Blood of the Caesars
How the Murder of Germanicus Led to the Fall of Rome
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
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Robert Blumenfeld
About this listen
Could the killing of Germanicus Julius Caesar - the grandson of Mark Antony, adopted son of the emperor Tiberius, father of Caligula, and grandfather of Nero - while the Roman Empire was still in its infancy have been the root cause of the empire's collapse more than four centuries later? This brilliant investigation of Germanicus Caesar’s death and its aftermath is both a compelling history and first-class murder mystery with a plot twist Agatha Christie would envy.
©2008 Stephen Dando-Collins (P)2012 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Cleopatra's Kidnappers
- How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julius Caesar was nothing if not bold. When, in the wake of his defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus his victorious legions refused to march another step under his command, he pursued his fleeing rival into Egypt with an impossibly small force of Gallic and German cavalry, raw Italian recruits, and nine hundred Spanish prisoners of war - tough veterans of Pompey's Sixth Legion. Cleopatra's Kidnappers tells the epic saga of Caesar's adventures in Egypt through the eyes of these captured, but never defeated, legionaries.
-
-
Should be titled: The 6th Legion: Cleopatra's...
- By jv on 01-03-13
-
Mark Antony's Heroes
- How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: John FitzGibbon
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This fourth book in Dando-Collins’ definitive history of Rome’s legions tells the story of Rome’s 3rd Gallica Legion, which put Vespasian on the throne and saved the life of the Christian apostle Paul. Named for their leader, Mark Antony, these common Roman soldiers, through their gallantry on the battlefield, reshaped the Roman Empire and aided the spread of Christianity throughout Europe.
-
-
Well worth listening to
- By Acteon on 06-14-15
-
Rise of an Empire
- How One Man United Greece to Defeat Xerxes's Persians
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The action-filled movie 300 focused on Ancient Greece's epic battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas led 300 Spartans into battle against Xerxes and his million-strong Persian forces. In the sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire, the action moves to the sea, covering 10 years starting with the Battle of Marathon and ending with naval engagement the Battle of Artemisium, which occurred the same day as Thermopylae. Rise of an Empire tells the story of the real men and events depicted in the movie.
-
-
bad editing and...
- By j.holmes on 08-04-16
-
Nero's Killing Machine
- The True Story of Rome's Remarkable 14th Legion
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 14th Gemina Martia Victrix Legion was the most celebrated unit of the early Roman Empire - a force that had been wiped out under Julius Caesar, reformed, and almost wiped out again. After participating in the a.d. 43 invasion of Britain, the 14th Legion achieved its greatest glory when it put down the famous rebellion of the Britons under Boudicca.
-
-
Read anything by this author.
- By Norbert S. Matson on 05-20-17
-
The Ides
- Caesar’s Murder and the War for Rome
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the most notorious murders in history. Even now, many questions remain about his death: Was Brutus the hero and Caesar the villain? Was Mark Antony aware of the plot? Using historical evidence to sort out these and other puzzling issues, historian and award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins recaptures the drama of Caesar's demise and the chaotic aftermath as the vicious struggle unfolded for power between Antony and Octavian.
-
-
Not Good History
- By Garcia on 09-18-11
-
Caligula
- The Mad Emperor of Rome
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this book about Rome’s most infamous emperor, expert author, Stephen Dando-Collins chronicles all the palace intrigues and murders that led to Caligula becoming emperor, and details the horrors of his manic reign and the murderous consequences brought about at the hand of his sister Agrippina the Younger, his uncle Claudius and his nephew Nero.
-
-
A solid overview, sadly stained by modernity.
- By Kaiser on 08-22-20
-
Cleopatra's Kidnappers
- How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julius Caesar was nothing if not bold. When, in the wake of his defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus his victorious legions refused to march another step under his command, he pursued his fleeing rival into Egypt with an impossibly small force of Gallic and German cavalry, raw Italian recruits, and nine hundred Spanish prisoners of war - tough veterans of Pompey's Sixth Legion. Cleopatra's Kidnappers tells the epic saga of Caesar's adventures in Egypt through the eyes of these captured, but never defeated, legionaries.
-
-
Should be titled: The 6th Legion: Cleopatra's...
- By jv on 01-03-13
-
Mark Antony's Heroes
- How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: John FitzGibbon
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This fourth book in Dando-Collins’ definitive history of Rome’s legions tells the story of Rome’s 3rd Gallica Legion, which put Vespasian on the throne and saved the life of the Christian apostle Paul. Named for their leader, Mark Antony, these common Roman soldiers, through their gallantry on the battlefield, reshaped the Roman Empire and aided the spread of Christianity throughout Europe.
-
-
Well worth listening to
- By Acteon on 06-14-15
-
Rise of an Empire
- How One Man United Greece to Defeat Xerxes's Persians
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The action-filled movie 300 focused on Ancient Greece's epic battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas led 300 Spartans into battle against Xerxes and his million-strong Persian forces. In the sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire, the action moves to the sea, covering 10 years starting with the Battle of Marathon and ending with naval engagement the Battle of Artemisium, which occurred the same day as Thermopylae. Rise of an Empire tells the story of the real men and events depicted in the movie.
-
-
bad editing and...
- By j.holmes on 08-04-16
-
Nero's Killing Machine
- The True Story of Rome's Remarkable 14th Legion
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 14th Gemina Martia Victrix Legion was the most celebrated unit of the early Roman Empire - a force that had been wiped out under Julius Caesar, reformed, and almost wiped out again. After participating in the a.d. 43 invasion of Britain, the 14th Legion achieved its greatest glory when it put down the famous rebellion of the Britons under Boudicca.
-
-
Read anything by this author.
- By Norbert S. Matson on 05-20-17
-
The Ides
- Caesar’s Murder and the War for Rome
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the most notorious murders in history. Even now, many questions remain about his death: Was Brutus the hero and Caesar the villain? Was Mark Antony aware of the plot? Using historical evidence to sort out these and other puzzling issues, historian and award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins recaptures the drama of Caesar's demise and the chaotic aftermath as the vicious struggle unfolded for power between Antony and Octavian.
-
-
Not Good History
- By Garcia on 09-18-11
-
Caligula
- The Mad Emperor of Rome
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this book about Rome’s most infamous emperor, expert author, Stephen Dando-Collins chronicles all the palace intrigues and murders that led to Caligula becoming emperor, and details the horrors of his manic reign and the murderous consequences brought about at the hand of his sister Agrippina the Younger, his uncle Claudius and his nephew Nero.
-
-
A solid overview, sadly stained by modernity.
- By Kaiser on 08-22-20
-
Nero
- Matricide, Music, and Murder in Imperial Rome
- By: Anthony Everitt, Roddy Ashworth
- Narrated by: Greg Patmore
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Roman emperor Nero’s name has long been a byword for cruelty, decadence, and despotism. As the stories go, he set fire to Rome and thrummed his lyre as it burned. He then cleared the charred ruins and built a vast palace. He committed incest with his mother, who had schemed and killed to place him on the throne, and later murdered her. But these stories, left behind by contemporary historians who hated him, are hardly the full picture, and in this nuanced biography, celebrated historian Anthony Everitt and investigative journalist Roddy Ashworth reveal the contradictions inherent in Nero
-
-
An amazing 360 degree portrait
- By Cooper A Day on 01-01-23
By: Anthony Everitt, and others
-
Emperor of Rome
- Ruling the Ancient World
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Mary Beard
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
-
-
Wasn't sure but won me over
- By John S. on 01-26-24
By: Mary Beard
-
Trajan
- Rome's Last Conqueror
- By: Nicholas Jackson
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Until the publication of this captivating biography, no such volume on Trajan's life has been tailored to the general listener. The unique book illuminates a neglected period of ancient Roman history. Trajan rose from fairly obscure beginnings to become the emperor of Rome. He was born in Italica, an Italic settlement close to modern Seville in present-day Spain, and is the first Roman Emperor to be born outside of Rome. His remarkable rise from officer to general and then to emperor in just over twenty years reveals a shrewd politician who maintained absolute power.
