and ultimately, Ophelia must choose between her love for Hamlet and her own life.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
nice idea, poorly executed
- By Darryl on 06-11-16
By: Lisa Klein
-
Illuminations
- A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
- By: Mary Sharratt
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
Skillfully interweaving historical fact with psychological insight and vivid imagination, Sharratt's redemptive novel brings to life one of the most extraordinary women of the Middle Ages: Hildegard von Bingen, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Offered to the Church at the age of eight, Hildegard was entombed in a small room where she was expected to live out her days in silent submission as the handmaiden of a renowned but disturbed young nun, Jutta von Sponheim.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Strong woman; weak novel
- By connie on 12-01-12
By: Mary Sharratt
-
The Last Queen
- A Novel of Juana La Loca
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 482
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 399
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 397
One of history's most enigmatic women tells the haunting, passionate story of her tumultuous life. Juana of Castile is just thirteen when she witnesses the fall of Moorish Granada and the uniting of the fractured kingdoms of Spain under her warrior parents, Isabel and Fernando. Intelligent, beautiful, and proud of her heritage, Juana rebels when she is chosen as a bride for the Hapsburg heir.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A NEUROTIC BIT OF PULP FICTION
- By The Louligan on 11-19-09
By: C. W. Gortner
-
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
- A Novel
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,151
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 997
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 995
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.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Pretty good but historical details are terrible
- By Kindle Customer on 07-10-11
By: C. W. Gortner
-
While Beauty Slept
- By: Elizabeth Blackwell
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 321
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 295
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 295
I am not the sort of person about whom stories are told.And so begins Elise Dalriss's story. When she hears her great-granddaughter recount a minstrel's tale about a beautiful princess asleep in a tower, it pushes open a door to the past, a door Elise has long kept locked. For Elise was the companion to the real princess who slumbered-and she is the only one left who knows what actually happened so many years ago. Her story unveils a labyrinth where secrets connect to an inconceivable evil. As only Elise understands all too well, the truth is no fairy tale...
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
EVIL THOUGHTS TAKE STRENGTH IN THE DARK,
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 02-08-15
-
Reign of Madness
- By: Lynn Cullen
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Juana of Castile, third child of the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Fernando, grows up with no hope of inheriting her parents' crowns, but as a princess knows her duty: to further her family's ambitions through marriage. Yet stories of courtly love, and of her parents' own legendary romance, surround her. When she weds the Duke of Burgundy, a young man so beautiful that he is known as Philippe the Handsome, she dares to hope that she might have both love and crowns.
By: Lynn Cullen
-
Mademoiselle Boleyn
- By: Robin Maxwell
- Narrated by: Suzan Crowley
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Intriguing
- By Anonymous User on 11-10-18
By: Robin Maxwell
-
All the Ever Afters
- The Untold Story of Cinderella’s Stepmother
- By: Danielle Teller
- Narrated by: Jane Copland
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 265
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 229
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 231
In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous re-imagining of a classic tale, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella’s "evil" stepmother. We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we? As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story...
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not what I was expecting...
- By IonyWinter on 07-15-19
By: Danielle Teller
-
The Memoirs of Mary, Queen of Scots
- By: Carolly Erickson
- Narrated by: Rebekah Germain
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 46
Born Queen of Scotland, married as a young girl to the invalid young King of France, Mary took the reins of the unruly kingdom of Scotland as a young widow and fought to keep her throne. A second marriage to her handsome but dissolute cousin Lord Darnley ended in murder and scandal, while a third marriage to the dashing, commanding Lord Bothwell, the love of her life, gave her joy but widened the scandal and surrounded her with enduring ill repute.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Fiction being the key word
- By Bonnie-Ann B on 09-25-09
By: Carolly Erickson
-
Green Darkness
- By: Anya Seton
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 23 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 272
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 240
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 242
The marriage of the Englishman Richard Marsdon and his young American wife, Celia, slowly turns tragic as Richard withdraws into himself and Celia suffers a debilitating emotional breakdown. A wise mystic realizes that Celia can escape her past only by reliving it. She journeys back four hundred years to her former life as the servant girl Celia de Bohun during the reign of Edward VI - and to her doomed love affair with the chaplain Stephen Marsdon.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A different narrator would have made all the difference.
