Ambition and Desire
The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte
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Narrated by:
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Corrie James
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By:
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Kate Williams
About this listen
Josephine de Beauharnais began as a kept woman of Paris and became the most powerful woman in France. She was no beauty; her teeth were rotten, and she was six years older than her husband, but one twitch of her skirt could bring running the man who terrorized Europe.
The tale of Napoleon and Josephine is one of the most famous love stories in the world. With Josephine, Napoleon became the greatest man in Europe, the Supreme Emperor. And yet, envisioning Josephine as the calm consort on the sofa obscures many of the most fascinating aspects of her story.
How did she rise to such an astonishing position? How did she perfect the art of the beautiful, sweet chameleon - and thus fool so many? France in the late 18th and early 19th century was a country in such extreme flux that everything was accessible - and possible - but it took an incredible woman to seize the opportunities. Ambition and Desire explains how the little girl from Martinique became the Queen of France.
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I found it extremely moving.
- By Cheryl on 08-07-09
By: Gillian Gill
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Marie Antoinette
- The Journey
- By: Antonia Fraser
- Narrated by: Donada Peters
- Length: 20 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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France's iconic queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous "Let them eat cake", was alternately revered and reviled during her lifetime. For centuries since, she has been the object of debate, speculation, and the fascination so often accorded illustrious figures in history. Married in mere girlhood, this essentially lighthearted child was thrust onto the royal stage and commanded by circumstance to play a significant role in European history.
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Annoying Narration
- By LaFemmeRouge on 10-28-06
By: Antonia Fraser
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Secret Lives of the Tsars
- Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia
- By: Michael Farquhar
- Narrated by: Enn Reitel
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Scandal! Intrigue! Cossacks! Here the world’s most engaging royal historian chronicles the world’s most fascinating imperial dynasty: the Romanovs, whose three-hundred-year reign was remarkable for its shocking violence, spectacular excess, and unimaginable venality. In this incredibly entertaining history, Michael Farquhar collects the best, most captivating true tales of Romanov iniquity.
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A good introduction to the Romanovs
- By Daniel Burgon on 07-14-14
By: Michael Farquhar
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Catherine de Medici
- Renaissance Queen of France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Sarah Le Fevre
- Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Poisoner, despot, necromancer - the dark legend of Catherine de Medici is centuries old. In this critically hailed biography, Leonie Frieda reclaims the story of this unjustly maligned queen to reveal a skilled ruler battling extraordinary political and personal odds - from a troubled childhood in Florence to her marriage to Henry, son of King Francis I of France; from her transformation of French culture to her fight to protect her throne and her sons' birthright. Based on thousands of private letters, it is a remarkable account of one of the most influential women to wear a crown.
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Narrator didn't get one name right
- By Georgina García- Menocal on 09-15-19
By: Leonie Frieda
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The Mistresses of Cliveden
- Three Centuries of Scandal, Power, and Intrigue in an English Stately Home
- By: Natalie Livingstone
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overlooking the Thames, the Cliveden mansion is flanked by two wings and surrounded by lavish gardens. Throughout its storied history, Cliveden has been a setting for misbehavior, intrigue, and passion - from its salacious, deadly beginnings in the 17th century to the 1960s Profumo affair, the sex scandal that toppled the British government. Now, in this immersive chronicle, the manor's current mistress, Natalie Livingstone, opens the doors to this prominent house and lets the walls do the talking.
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disappointed
- By Galina M. on 11-14-16
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The Assassination of the Archduke
- Sarajevo 1914 and the Romance That Changed the World
- By: Greg King, Sue Woolmans
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Set against a backdrop of glittering privilege, The Assassination ofthe Archduke combines royal history, touching romance, and political murder in a moving portrait of the end of an era. One hundred years after the event, it offers the startling truth behind the Sarajevo assassinations, including Serbian complicity, and examines rumors of conspiracy and official negligence.
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Sarajevo trip in riveting slow motion
- By Skeptical on 06-29-14
By: Greg King, and others
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The Glitter and the Gold
- The American Duchess - In Her Own Words
- By: Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful and the heir to a vast family fortune. She was also deeply in love with an American suitor when her mother chose instead for her to fulfill her social ambitions and marry an English Duke. Leaving her life in America, she came to England as the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 and took up residence in her new home: Blenheim Palace. The ninth Duchess gives unique first-hand insight into life at the very pinnacle of English society in the Edwardian era.
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Facinating Story- Terrible reading
- By Ashley D on 03-27-14
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Matriarch
- Queen Mary and the House of Windsor
- By: Anne Edwards
- Narrated by: Corrie James
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The life of Princess May of Teck is one of the great Cinderella stories in history. From a family of impoverished nobility, she was chosen by Queen Victoria as the bride for her eldest grandson, the scandalous Duke of Clarence, heir to the throne, who died mysteriously before their marriage. Despite this setback, she became queen, mother of two kings, grandmother of the current queen, and a lasting symbol of the majesty of the British throne.
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Wow! Did not want this to end!
- By Susan Nall Sheehan on 07-16-17
By: Anne Edwards
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Behind the Throne
- A Domestic History of the British Royal Household
- By: Adrian Tinniswood
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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In Behind the Throne, historian Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking the listener on a remarkable journey from one Queen Elizabeth to another and exploring life as it was lived by clerks and courtiers and clowns and crowned heads: the power struggles and petty rivalries, the tension between duty and desire, the practicalities of cooking dinner for thousands and of ensuring the king always won when he played a game of tennis.
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Very Worthwhile
- By G. Cole on 12-13-18
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The House of Medici
- Its Rise and Fall
- By: Christopher Hibbert
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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This enthralling book charts the family's huge influence on the political, economic, and cultural history of Florence. Beginning in the early 1430s with the rise of the dynasty under the near-legendary Cosimo de Medici, it moves through their golden era as patrons of some of the most remarkable artists and architects of the Renaissance, to the era of the Medici Popes and Grand Dukes, Florence's slide into decay and bankruptcy, and the end, in 1737, of the Medici line.
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Laundry list of names
- By Elizabeth W on 01-02-17
What listeners say about Ambition and Desire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Leon Miller
- 03-30-17
Thrilling, romantic, fascinating, and enlightening
What did you love best about Ambition and Desire?
The fact that it introduced me to a world I knew little about, a world of people swept up in the great dramas of their time. The political and military side of this story is better known, but here we are given the human side of history, and it was absolutely fascinating.
What about Corrie James’s performance did you like?
Corrie James is one of the finest narrator's I have had the pleasure to listen to. She brought warmth, charm, drama, a sense of understanding the characters, and an absolutely delightful sly wit. I was very impressed and thoroughly enjoyed her work.
Any additional comments?
"Ambition and Desire" is everything you want in history. Deeply researched, this riveting account of one of the world's great love stories is a true page-turner. With great assurance and flair, the author guides you through Josephine's childhood on the island of Martinique, through the Terror and its aftermath, and the rise and fall of Napoleon. Josephine is a wonderful lens for viewing a different perspective on the French Revolution. As a victim of the Terror herself, she experienced some of its worst abuses and eventually survived to become one of Paris's great courtesans. And then, of course, was Napoleon. Highly recommended.
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- desley
- 05-31-19
Learned so much
Picked this book because I just returned from a trip to France where I visited many of the places referred to in this book. Having toured Josephine’ s home and walked the gardens, they came to life. Our tour guide gave a more politically correct version of this time period, it was wonderful to hear the actual words of these historical figures.
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- Ashley
- 03-24-24
Great story; easily digestible!
Great story full of historical information that is easily digestible. Part love story and tragedy, this is also a hero’s journey of a woman of courage and resilience.
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- Robin Johnson
- 06-20-17
Returning this title
I was so interested to start this book, but sadly it just sounds too textbook for me.
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- J Kennedy
- 03-05-17
Very disappointing
What disappointed you about Ambition and Desire?
I love historical novels, but this book is neither a history book nor a novel. It is a strange tracking of the characters surrounding Josephine and Napolian Bonaparte. It is a documentary without any sense of a novel.
Has Ambition and Desire turned you off from other books in this genre?
No, I look forward to discovering other books in historical fiction. I have already purchased many and look forward to more.
Would you be willing to try another one of Corrie James’s performances?
No. She is stilted and doesn't get into the emotions of the characters. All of her characters seem mad, angry or pathetic.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Disappointment.
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1 person found this helpful