Mixed Blessings: Aethelbald - Bretwalda of Mercia
Saints and Sinners, Book 2
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Narrated by:
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Graham Mack
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By:
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John Broughton
About this listen
Mierce, the English Midlands, 8th Century A.D.
Æthelbald, King of Mierce, is a man of ambition. Having created much-needed stability within his domain, he now aspires to take the surrounding kingdoms to expand and fortify his own. Stealthy and cunning, Æthelbald manipulates other men of power to achieve his goals.
The quest for power is not King Æthelbald’s only passion in life. Despite not wishing to marry, he has an unabating lust for women and takes advantage of his position to "raid" nunneries to satisfy his desires. But Æthelbald also wishes to be seen as a fair and merciful king, and many poor, common folk benefit from his generous deeds and favourable resolutions.
As Æthelbald’s reign grows and strengthens, so too does the authority of the church, whose leverage over monarchical matters becomes increasingly overbearing. The church does not approve of King Æthelbald’s exploits with innocent women and seeks to bring him into line with the threat of eternal damnation.
The sequel to Saints and Sinners, Mixed Blessings chronicles the life of an English king in the days where the boundaries of kingdoms and social propriety were undergoing rapid change.
©2020 John Broughton (P)2020 John BroughtonListeners also enjoyed...
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It was a time of legend, as the last shadows of the mighty Roman conqueror faded from the captured Isle of Britain. Meanwhile, across a vast sea, bloody war shattered a peace that had flourished for 2,000 years in the doomed kingdom of Atlantis. This is the remarkable adventure of Charis, the courageous princess from Atlantis who escapes the terrible devastation of her land, and of the fabled seer and druid prince Taliesin, singer at the dawn of the age. It is a story of an incomparable love that joins two astonishing worlds....
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A Classic interpretation of a Classic tale
- By John on 08-11-03
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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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The Tudor Crown
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Karen Cass, Oliver J. Hembrough
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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When Edward of York takes back the English crown, the Wars of the Roses scatter the Lancastrian nobility, and young Henry Tudor, with a strong claim to the throne, is forced into exile. Recently widowed and vulnerable, his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, forges an uncomfortable alliance with Edward’s Queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Swearing an oath of allegiance to York, Margaret agrees to marry the King’s shrewdest courtier, Lord Stanley. But can she tread the precarious line between duty to her husband, loyalty to her son, and her obligation to God and the King?
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Another excellent book by Ms. Hickson
- By C. Abbott on 09-26-18
By: Joanna Hickson
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Dragon's Child
- The King Arthur Trilogy, Book 1
- By: M. K. Hume
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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The future of Britain is at stake. In the turbulent times of the Dark Ages, the despotic Uther Pendragon, High King of Celtic Britain, is nearing death, and his kingdom is being torn apart by the squabbling of minor kings. But only one man can bring the Celts together as a nation and restore peace - King Arthur. Artorex (Arthur) doesn't yet seem like the great man he will grow into. We meet him as a shy, subservient twelve-year-old living in the foster home of Lord Ector, who took in Artorex as a babe to protect him from murderous kin.
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A Dry, Dull Tale, Marred in "Realism"
- By Steven on 09-21-15
By: M. K. Hume
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The Blue Falcon
- By: Robyn Carr
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In love and war, some oaths are meant to be broken.… Riding into the arena under the furling blazon of the blue falcon, Sir Conan de Corbney accepts a token from the young beauty Lady Chandra, sparking a romance foretold long ago. That is, unless Conan’s mother can help it. Colluding with her son’s rival, Sir Tedric, Lady Udele secretly arranges a more lucrative marriage for her son and weds him to Edwina - Chandra’s older sister - while Sir Tedric claims the fiery Chandra for himself. Thus begins the star-crossed lovers’ quest, amidst treachery and betrayal, for the path back to each other’s arms.
