Stealing Athena
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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uncredited
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By:
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Karen Essex
About this listen
The Elgin Marbles have been displayed in the British Museum for nearly 200 years, and for just as long they have been the center of a raging controversy. In Stealing Athena, Karen Essex chronicles the Marbles' amazing journey through the dynamic narratives of Mary Nisbet, wife of the Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador to Constantinople, and Aspasia, the mistress of Perikles, the most powerful man in Athens during that city's Golden Age.
At the height of the Napoleonic Wars, the 21-year-old, newlywed Countess of Elgin, a Scottish heiress and celebrated beauty, enchanted the power brokers of the Ottoman Empire, using her charms to obtain their permission for her husband's audacious plan to deconstruct the Parthenon and bring its magnificent sculptures to England. Two millennia earlier, Aspasia, a female philosopher and courtesan, and a central figure in Athenian life, plied her wits, allure, and influence with equal determination, standing with Perikles at the center of vehement opposition to his vision of building the most exquisite monuments the world had ever seen.
Rich in romance and intrigue, greed and glory, Stealing Athena is an enthralling work of historical fiction and a window into the intimate lives of some of history's most influential and fascinating women.
©2008 Karen Essex (P)2008 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
An epic re-creation of the exhilarating and mysterious time when the Sun King ruled Egypt, Ramses, the Son of Light, has become the rage in France. With over two million copies sold, it is the greatest publishing phenomenon to hit the shelves there in 20 years. Rameses is only 14 when his father, the Pharaoh Seti, begins testing his true mettle. Being the younger of two sons, the proud Ramses has a problem with being relegated to second place.
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Teenager drama with little insight into Egyptian culture
- By Consuelo on 10-24-17
By: Christian Jacq
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The Iron King
- The Accursed Kings, Book 1
- By: Maurice Druon
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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From the publishers that brought you A Game of Thrones comes the series that inspired George R.R. Martin’s epic work. France became a great nation under Philip the Fair - but it was a greatness achieved at the expense of her people, for his was a reign characterised by violence, the scandalous adulteries of his daughters-in-law, and the triumph of royal authority.
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Historical Goodie
- By Syd Young on 08-03-13
By: Maurice Druon
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Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilate
- A Novel
- By: Diana Wallis Taylor
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gallagher
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Claudia is adrift - until she meets Lucius Pontius Pilate and becomes his wife. When Pilate is appointed Prefect of the troublesome territory of Judea, Claudia does what she has always done: she makes the best of it. But unrest is brewing on the outskirts of the Roman Empire, and Claudia will soon find herself and her beloved husband embroiled in controversy and rebellion. Might she find peace and rest in the teaching of the mysterious Jewish Rabbi everyone seems to be talking about?
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Interesting perspective, too juvenile
- By Juliep on 05-15-14
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And Only to Deceive
- Lady Emily, Book 1
- By: Tasha Alexander
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily's dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly.
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Tiresome
- By nkevinsc on 03-05-15
By: Tasha Alexander
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Princess
- A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
- By: Jean Sasson
- Narrated by: Catherine Byers
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Princess describes the life of Princess Sultana Al Sa'ud, a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia. Hidden behind her black veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, and her country. Sultana tells of appalling oppressions, everyday occurrences that in any other culture would be seen as shocking human rights violations: 13-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age; young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the "women's room". Princess is a testimony to a woman of indomitable spirit and courage.
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Good story but...
- By Jay Friedman on 07-25-14
By: Jean Sasson
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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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Master and God
- A Novel of the Roman Empire
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Lindsey Davis’ Master and God is a vastly entertaining historical novel set in the reign of the Emperor Domitian in first-century Rome. It is on the one hand a love story between Gaius Vinius Clodianus, a valiant but reluctant member of the Praetorian Guard, whose military career is as successful as his marital history is disastrous, and Flavia Lucilla, daughter of a freed slave and hairdresser to the ladies of the imperial household. A devastating fire in Rome brings them together....
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Info Dump with Romance
- By S. Lev-Ami on 10-03-12
By: Lindsey Davis
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Josephine
- By: Carolly Erickson
- Narrated by: S. Patricia Bailey
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Josephine's life story was as turbulent as the age, an era of revolution and social upheaval, of the guillotine and of frenzied hedonism. With telling psychological depth and compelling literary grace, Carolly Erickson brings the complex, charming, ever resilient Josephine to life in this memorable portrait, one that carries the reader from the sensual richness of her childhood in the tropics to her final lonely days at Malmaison.
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Engaging
- By DPM on 03-07-08
By: Carolly Erickson
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Ambition and Desire
- The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte
- By: Kate Williams
- Narrated by: Corrie James
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Thrilling, romantic, fascinating, and enlightening
- By Leon Miller on 03-30-17
By: Kate Williams
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The Course of Honour
- By: Lindsey Davis
- Narrated by: Diana Bishop
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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He has no money, no reputation and no famous ancestors.' The love story of the Emperor Vespasian, who brought peace to Rome after years of strife, and his mistress, the freed slave woman Caenis, this book recreates Ancient Rome's most turbulent period - the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero and Vespasian's rise to power. As their forbidden romance blossoms, Caenis is embroiled in political intrigue, while Vespasian embarks on a glorious career.
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Great love story
- By Julie on 05-04-20
By: Lindsey Davis
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Victoria: The Queen
- An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire
- By: Julia Baird
- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 21 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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When Victoria was born, in 1819, the world was a very different place. Revolution would threaten many of Europe’s monarchies in the coming decades. In Britain, a generation of royals had indulged their whims at the public’s expense, and republican sentiment was growing. The Industrial Revolution was transforming the landscape, and the British Empire was commanding ever larger tracts of the globe. In a world where women were often powerless, during a century roiling with change, Victoria went on to rule the most powerful country on earth with a decisive hand.
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Masterpiece!!
- By DKSTRYKER on 01-07-24
By: Julia Baird
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Antoinette's Sister
- By: Diana Giovinazzo
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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As Marie Antoinette took her last breath as queen of France in Paris, another formidable monarch - Antoinette’s dearly beloved sister, Charlotte - was hundreds of miles away, in Naples, fighting desperately to secure her release from the revolutionaries who would take her life. Little did Charlotte know, however, that her sister’s execution would change the course of history - and bring about the end of her own empire.
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Started off good, but I lost interest as time went
- By Tess of the D'urbervilles on 02-02-22
By: Diana Giovinazzo
What listeners say about Stealing Athena
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- S. Powell
- 04-03-10
Strong women surviving in a man's world.
Based on the true story of Lord and Lady Elgin, who saved the Parthenon marbles from probable destruction during the Ottoman occupation, and transported them to England despite great costs and troubles. The story is intertwined with a story of the building of the Parthenon and the sculpting of the actual marbles. The two women starring in these two paraller tales are strong and independent, and fight hard to make it in a man's world. I think there's some possibilities here for a really good story, but the author's decision to stick to the real life story of Lady Elgin made it only an OK story that seems repetitive at the end. It was still pretty good and worth the read.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Alexis
- 02-20-09
Two More of History's Little Known Women
I enjoyed this audiobook, particularly the chapters on Mary Nisbet's story. I wish Aspasia's story had been a little better integrated and her character more fully realized. I am not sure that the narration did justice to the author. The tempo of the narration seemed artificially slow, almost tedious a good bit of the time. But despite this shortcoming, the audiobook brought pleasure. And, I think it is important to support books like this and authors who seem committed to telling women's stories.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Diane
- 04-09-10
let me recommend another Karen Essex
I really like Karen Essex - her Leonardo's Swans was very good read. I wanted to like this but it was so boring. I could not finish it which is rare for me as I always stick it out in hopes things will improve. I made it mostly through but it never got any better. Too much information, boring and the main character, Lady Elgin is unlikeable, self centered and boring. not good.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Marie Liebau
- 10-31-16
not at all interesting
Would you try another book from Karen Essex and/or uncredited?
No I would not buy another book from Karen Essex. I bought her other book, Dracula in love which i did enjoy, however Stealing Athena was not interesting at all.
What was most disappointing about Karen Essex’s story?
It was boring.
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of uncredited?
I like the narrator, it was the story I did not like.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Stealing Athena?
I would tell her to start over.
Any additional comments?
I was disappointed because I did like her other book. This one just did not intrest me at all.
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