-
-
Distracting performance
- By Generic Reviewer on 06-22-24
By: Nicholas Jackson
-
Marching with Caesar
- Birth of the 10th Legion
- By: R.W. Peake
- Narrated by: Simon Burdett
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titus Pullus, the hero of the 10th Legion and the Marching With Caesar series, tells his story from the very beginning of his life, starting with his relationship with his father, how his friendship with Vibius Domitius began, and how their burning ambition to join the Legions was helped by a veteran nicknamed Cyclops. Enlisting in the 10th Legion, raised in 61 B.C. by Gaius Julius Caesar, Birth of the 10th Legion recounts the first campaign ever conducted by Julius Caesar as a commander...
-
-
Superb history and pulse pounding excitement.
- By William H. Harrington on 12-10-14
By: R.W. Peake
-
Rome and Persia
- The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 20 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Roman empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. Its only true rival lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires ruled over great cities and the trade routes to mysterious lands beyond. Tracing seven centuries of conflict between Rome and Persia, historian Adrian Goldsworthy shows how these two great powers evolved together
-
-
MAPS NEEDED
- By David on 12-29-23
-
A Man at Arms
- By: Steven Pressfield
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jerusalem and the Sinai desert, AD 55. In the turbulent aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus, agents of the Roman Empire receive information about a pilgrim bearing an incendiary letter from a religious fanatic calling himself Paul the Apostle to insurrectionists in Corinth. What's in the letter could bring down an empire. The Romans hire a former legionary, a solitary man-at-arms named Telamon to intercept the letter and destroy the courier. But once he meets the courier, Telamon experiences an extraordinary conversion.
-
-
Christian Perspective
- By Scott Sengbush on 04-16-21
-
The Story of World War II
- By: Donald L. Miller, Henry Steele Commager
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 24 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on previously unpublished eyewitness accounts, prizewinning historian Donald L. Miller has written what critics are calling one of the most powerful accounts of warfare ever published. Here are the horror and heroism of World War II in the words of the men who fought it, the journalists who covered it, and the civilians who were caught in its fury. Miller gives us an up-close, deeply personal view of a war that was more savagely fought - and whose outcome was in greater doubt - than one might imagine. This is the war that Americans on the home front would have read about had they had access to previously censored testimony.
-
-
INCREDIBLE! WELL-RESEARCHED, COMPLETE & UNBIASED!
- By The Louligan on 07-15-14
By: Donald L. Miller, and others
-
Augustus
- First Emperor of Rome
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caesar Augustus's story, one of the most riveting in western history, is filled with drama and contradiction, risky gambles and unexpected success. He began as a teenage warlord, whose only claim to power was as the heir of the murdered Julius Caesar. Mark Antony dubbed him "a boy who owes everything to a name," but in the years to come the youth outmaneuvered all the older and more experienced politicians and was the last man standing in 30 BC.
-
-
You know my name...say it.
- By Steven on 12-10-14
-
The Birth of Britain
- A History of the English Speaking Peoples, Volume I
- By: Sir Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The English-speaking peoples comprise perhaps the greatest number of human beings sharing a common language in the world today. These people also share a common heritage. For his four-volume work, Sir Winston Churchill took as his subject these great elements in world history. Volume 1 commences in 55BC, when Julius Caesar famously "turned his gaze upon Britain" and concludes with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
-
-
Birth of Britain
- By Terryl Pettengill on 02-11-07
-
The Iliad & The Odyssey
- By: Homer
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity.
-
-
Worth the price, worth the time
- By Sam on 12-31-04
By: Homer
-
Roman Warfare
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roman warfare was relentless in its pursuit of victory. A ruthless approach to combat played a major part in Rome's history, creating an empire that eventually included much of Europe, the Near East and North Africa. What distinguished the Roman army from its opponents was the uncompromising and total destruction of its enemies. Yet this ferocity was combined with a genius for absorbing conquered peoples, creating one of the most enduring empires ever known. In Roman Warfare, celebrated historian Adrian Goldsworthy traces the history of Roman warfare.
-
-
Not much here.
- By Placeholder on 12-06-23
-
I, Claudius
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is one of the best historical novels ever written. Lame, stammering Claudius, once a major embarrassment to the imperial family and now emperor of Rome, writes an eyewitness account of the reign of the first four Caesars: the noble Augustus and his cunning wife, Livia; the reptilian Tiberius; the monstrous Caligula; and finally old Claudius himself. Filled with poisonings, betrayal, and shocking excesses, I Claudius is history that rivals the most exciting contemporary fiction.
-
-
Unsurpassed, addictive brilliance
- By Chris on 06-09-09
By: Robert Graves
Related to this topic
-
The Ides
- Caesar’s Murder and the War for Rome
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the most notorious murders in history. Even now, many questions remain about his death: Was Brutus the hero and Caesar the villain? Was Mark Antony aware of the plot? Using historical evidence to sort out these and other puzzling issues, historian and award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins recaptures the drama of Caesar's demise and the chaotic aftermath as the vicious struggle unfolded for power between Antony and Octavian.
-
-
Not Good History
- By Garcia on 09-18-11
-
Augustus
- First Emperor of Rome
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caesar Augustus's story, one of the most riveting in western history, is filled with drama and contradiction, risky gambles and unexpected success. He began as a teenage warlord, whose only claim to power was as the heir of the murdered Julius Caesar. Mark Antony dubbed him "a boy who owes everything to a name," but in the years to come the youth outmaneuvered all the older and more experienced politicians and was the last man standing in 30 BC.
-
-
You know my name...say it.
- By Steven on 12-10-14
-
The Death of Caesar
- The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Shakespeare's gripping play showed Caesar's assassination to be an amateur and idealistic affair. The real killing, however, was a carefully planned paramilitary operation, a generals' plot put together by Caesar's disaffected officers and designed with precision. Brutus and Cassius were indeed key players, but they had the help of a third man - Decimus. He was the mole in Caesar's entourage, one of Caesar's leading generals, and a lifelong friend.
-
-
Absorbing
- By Jean on 03-24-15
By: Barry Strauss
-
Claudius the God
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 19 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Robert Graves continues Claudius' story with the epic adulteries of Messalina, King Herod Agrippa's betrayal of his old friend, and the final arrival of that bloodthirsty teenager, Nero.
-
-
The Deified King of Historical Fiction
- By Darwin8u on 12-27-12
By: Robert Graves
-
Mary Queen of Scots
- The True Life of Mary Stuart
- By: John Guy
- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 25 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the first full-scale biography of Mary Stuart in more than 30 years, John Guy creates an intimate and absorbing portrait of one of history's most famous women, depicting her world and her place in the sweep of history with stunning immediacy. Bringing together all surviving documents and uncovering a trove of new sources for the first time, Guy dispels the popular image of Mary Queen of Scots as a romantic leading lady - achieving her ends through feminine wiles - and establishes her as the intellectual and political equal of Elizabeth I.
-
-
Horrible narration - don’t purchase
- By ballymerrigan on 12-27-18
By: John Guy
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Fascinating & Long Overdue
- By Mary E Birdsong on 10-22-22
By: Shelley Puhak
-
The Ides
- Caesar’s Murder and the War for Rome
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the most notorious murders in history. Even now, many questions remain about his death: Was Brutus the hero and Caesar the villain? Was Mark Antony aware of the plot? Using historical evidence to sort out these and other puzzling issues, historian and award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins recaptures the drama of Caesar's demise and the chaotic aftermath as the vicious struggle unfolded for power between Antony and Octavian.
-
-
Not Good History
- By Garcia on 09-18-11
-
Augustus
- First Emperor of Rome
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caesar Augustus's story, one of the most riveting in western history, is filled with drama and contradiction, risky gambles and unexpected success. He began as a teenage warlord, whose only claim to power was as the heir of the murdered Julius Caesar. Mark Antony dubbed him "a boy who owes everything to a name," but in the years to come the youth outmaneuvered all the older and more experienced politicians and was the last man standing in 30 BC.
-
-
You know my name...say it.
- By Steven on 12-10-14
-
The Death of Caesar
- The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Shakespeare's gripping play showed Caesar's assassination to be an amateur and idealistic affair. The real killing, however, was a carefully planned paramilitary operation, a generals' plot put together by Caesar's disaffected officers and designed with precision. Brutus and Cassius were indeed key players, but they had the help of a third man - Decimus. He was the mole in Caesar's entourage, one of Caesar's leading generals, and a lifelong friend.
-
-
Absorbing
- By Jean on 03-24-15
By: Barry Strauss
-
Claudius the God
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 19 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Robert Graves continues Claudius' story with the epic adulteries of Messalina, King Herod Agrippa's betrayal of his old friend, and the final arrival of that bloodthirsty teenager, Nero.
-
-
The Deified King of Historical Fiction
- By Darwin8u on 12-27-12
By: Robert Graves
-
Mary Queen of Scots
- The True Life of Mary Stuart
- By: John Guy
- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 25 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the first full-scale biography of Mary Stuart in more than 30 years, John Guy creates an intimate and absorbing portrait of one of history's most famous women, depicting her world and her place in the sweep of history with stunning immediacy. Bringing together all surviving documents and uncovering a trove of new sources for the first time, Guy dispels the popular image of Mary Queen of Scots as a romantic leading lady - achieving her ends through feminine wiles - and establishes her as the intellectual and political equal of Elizabeth I.
-
-
Horrible narration - don’t purchase
- By ballymerrigan on 12-27-18
By: John Guy
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Fascinating & Long Overdue
- By Mary E Birdsong on 10-22-22
By: Shelley Puhak
-
Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everitt plunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancient Rome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through his legendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection of unguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to life here as a witty and cunning political operator.
-
-
An eloquent man, and a patriot
- By Darwin8u on 01-19-15
By: Anthony Everitt
-
The Rival Queens
- Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal That Ignited a Kingdom
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for 30 years. Her youngest daughter, Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.
-
-
Definitely not a dull bio!
- By Nella on 07-04-15
By: Nancy Goldstone
-
Catherine de Medici
- Renaissance Queen of France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Sarah Le Fevre
- Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Narrator didn't get one name right
- By Georgina García- Menocal on 09-15-19
By: Leonie Frieda
-
I, Claudius
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is one of the best historical novels ever written. Lame, stammering Claudius, once a major embarrassment to the imperial family and now emperor of Rome, writes an eyewitness account of the reign of the first four Caesars: the noble Augustus and his cunning wife, Livia; the reptilian Tiberius; the monstrous Caligula; and finally old Claudius himself. Filled with poisonings, betrayal, and shocking excesses, I Claudius is history that rivals the most exciting contemporary fiction.
-
-
Unsurpassed, addictive brilliance
- By Chris on 06-09-09
By: Robert Graves
-
Cleopatra
- A Life
- By: Stacy Schiff
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order.
-
-
Approach this book with caution
- By GolfZilla on 12-02-10
By: Stacy Schiff
-
Cleopatra: The Egyptian Queen: The Entire Life Story
- By: THE HISTORY HOUR
- Narrated by: Lizzie Richards
- Length: 1 hr and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, nominally survived as pharaoh by her son Caesarion. She was also a diplomat, naval commander, polyglot, and medical author. As a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder, Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.
-
-
Good overview, poor narration
- By HP on 10-31-22
By: THE HISTORY HOUR
-
The Age of Caesar
- Five Roman Lives
- By: Plutarch, James Romm - preface and notes, Pamela Mensch - translator
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pompey, Caesar, Cicero, Brutus, Antony: the names resonate across thousands of years. Major figures in the civil wars that brutally ended the Roman republic, their lives still haunt us as examples of how the hunger for personal power can overwhelm collective politics, how the exaltation of the military can corrode civilian authority, and how the best intentions can lead to disastrous consequences. Plutarch renders these history-making lives as flesh-and-blood characters.