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What a waste of time
- By MickeyMarie on 01-16-13
By: Robyn Carr
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The Forest Laird
- A Tale of William Wallace - The Guardians, Book 1
- By: Jack Whyte
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In the pre-dawn hours of August 24th, 1305, in London's Smithfield Prison, the outlaw William Wallace - hero of all the Scots and deadly enemy of King Edward of England - sits awaiting the dawn, when he is to be hanged and then drawn and quartered. This brutal sundering of his body is the revenge of the English. Wallace is visited by a Scottish priest who has come to hear his last confession, a priest who knows Wallace like a brother. Wallace's confession - the tale that follows - is all the more remarkable because it comes from real life.
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Great Audiobook.
- By Thomas W Porter on 03-04-18
By: Jack Whyte
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Shadow on the Crown
- A Novel
- By: Patricia Bracewell
- Narrated by: Katie Firth
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1002, 15-year-old Emma of Normandy crosses the Narrow Sea to wed the much older King Athelred of England, whom she meets for the first time at the church door. Thrust into an unfamiliar and treacherous court, with a husband who mistrusts her, stepsons who resent her, and a bewitching rival who covets her crown, Emma must defend herself against her enemies and secure her status as queen by bearing a son.
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Trying to return.
- By Polish Princess on 08-26-15
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A Morbid Taste for Bones
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Cadfael's return to his Welsh homeland for a visit proves a rather discomfiting homecoming when an honorable nobleman turns up in a patch of forest with an arrow embedded in his chest. There are questions about the arrow, the man's daughter needs Cadfael's help, and a very odd burial takes place.
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Very pleasant if not much of a mystery.
- By Zenjen on 04-15-10
By: Ellis Peters
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Battle of Kings
- By: M. K. Hume
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In the town of Segontium a wild storm washes a fugitive ashore. He brutally rapes the granddaughter of the ruler of the Deceangli tribe, leaving her to bear his son, Myrddion Merlinus (Merlin). Spurned as a demon seed, the child is raised by his grandmother and, as soon as he turns nine, he is apprenticed to a skilled alchemist who hones the boy’s remarkable gift of prophecy. Meanwhile, the High King of the Britons, Vortigern, is rebuilding the ancient fortress at Dinas Emrys.
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Underrated book author and narrator!
- By Zachary on 04-15-22
By: M. K. Hume
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Blood on the Crown
- Struggle for the Crown, Book 1
- By: Griff Hosker
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Will, son of Harry, is about to join one of the freebooting mercenaries who serve the Black Prince in Gascony and Spain. Soldiers of fortune, they fight for pay and for loot. Circumstances mean that he comes to the attention of the heir to the English throne, Prince Edward, and is chosen as the bodyguard for his sons, Edward and Richard. When the Black Prince dies before his father and his elder brother, Edward, also dies, a young Richard of Bordeaux becomes heir to the throne, and Will has a greater responsibility than he expected.
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Held my interest
- By Yvonne T, Griffin on 06-10-20
By: Griff Hosker
What listeners say about Mixed Blessings: Aethelbald - Bretwalda of Mercia
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Margaret
- 11-23-20
Interesting, great narration
This is the first book I have read/listened to by this author and I am curious what book one is about. It took me a few tries to really get into the story. Admittedly, I got distracted through parts in the middle so I’ll have to go back and re-listen. I ended up looking up Æthelbald to try and determine what is believed history and what was fiction. I did learn some from this book. I enjoy stories that peak my interest to learn more. I did not find this book really gave me an understanding of how it was to live in these times, it was more just a narrative of the actions of Ætgelbald.
This is the second book I have listened to by this narrator ( Graham Mack ) and I would definitely listen to another. He does fabulously performing (not just reading) this book. He adds realism to the personalities of the characters, the action and the narrative parts that I easily fell into the story instead of first being aware of his reading, then the content of the story.
I marked the rating down a point because there is a constant background white noise that is quite loud and was disruptive on many devices. Thankfully it was not as obvious when I used my Bluetooth speaker.
There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.
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