- By J on 06-04-15
By: Anya Seton
-
Royal Mistress
- By: Anne Easter Smith
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 265
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 236
-
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.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
All history, no romance!
- By Erin on 07-05-13
-
The Autobiography of Henry VIII
- By: Margaret George
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 41 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 685
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 516
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 517
Margaret George's novel brings into focus the larger-than-life King Henry VIII, monarch of prodigious appetites for wine, women, and song.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfection!
- By Amy M. Walts on 10-20-07
By: Margaret George
-
Katherine
- A Novel
- By: Anya Seton
- Narrated by: Lorna Bennett
- Length: 29 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 160
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 148
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 147
Set in the vibrant fourteenth century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets—Edward III, the Black Prince, and Richard II—who rule despotically over a court rotten with intrigue. Within this era of danger and romance, John of Gaunt, the king’s son, falls passionately in love with the already-married Katherine. Their affair persists through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
my favorite novel brought to life
- By Heather on 10-04-23
By: Anya Seton
-
The Agincourt Bride
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Catherine Harvey
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 348
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 304
-
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.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Michelle on 02-16-13
By: Joanna Hickson
-
Push Not the River
- By: James Conroyd Martin
- Narrated by: Dawn Harvey
- Length: 19 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 199
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 170
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 173
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.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Save your time; buy something else.
- By AMS on 10-22-15
-
The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
- By: Sandra Gulland
- Narrated by: Kim Handysides
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 49
In this first of three books inspired by the life of Josephine Bonaparte, Sandra Gulland has created a novel of immense and magical proportions. We meet Josephine in the exotic and lush Martinico, where an old island woman predicts that one day she will be queen. The journey from the remote village of her birth to the height of European elegance is long, but Josephine's fortune proves to be true.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance...ugh
- By Lisa on 02-17-18
By: Sandra Gulland
-
Abundance
- A Novel of Marie Antoinette
- By: Sena Jeter Naslund
- Narrated by: Susanna Burney
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 138
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 92
Marie Antoinette was a child of 14 when she was made to leave her family and country to become the wife of another child, France's 15-year-old King Louis the XVI. Far from home and suddenly thrust not only into the role of a woman and wife, but of a queen, Marie Antoinette lived an astonishing, though short, existence.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not for history fans
- By Cx30 on 12-09-06
What listeners say about The Dark Lady's Mask
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymouse!
- 04-28-16
wonderful!
Seeing Shakespeare from the perspective of his once lover and muse is truly a delight. If you love historical fiction, strong women and Shakespeare this book is a must. Enthralled from beginning to end.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alan Weinstein
- 09-30-16
Farfetched but lovely
Quite a saga! Very enjoyable. Beautifully read except I wish the narrator didn't actually whisper when the book says a character whispered! I listen in a sometimes loud room, so everything whispered was lost to me.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Petunia
- 08-19-16
Excellent story, hard to hear in a car
This was a well crafted story line, notably for the way Shakespeare's person and works were woven in.
The narrator breathed vitality into the characters but low-pitched and quiet lines were nearly impossible to pick up against highway sound. I had to rewind (distracted driver alert!) or miss plot as a result.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer
- 07-07-16
Great Novel, Mediocre Performance
Would you consider the audio edition of The Dark Lady's Mask to be better than the print version?
Definitely not.
Would you be willing to try another one of Jilly Bond’s performances?
I'm not tempted to.
Any additional comments?
I really loved the book, but I couldn't deal with the narrator. She was ok when she was just narrating the story, but when she started to do dialogue it was cringe-worthy. I just felt like she made all the women--these strong, intelligent, proud women--sound hysterical and whiny.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful