A Free Man of Color
The Benjamin January Mysteries, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Ron Butler
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By:
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Barbara Hambly
About this listen
This lush and haunting novel tells of a city steeped in decadent pleasures and of a man, proud and defiant, caught in a web of murder and betrayal.
It is 1833. In the midst of Mardi Gras, Benjamin January, a Creole physician and music teacher, is playing piano at the Salle d'Orleans when the evening's festivities are interrupted - by murder.
The ravishing Angelique Crozat, a notorious octoroon who travels in the city's finest company, has been strangled to death. With the authorities reluctant to become involved, Ben begins his own inquiry, which will take him through the seamy haunts of riverboatmen and into the huts of voodoo-worshipping slaves.
But soon the eyes of suspicion turn toward Ben - for, black as the slave who fathered him, this free man of color is still seen as the perfect scapegoat.
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Raised in post-Revolution Granville, Massachusetts, James Gould could only imagine the beauty and warmth of the lands to the south. It was there that he longed to build bridges and lighthouses from his very own designs and plans. His gripping story unfolds as Gould follows his dream to the raw settlement of Bangor on the Penobscot River, St. Simons Island off the coast of Georgia, lawless Spanish East Florida, and back - at last and finally - to St. Simons.
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Re: Wonderful Story
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By: Eugenia Price
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Felicity Carrol and the Perilous Pursuit
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Felicity Carrol is interested in everything - except being a proper young matron of Victorian society. Brilliant and resourceful, Felicity took refuge in science and education after her mother died and her father abandoned her to servants. Now, all he wants is for her to marry into a family of status and money. Felicity has other ambitions - but her plans shudder to a halt when her mentor is murdered at the British Museum and his priceless manuscript of King Arthur lore is stolen.
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No thanks
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Gone with the Wind
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Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Margaret Mitchell's great novel of the South is one of the most popular books ever written. Within six months of its publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind had sold a million copies. To date, it has been translated into 25 languages, and more than 28 million copies have been sold. Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire....
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not to miss audible experience
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Belle Cora
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In the home where Arabella Godwin was raised it is forbidden to speak her name, and her picture is turned to the wall. But in the turbulent America of the 1850s, everyone knows her as "Belle Cora", madam of San Francisco's finest bordello. Judges and senators do her bidding; a vicious newspaper editor plots her downfall; a preacher looks at her from across his pulpit and tries to forget that once she was his wife. Merchant's daughter, farm girl, prostitute, mother - the only thing that never changes is her tireless pursuit of the one man who can see her for who she really is.
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excellent
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The turn of the 20th century finds 14-year-old Batya in the Russian countryside, fleeing with her family endless pogroms. Desperate, her father leaps at the opportunity to marry Batya to a worldly, wealthy stranger who can guarantee his daughter an easy life and passage to America. Feeling like a princess in a fairytale, Batya leaves her old life behind as she is whisked away to a new world. But soon, she discovers that she’s entered a waking nightmare. Her new “husband” does indeed bring her to America.
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brilliant novel based on shocking truth
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The Parisian
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A masterful debut novel by Plimpton Prize winner Isabella Hammad, The Parisian illuminates a pivotal period of Palestinian history through the journey and romances of one young man, from his studies in France during World War I to his return to Palestine at the dawn of its battle for independence.
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Overly ambitious
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Cocaine Blues
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It's the end of the roaring twenties, and the exuberant and Honourable Phryne Fisher is dancing and gaming with gay abandon. But she becomes bored with London and the endless round of parties. In search of excitement, she sets her sights on a spot of detective work in Melbourne, Australia. And so mystery and the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse, appear in her life. From then on it's all cocaine and communism until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.
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A series that just gets better
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That Scandalous Evening
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New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd spins the captivating tale of a nobleman whose path crosses again with the one woman he absolutely cannot resist....
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Heroine's a pathetic doormat
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Bellefleur
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A wealthy and notorious clan, the Bellefleurs live in a region not unlike the Adirondacks, in an enormous mansion on the shores of mythic Lake Noir. They own vast lands and profitable businesses, they employ their neighbors, and they influence the government. A prolific and eccentric group, they include several millionaires, a mass murderer, a spiritual seeker who climbs into the mountains looking for God, a wealthy noctambulist who dies of a chicken scratch.
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Old School Gothic Literature (Not a beach read)
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Mountain Laurel
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Ian Cameron, a Boston cabinetmaker turned frontier trapper, has come to Mountain Laurel hoping to remake himself yet again - into his planter uncle’s heir. No matter how uneasily the role of slave owner rests upon his shoulders. Then he meets Seona - beautiful, artistic, and enslaved to his kin. Seona has a secret: She’s been drawing for years, ever since that day she picked up a broken slate to sketch a portrait. When Ian catches her at it, he offers her opportunity to let her talent flourish, still secretly, in his cabinetmaking shop.
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An emotional journey of want and will, of bondage and freedom.
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The Cater Street Hangman
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When a maid in the upper class Ellison household is strangled, Inspector Pitt is called in to investigate. He finds a world ruled by strict manners and social customs, where the inhabitants of the Ellison's neighborhood appear to be more outraged by the thought of scandal than they are by murder. Inspector Pitt finds a most unlikely ally in Charlotte, the Ellison's spirited daughter. But as the murders continue, Charlotte and Pitt find themselves drawn together by more than the investigation.
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I really like this book but it's not for everone
- By Ancient Warrior on 03-14-11
By: Anne Perry
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What listeners say about A Free Man of Color
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Francis
- 11-10-20
Love this series!
The stories of Benjamin January are just great! Barbara does a wonderful job of bringing this time in history to life through story and characters.
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- laura alexander
- 08-08-22
Recommend
Lush, complex and thought provoking, this work introduced to me a world I've never before explored.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-26-23
Awesome historical fiction
I love history and I read historical fiction for whole my life. I have to tell it is rare to find a book where you really feel like you have been transported in time and place. I am from central Europe and we do not see many people with African or Afro-American ancestry here. And more importantly we do not have much chance to become friends with them and hear some family stories about their ancestors and past. Or ask them about culture in their homeland. So listening to this book was like opening whole window to the unknown culture.
This book describes mix of cultures in New Orleans. It only scratches the surface as it is the first book of series. But I was amazed how much diverse and fascinating place was New Orelas was . There was so many things what I had no idea about. And thanks to this book I felt like I have been inside the main protagonist head. I could imagine how people felt during that turbulent times and what they thought about certain things. How they viewed slavery. And I had no idea about so many free people of color there.
The main mystery is also very good. I always judge the crime fiction stories by how long it takes to me to figure out who is the murderer. In this book I had no idea almost till the end. So I am satisfied. I love surprising endings.
Narrator voice is pleasant to hear. Only it took me while to get used to French names and some words. English is not my native language and when English is mixed with French I had some trouble at beginning but now I enjoy it.
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- E. C. Wade
- 11-21-20
Disappointing narration
A story taking place in New Orleans well prior to the civil war with a free black as the protagonist. Sounds like a white guy from Ohio telling the story. Very disappointed that dialect was entirely ignored. The story is historically accurate and a fine “who dun it”.
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- T Parrish
- 04-05-22
I felt like I was there
I am new to these tales so forgive my naïveté.
This author and voice actor combined to create a vivid, exciting adventurous story.
You should stop reading this review and get Barbara Hambly’s book now!
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- LaTanya Clabon
- 08-12-24
The history
I liked the detail of the characters and the description of New Orleans life during that time period
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-20-23
The French
The language is its own reward. The skillful touch of Hambly doesn't go amiss either.
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- Kitty Cannon
- 03-04-24
Enlightening historical information and perspectives.
Slow start, but it picks up nicely the further and longer you delve into the mystery. A satisfying conclusion.
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- S. Hubbell
- 08-17-24
the free man of color.
The book was quite good. I personally think it could have been a little bit shorter. I think it would have been better if you used it as a reader's theater.
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- justin black
- 03-04-21
The narrator was good but not great
I love all the Benjamin January stories, but I was disappointed that Hannibal Sefton was given a southern accent, instead of an Irish accent. One of the most interesting features of this setting is the mixture of different cultures, and Hannibal’s culture is quite different from the wealthy Americans, who would be expected to have that same southern accent. Therefore, the lack of an Irish accent detracts from the portrayal of different points of view that stem from the different cultures, in my opinion.
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2 people found this helpful