-
-
Terrific
- By Michael on 06-13-23
By: Plutarch, and others
-
Rome's Last Citizen
- The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar
- By: Rob Goodman, Jimmy Soni
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marcus Porcius Cato: aristocrat who walked barefoot and slept on the ground with his troops, political heavyweight who cultivated the image of a Stoic philosopher, a hardnosed defender of tradition who presented himself as a man out of the sacred Roman past-and the last man standing when Rome's Republic fell to tyranny. His blood feud with Caesar began in the chamber of the Senate, played out on the battlefields of a world war, and ended when he took his own life rather than live under a dictator.
-
-
Unfortunate
- By Olivia N. on 11-06-20
By: Rob Goodman, and others
-
The Women of the Cousins' War
- The Duchess, the Queen and the King's Mother
- By: Philippa Gregory, David Baldwin, Michael Jones
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her essay on Jacquetta, Philippa Gregory uses original documents, archaeology and histories of myth and witchcraft to create the first-ever biography of the young duchess who was to survive two reigns and two wars to become the first lady at two rival courts. David Baldwin, established author on the Wars of the Roses, tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, the first commoner to marry a king of England for love, and Michael Jones, fellow of the Royal Historical Society, writes of Margaret Beaufort, the almost-unknown matriarch of the House of Tudor. The Women of the Cousins’ War will appeal to all.
-
-
Great book
- By Stacey Wallace on 11-14-11
By: Philippa Gregory, and others
-
The Romanovs
- 1613-1918
- By: Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Narrated by: Simon Beale
- Length: 28 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the intimate story of 20 tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence, and wild extravagance, with a global cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries, and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy and Pushkin.
-
-
Scholarly but gripping
- By William on 06-16-16
-
The White King
- Charles I, Traitor, Murderer, Martyr
- By: Leanda de Lisle
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Less than 40 years after England's golden age under Elizabeth I, the country was at war with itself. Split between loyalty to the Crown or to Parliament, war raged on English soil. Its casualties were immense. At the head of the disintegrating kingdom was King Charles I. In this vivid portrait - informed by previously unseen manuscripts, including royal correspondence between the king and his queen - Leanda de Lisle depicts a man who was principled and brave but fatally blinkered.
-
-
Enlightening Stuart history
- By Adeliese Baumann on 01-25-18
By: Leanda de Lisle
-
The Twelve Caesars
- By: Suetonius
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Twelve Caesars was written based on the information of eyewitnesses and public records. It conveys a very accurate picture of court life in Rome and contains some of the raciest and most salacious material to be found in all of ancient literature. The writing is clear, simple and easy to understand, and the numerous anecdotes of juicy scandal, bitter court intrigue, and murderous brigandage easily hold their own against the most spirited content of today's tabloids.
-
-
A pleasure to read...
- By Robyn C. Blaber on 03-13-10
By: Suetonius
What listeners say about Blood of the Caesars
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Acteon
- 06-14-15
Brilliant, breathtaking, unforgettable
What made the experience of listening to Blood of the Caesars the most enjoyable?
This book is arguably the greatest who-dun-it ever written. From beginning to end, it is as exciting as any novel I've ever read (listened to), only the plot and characters are entirely historical and not fictional, and moreover, their actions and fate are of the greatest import in European indeed world history. Along the way, we get a remarkably vivid account of the Roman empire during the half century after Augustus. I listened to it in a day and my heart is still beating faster from it!
What was one of the most memorable moments of Blood of the Caesars?
There are many. This book not only brings history to life, it brings it into focus.
Which character – as performed by Robert Blumenfeld – was your favorite?
Robert Blumenfeld as always is excellent. This book, however, is historical in nature and so the question of performing a character does not apply.
Any additional comments?
I have read several books by Dando-Collins and have learned much from them, but this is surely his magnum opus. And its subject keeps it from being marred by his annoying habit of using modern military rank. An absolute must-read if you are interested in history.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful