Isabella: Braveheart of France
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Narrated by:
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Anne Johnstonbrown
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By:
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Colin Falconer
About this listen
She was taught to obey. Now she has learned to rebel.
12-year-old Isabella, a French princess marries the King of England - only to discover he has a terrible secret. Ten long years later she is in utter despair - does she submit to a lifetime of solitude and a spiritual death - or seize her destiny and take the throne of England for herself?
Isabella is just twelve years old when she marries Edward II of England. For the young princess it is love at first sight - but Edward has a terrible secret that threatens to tear their marriage - and England apart.
Who is Piers Gaveston - and why is his presence in the king’s court about to plunge England into civil war?
The young queen believes in the love songs of the troubadours and her own exalted destiny - but she finds reality very different. As she grows to a woman in the deadly maelstrom of Edward’s court, she must decide between her husband, her children, even her life - and one breath-taking gamble that will change the course of history.
This is the story of Isabella, the only woman ever to invade England - and win.
In the tradition of Philippa Gregory and Elizabeth Chadwick, Isabella is thoroughly researched and fast paced, the little known story of the one invasion the English never talk about.
©2013 Colin Falconer (P)2014 Colin FalconerListeners also enjoyed...
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Robin Maxwell’s debut novel introduces Anne Boleyn and her daughter, Elizabeth: one was queen for a thousand days, the other for more than 40 years. Both were passionate, headstrong women, loved and hated by Henry VIII. At the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign, her mother’s private diary is given to her by a mysterious lady. In reading it, the young ruler - herself embroiled in a dangerous love affair - discovers a great deal about her much maligned mother.
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One of the Best Tudor Novels Availalbe
- By Bonnie-Ann on 03-02-13
By: Robin Maxwell
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The Autobiography of Henry VIII
- By: Margaret George
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 41 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Margaret George's novel brings into focus the larger-than-life King Henry VIII, monarch of prodigious appetites for wine, women, and song.
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Perfection!
- By Amy M. Walts on 10-20-07
By: Margaret George
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When Christ and His Saints Slept
- Plantagenets, Book 1
- By: Sharon Kay Penman
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 36 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In When Christ and His Saints Slept, the first of a trilogy that will tell the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, master storyteller and historian Sharon Kay Penman illuminates one of the less known but fascinating periods of English history. It begins with the death of King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror and father of Maude, his only living legitimate offspring.
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Please release Pt 2!
- By BVerité on 06-08-19
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Notorious
- By: Virginia Henley
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Virginia Henley's historical romances have won praise for their ability to "illuminate and entertain" ( Publishers Weekly). It is 1322, and the Marcher lords are rebelling against King Edward II. Lady Brianna de Beauchamp, daughter of a powerful Marcher, knows she should not involve herself in the battle. But when she meets dangerously handsome Wolf Mortimer, who has the gift of second sight, she cannot deny her passions.
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Very sweet...
- By Marie on 07-13-09
By: Virginia Henley
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The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
- A Novel
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In this brilliantly imagined novel, acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power. From the fairy-tale chateaux of the Loire Valley to the battlefields of the wars of religion to the mob-filled streets of Paris, this is the extraordinary untold journey of one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen.
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Pretty good but historical details are terrible
- By Kindle Customer on 07-10-11
By: C. W. Gortner
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In the Name of the Family
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Dunant
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1502, and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, age 22 - already three times married and a pawn in her father's plans - is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, brilliant, ruthless, and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with Machiavelli that gives the Florentine diplomat a master class in the dark arts of power and politics.
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One of the best historical fiction novels
- By GrandmaNurseHeather on 04-13-17
By: Sarah Dunant
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Katherine
- A Novel
- By: Anya Seton
- Narrated by: Lorna Bennett
- Length: 29 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in the vibrant fourteenth century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets—Edward III, the Black Prince, and Richard II—who rule despotically over a court rotten with intrigue. Within this era of danger and romance, John of Gaunt, the king’s son, falls passionately in love with the already-married Katherine. Their affair persists through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption.
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my favorite novel brought to life
- By Heather on 10-04-23
By: Anya Seton
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The Boleyn King
- Boleyn Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Laura Andersen
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Just seventeen years old, Henry IX, known as William, is a king bound by the restraints of the regency yet anxious to prove himself. With the French threatening battle and the Catholics sowing the seeds of rebellion at home, William trusts only three people: his older sister Elizabeth; his best friend and loyal counselor, Dominic; and Minuette, a young orphan raised as a royal ward by William’s mother, Anne Boleyn.
