The Praise Singer
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The Praise Singer
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Narrated by:
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Tim Bentinck
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By:
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Mary Renault
About this listen
Set in sixth-century Greece at the time of the Tyrants, the Persian Wars, and a great flowering of the arts, this novel takes the form of Simonides' memoirs, written in retirement in Sicily. The author was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and she also wrote The King Must Die.
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"A song of praise, a work of love, a serene, deliberate book, full of wisdom, rich in character, incident and description." (Wall Street Journal)
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Fascinatingly well written
- By Kennet on 03-11-09
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Hand of Isis
- By: Jo Graham
- Narrated by: Gigi Shane
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Charmian is handmaiden to Cleopatra. She is also an oracle, gifted with ancient memories that may hold the key to preserving Egypt. Through blood and fire, war and peace, love and death, she will face a desperate struggle that will remake the future of the world.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Reader does not know how to pronounce words
- By Gail N. on 07-31-19
By: Jo Graham
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Helena
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
Helena is the intelligent, horse-mad daughter of a British chieftan who is suddenly betrothed to the warrior who becomes the Roman emperor Constantius. She spends her life seeking truth in the religions, mythologies, and philosophies of the declining ancient world. This she eventually finds in Christianity-and literally in the Cross of Christ.The Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, made the historic pilgrimage to Palestine and built churches at Bethlehem and Olivet.
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5 out of 5 stars
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And There Alone is Hope
- By John on 04-19-19
By: Evelyn Waugh
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Peony
- A Novel of China
- By: Pearl S. Buck
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 407
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 337
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 337
Young Peony is sold into a rich Chinese household as a bondmaid - an awkward role in which she is more a servant, but less a daughter. As she grows into a lovely, provocative young woman, Peony falls in love with the family's only son. However, tradition forbids them to wed. How she resolves her love for him and her devotion to her adoptive family unfolds in this profound tale, based on true events in China over a century ago.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Jews in China
- By Jean on 04-22-12
By: Pearl S. Buck
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Women of the Bible
- Jael's Story
- By: Ann Burton
- Narrated by: Effie Johnson
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
Ann Burton - best-selling author of Rahab's Story - pens a sweeping historical novel about the Biblical heroine who risks all by wielding a tent peg and mallet. In this compelling tale of faith, courage, and romance, Jael boldly seizes a pivotal opportunity to free Israelites - and herself - from years of oppression.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Easy to place yourself in the story!
- By CANDICE W. on 08-07-24
By: Ann Burton
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Muhammad: A Story of the Last Prophet
- By: Deepak Chopra MD
- Narrated by: Deepak Chopra
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 226
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 191
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Story4 out of 5 stars 191
Born into the factious world of war-torn Arabia, Muhammad's life is a gripping and inspiring story of one man's tireless fight for unity and peace. In a world where greed and injustice ruled, Muhammad created change by affecting hearts and minds. Just as the story of Jesus embodies the message of Christianity, Muhammad's life reveals the core of Islam. Deepak Chopra shares the life of Muhammad as never before, putting his teachings in a new light.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Poorly written and poorly narrated
- By Shahrad Milanfar on 10-21-10
By: Deepak Chopra MD
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I, the Sun
- By: Janet Morris
- Narrated by: Chistopher Crosby Morris
- Length: 24 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4 out of 5 stars 53
This is the saga of the Hittite King Suppiluliumas, and rings with authenticity and the passion of a world that existed 1400 years before the birth of Christ. They called him Great King, Favorite of the Storm God, the Valiant. He conquered more than forty nations and brought fear and war to the very doorstep of 18th Dynasty Egypt, but he could not conquer the one woman he truly loved.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderfully Researched and Fantastic Performance.
- By Rev. Zombie on 07-08-15
By: Janet Morris
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The Songs of the Kings
- By: Barry Unsworth
- Narrated by: Andrew Sachs
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
A thoroughly modern tale of politics, spin-doctoring, and media manipulation. As the harsh wind holds the Greek fleet trapped in the straits at Aulis, frustration and political impotence turn into a desire for the blood of a young and innocent woman - blood that will appease the gods and allow the troops to set sail. And when Iphigeneia, Agamemnon's beloved daughter, is brought to the coast under false pretences, it looks as if the ships will soon be on their way.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The politics of power haven't changed.
- By susan on 12-06-12
By: Barry Unsworth
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The Ruby in Her Navel
- By: Barry Unsworth
- Narrated by: Andrew Sachs
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Thurstan, a young Norman and would-be Knight at the Court of King Roger in Palermo, has been in love since boyhood with Lady Alicia, now returned a widow from the Holy Land. Thurstan soon finds himself caught in a tangle of plots.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Well-Earned Five Stars for this Gem
- By Ilana on 12-11-14
By: Barry Unsworth
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Cup of Gold
- A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History
- By: John Steinbeck, Susan F. Beegel - introduction
- Narrated by: Ronan Vibert
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 116
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 116
From the mid-1650s through the 1660s, Henry Morgan, a pirate and outlaw of legendary viciousness, ruled the Spanish Main. He ravaged the coasts of Cuba and America, striking terror wherever he went. Morgan was obsessive. He had two driving ambitions: to possess the beautiful woman called La Santa Roja and to conquer Panama, the "cup of gold".
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not your usual Steinbeck novel
- By Andrew on 06-03-15
By: John Steinbeck, and others
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The Town House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Juliet Prague, Martyn Read
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 68
"It was in the first week of October in the year 1391 that I first came face to face with the man who owned me… the man whose lightest word was to us, his villeins, weightier than the King’s law or the edicts of our Holy Father…” So began the story of Martin Reed - a serf whose resentment of the automatic rule of his feudal lord finally flared into open defiance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another winner by Norah Lofts
- By Bird Lady 147 on 10-03-17
By: Norah Lofts
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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 Canterbury Tales: A Retelling
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Keith Moore, Toby Leonard Moore, Colin McPhillamy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
Author Peter Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, and the Guardian Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s immortal work, this retelling of The Canterbury Tales follows a party of travelers as they tell stories amongst themselves about love and chivalry, saints and legends, travel and adventure. Through allegory, satire, and humor, the tales help pass the time during their journey.
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5 out of 5 stars
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WOW
- By Mitchell Drimmer on 02-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
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Ben-Hur
- A Tale of the Christ
- By: Lew Wallace
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 23 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,143
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,032
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,035
A classic of faith, fortitude, and inspiration, this faithful New Testament tale combines the events of the life of Jesus with grand historical spectacle in the exciting story of Judah of the House of Hur, a man who finds extraordinary redemption for himself and his family. Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the first century. His old friend, Messala, arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not Like the Movie
- By Paul Z. on 01-31-12
By: Lew Wallace
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The Nine Cloud Dream
- By: Kim Man-jung, Heinz Insu Fenkl - translator
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
Often considered the highest achievement in Korean fiction, The Nine Cloud Dream poses the question: Will the life we dream of truly make us happy? Written in 17th-century Korea, this classic novel's wondrous story begins when a young monk living on a sacred Lotus Peak in China succumbs to the temptation of eight fairy maidens. For doubting his master's Buddhist teachings, the monk is forced to endure a strange punishment: reincarnation as the most ideal of men.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Nine Stars
- By MJ Harkins on 06-28-21
By: Kim Man-jung, and others
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