The Fifth Queen
And How She Came to Court
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Narrated by:
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Ralph Cosham
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By:
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Ford Madox Ford
About this listen
The Fifth Queen is Ford Maddox Ford’s masterful trilogy of historical fiction centered on Katharine Howard, a young girl of a proud, noble, and impoverished family who catches the jaded eye of Henry VIII and becomes his controversial fifth Queen.
In this first volume, Katherine arrives at the King's court to find its dimly lit corridors vibrating with corruption and fear, as unscrupulous courtiers hungry for power maneuver for advantage. Clever, beautiful, and outspoken, Katherine soon becomes caught in a web of intrigue and romance as she fights for political and religious change.
Ford saw the past as an integral part of the present experience and understanding. His sharply etched vision of the court of Henry VIII, first published in 1908, echoes aspects of Edwardian England as it explores the pervading influence of power, lies, fear, and anxiety on people’s lives.
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Story
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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Twelfth Night
- Arkangel Shakespeare
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Niamh Cusack, Jonathan Firth, Amanda Root, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
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Shakespeare's most sophisticated comedy is a riotous tale of hopelessly unrequited passions and mistaken identity. Duke Orsino is in love with the noblewoman Olivia. She, however, has fallen for his servant Cesario, who is actually Viola, a woman disguised as a man, who loves Orsino: Confusion is rife. Meanwhile, Olivia's arrogant steward Malvolio is cruelly tricked by her uncle Sir Toby Belch, his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and the maidservant Maria into believing his mistress loves him.
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If you be not mad, be gone
- By Darwin8u on 08-24-17
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The Memoirs of Mary, Queen of Scots
- By: Carolly Erickson
- Narrated by: Rebekah Germain
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Born Queen of Scotland, married as a young girl to the invalid young King of France, Mary took the reins of the unruly kingdom of Scotland as a young widow and fought to keep her throne. A second marriage to her handsome but dissolute cousin Lord Darnley ended in murder and scandal, while a third marriage to the dashing, commanding Lord Bothwell, the love of her life, gave her joy but widened the scandal and surrounded her with enduring ill repute.
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Fiction being the key word
- By Bonnie-Ann B on 09-25-09
By: Carolly Erickson
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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 King's Witch
- A Novel
- By: Tracy Borman
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In March of 1603, as she helps to nurse the dying Queen Elizabeth of England, Frances Gorges dreams of her parents’ country estate, where she has learned to use flowers and herbs to become a much-loved healer. She is happy to stay at home when King James of Scotland succeeds to the throne. His court may be shockingly decadent, but his intolerant Puritanism sees witchcraft in many of the old customs - punishable by death.
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I’ve read hundreds of historical fiction books....
- By K&T on 08-03-18
By: Tracy Borman
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Lorna Doone
- By: R. D. Blackmore
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 29 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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First published in 1869, Lorna Doone is the story of John Ridd, a farmer who finds love amid the religious and social turmoil of 17th-century England. He is just a boy when his father is slain by the Doones, a lawless clan inhabiting wild Exmoor on the border of Somerset and Devon. Seized by curiosity and a sense of adventure, he makes his way to the valley of the Doones, where he is discovered by the beautiful Lorna.
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LORNA DOONE
- By Lisa on 02-07-19
By: R. D. Blackmore
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The Dragon Waiting
- By: John M. Ford
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In a snowbound inn high in the Alps, four people meet who will alter fate. A noble Byzantine mercenary.... A female Florentine physician.... An ageless Welsh wizard.... And Sforza, the uncanny duke. Together they will wage an intrigue-filled campaign against the might of Byzantium to secure the English throne for Richard, Duke of Gloucester - and make him Richard III.
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Read not listen.
- By Anna Marie on 08-08-21
By: John M. Ford
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King Lear
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Paul Scofield, Rachel Roberts, Cyryl Cusak, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
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I am a man more sinned against than sinning.
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A true classic
- By Stanley Hauer on 07-09-08
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The Scarlet Pimpernel
- By: Baroness Orczy
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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The mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel's daring rescues of French nobility from the threat of the guillotine and the evil Chauvelin's efforts to track him down are all part of the intrigue in this swashbuckling adventure.
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nostalgic
- By theamazingcatherine on 07-29-18
By: Baroness Orczy
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Betrayed
- By: Bertrice Small
- Narrated by: Jessica Bright
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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When Fiona Hay offers Angus Gordon her virtue in exchange for a dowry for her sisters, she so intrigues the rogue that he demands a higher payment: She will be his mistress. Thus begins a battle of wills and sensual delights. Destiny soon draws the ardent lovers into the turbulent court of King James. But soon the king's political schemes force Fiona away from the man she loves...and into the arms of a wild and passionate highlander, The MacDonald of Nairn. Will this coldhearted and callous betrayal forever destroy Fiona's chance at happiness?
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So different from your standard romance novel!
- By Stephanie Epps on 07-07-21
By: Bertrice Small
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The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Keith Moore, Toby Leonard Moore, Colin McPhillamy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Author Peter Ackroyd has won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, and the Guardian Fiction Prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s immortal work, this retelling of The Canterbury Tales follows a party of travelers as they tell stories amongst themselves about love and chivalry, saints and legends, travel and adventure. Through allegory, satire, and humor, the tales help pass the time during their journey.
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WOW
- By Mitchell Drimmer on 02-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
What listeners say about The Fifth Queen
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jill
- 10-27-11
same queen, different story
All history has said Howard was a foolish, uneducated teenager who did her best with an obese King with a reeking wound on his leg. Clearly involved with men closer to her own age and in her cousin especially.This author has her the most learned, saintly of women. Wise beyond her years and dedicated to bringing England back to the Catholic faith, deeply in love with Henry, who is large but not disgustingly so and whose leg is now healed. The language was sounding very old England and traditions, etc were good. But this is a view of this queen the likes of which no one has heard.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Resipsa44
- 09-01-11
Narration - The Worst!
I have attempted to listen to this book but have to stop each time. I've restarted and stopped at least 4 times. The issue with this book is not the story but the narration. The narrator speaks so quickly and since the dialogue, in the book, is written in "Olde English" it is extraordinary difficult to understand the narration.I believe that this is a book that has to be read. Also, the book is historically very inaccurate although it is a novel.
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7 people found this helpful