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Great idea, bad story
- By S. D. Ristick on 09-22-14
By: Laura Andersen
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The Crown
- By: Nancy Bilyeau
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In this debut historical thriller, an aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father’s life and preserve all she holds dear. When novitiate nun Joanna Stafford learns her rebel cousin is condemned by King Henry VIII to be burned at the stake, she makes the decision to break the sacred rule of enclosure and flee her Dominican order in Dartford to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, Sir Richard Stafford, is sent to the Tower of London.
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Torture
- By S. Wells on 03-24-13
By: Nancy Bilyeau
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Empress
- Godspeaker, Book 1
- By: Karen Miller
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In a family torn apart by poverty and violence, Hekat is no more than an unwanted mouth to feed, worth only a few coins from a passing slave trader. But Hekat was not born to be a slave. For her, a different path has been chosen. It is a path that will take her from stinking back alleys to the house of her God, from blood-drenched battlefields to the glittering palaces of Mijak. This is the story of Hekat, slave to no man.
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depressing and left me feeling empty
- By Bonnie on 09-16-09
By: Karen Miller
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A Dangerous Inheritance
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Maggie Mash
- Length: 25 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Historian and New York Times best-selling author Alison Weir is acclaimed for her absorbing works about the infamous House of York and House of Tudor lines. In A Dangerous Inheritance, Weir uses her wealth of knowledge to craft a compelling novel about two women, living 70 years apart, who are linked through the mysterious disappearance of King Richard III's nephews, Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury - also known as the Princes in the Tower.
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Not Weir's Best
- By Joshua on 01-08-13
By: Alison Weir
What listeners say about Isabella: Braveheart of France
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kindle Customer
- 04-13-16
A different take on the tale
So many times Isabella is portrayed as grasping and manipulative. The author finds a way to show that she only did what she had to do. The truth will never be known, but this does give the reader something to think about.
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4 people found this helpful
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- JeffSHughes
- 05-04-20
Neither novel nor narrative
The flow of the story Is in between a historical narrative— and a novel.... but assumes the role of neither— making for a dull novel — (or a more interesting and rather embellished narrative.)
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- kaylady
- 04-13-16
interesting but slow in some parts
I enjoyed the book but at several points felt like it dragged. The story was well told but did not meet my expectations. under further consideration I am not sure if I would read it again.
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- By Marlene Stewart
- 08-27-14
Love This Book
What made the experience of listening to Isabella: Braveheart of France the most enjoyable?
The voice was soothing and the accents were recognizable but understandable
What other book might you compare Isabella: Braveheart of France to and why?
This is my first Audible Book
What about Anne Johnstonbrown’s performance did you like?
She had an excellent read style. Very talented reader.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
ye at several occasions
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- Kindle Customer
- 12-14-17
Love it
Awesome story line. Enjoyed listening to the story as it unfolds. Great and written well
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- Hatchue
- 06-10-14
Nice historical fiction
What was one of the most memorable moments of Isabella: Braveheart of France?
I liked the part towards the end where Isabella makes the decision to accept the role of emissary to France and then takes advantage of it to take charge of her own life by going against the king.
Have you listened to any of Anne Johnstonbrown’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I hadn't heard anything by Anne Johnstonbrown before but I liked her performance. She had a pleasant voice and put just the right amount of emotional emphasis into it.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Unless it's an exceptionally engaging story, I find it hard to listen for that long, haha. But it was a decent story and I probably could have done it if I didn't have other things I had to do.
Any additional comments?
I didn't care for the way that it was written all in the present tense, but that's more of a personal preference. I might have bought a different book if I had known this, though.
I don't know anything about the real Isabella of France that the book was based on, so I can't judge how true to life this story may or may not have been, but it was a believable story.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Noëlle505
- 01-28-20
Terrible narrator
The French accents were almost a mockery, and the men’s voices sound-
Ed very strange, sometimes croaky.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lana Lee Plum
- 07-09-16
Child Bride married at 12 rises to save England.
Isabella was born daughter of a French King. She became the English Queen at the age of 12. This is the story of their marriage. Edward did not want to be king and had terrible choice in friends. The characters are live people from the past. Royalty life and loyalty is very complicated and much treachery existed. An interesting historical novel.
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- Krysia H. Alexander
- 05-21-16
Must read for historical fiction readers.
Enjoyable and fun to read and listen to, the intrigue kept you guessing good read.
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- no one really
- 07-17-16
Wonderful Escapism
I was hesitant about the book, as I had read that the author was misogynistic in his writing of women, but I am very glad that I went ahead with this work. The story is very well done, and the author thoughtful. He has your loyalties wavering throughout the book. The dialogue is also intriguing and I found myself laughing in some parts. The narrator was one of the best I've encountered; she did a fantastic job with the voices and accents. I'll be looking for her again in other books. Overall, It's a well written story, and I recommend it. Enjoy!
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