The Sisters of Versailles

Mistresses of Versailles Series # 1

By: Sally Christie

Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley

Set against the lavish backdrop of the French Court in the early years of the 18th century, The Sisters of Versailles is the extraordinary tale of the five Nesle sisters - Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne - four of whom became mistresses to King Louis XV. Their scandalous story is stranger than fiction but true in every shocking, amusing, and heartbreaking detail.Court intriguers are beginning to sense that young King Louis XV, after seven years of marriage, is tiring of his Polish wife. The race is on to find a mistress for the royal bed as various factions put their best foot - and women - forward. The king's scheming ministers push Louise, the eldest of the aristocratic Nesle sisters, into the arms of the king. Over the following decade, the four sisters - sweet, naïve Louise; ambitious Pauline; complacent Diane, and cunning Marie Anne - will conspire, betray, suffer, and triumph in a desperate fight for both love and power. In the tradition of The Other Boleyn Girl, The Sisters of Versailles is a clever, intelligent, and absorbing novel that historical fiction fans will devour. Based on meticulous research on a group of women never before written about in English, Sally Christie's stunning debut is a complex exploration of power and sisterhood - of the admiration, competition, and even hatred that can coexist within a family when the stakes are high enough.

©2015 Sally Christie (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Filled with lush backdrops, rich detail, and colorful characters, fans of historical fiction will enjoy this glimpse into the lost golden era of the French monarchy." (Allison Pataki, author of The Accidental Empress)

Hated the narration

I thought the peculiar accents and voices distracted me from the story. They didn't suit the theme of the book.

This book is a huge shocker😱

Great book... Lots of emotions were felt, I'll never try to guess the end of a story again.

The readers voice is grating.

Bottom line. Story is great, performance is killing me. If it’s a novel about French history—all of these different accents are soooo inaccurate and annoying!

lov3s it

made the characters quite real. like the authora style. may read the next 2 in the series.

Love love LOVE the whole trilogy!

This is so far the only series to treat all of the women in Louis XV's life. Historical detail is rich and the story is poignant and reflects the human condition; love, sorrow, ambition, life cut short, living with death and loss in old age. It's bittersweet perfection! I l also love how Elizabeth Wiley gives distinct voice to each of the characters, especially the five sisters. Some voices are nasaly and exaggerated, but it serves to give personality, and remember, this class of people WERE very flamboyant and exaggerated, in dress and mannerisms. She captures it perfectly.

Magnificent

The story was wonderful and the narrative was perfect. I am so glad I purchased this audio book.

good because it's a true story

I wasn't a big fan of the narrator's voices, too breathy/fake sounding. The only reason I didn't give up on this book is because it was based on a true story and I love history.

Good Listen

Good enough that I want to read the next book. The reader did well changing her voice accordingly, so it was easy to tell who was who, but I found some of her choices to be annoying. Thankfully, those characters had minimal parts throughout the story, so it wasn’t too much of a drag.

narrator ruin it

the narrator has such a terrible voice, she sounds like she's trying to sound like a cross between Minnie mouse and a porn star.

Like listening to a narrated movie!

Was looking for something a little different from the typical romance story and this was perfect. Good story with hints of romance but more for story purpose. This is told from each sisters point of view at varying times and the narrator did an excellent job. The first few minutes I wasn't sure if I would like it, then I realized I had already progressed to hooked. I felt like I had a visual movie playing out in my head the whole time.