
The House of Special Purpose
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Narrated by:
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Stefan Rudnicki
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By:
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John Boyne
About this listen
Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, The House of Special Purpose illuminates an empire at the end of its reign. Living in England with his beloved wife, Zoya, Georgy prepares to make one final journey back to the Russia he once knew and loved, the Russia that both destroyed and defined him. As Georgy remembers days gone by, we are transported to Saint Petersburg, to the Winter Palace of the tzar, in the early twentieth century - a time of change, threat, and bloody revolution. As Georgy overturns the most painful stone of all, we uncover the story of the house of special purpose.
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Story
When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a new life with his aunt Beatrix, a servant in a wealthy Austrian household. But this is no ordinary time, for it is 1935 and the Second World War is fast approaching; and this is no ordinary house, for this is the Berghof, the home of Adolf Hitler. Pierrot is quickly taken under Hitler's wing and thrown into an increasingly dangerous new world: a world of terror, secrets, and betrayal from which he may never be able to escape.
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Excellent story
- By Sandy Horwitz on 09-13-23
By: John Boyne
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A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom
- A Novel
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Tim McInnerny
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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This story starts with a family. For now, it is a father and a mother with two sons, one with his father’s violence in his blood, one with his mother’s artistry. One leaves. One stays. They will be joined by others whose deeds will determine their fate. It is a beginning. Their stories will intertwine and evolve over the course of 2,000 years. They will meet again and again at different times and in different places. From Palestine at the dawn of the first millennium and journeying across 50 countries to a life among the stars, their destinies remain the same....
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AD 2016
- By Warren on 08-24-20
By: John Boyne
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The Heart's Invisible Furies
- A Novel
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Stephen Hogan
- Length: 21 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Cyril Avery is not a real Avery - or at least that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn't a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.
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Outstanding. A Must listen.
- By Keith G on 09-04-17
By: John Boyne
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The Elements
- A Novel
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Anna Friel, Colin Morgan, Dane Whyte O’Hara, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Elements, acclaimed Irish novelist John Boyne has created an epic saga that weaves together four interconnected narratives, each representing a different perspective on crime: the enabler, the accomplice, the perpetrator, and the victim.
By: John Boyne
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
The story of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is very difficult to describe. Usually we give some information about the audiobook, but in this case we think that would spoil the listening. We think it's important that you start to listen without knowing what it is about.
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Absolutely Phenomenal!!!
- By Jensophie on 05-04-09
By: John Boyne
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The Light over London
- By: Julia Kelly
- Narrated by: Lucy Brownhill
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
It’s always been easier for Cara Hargraves to bury herself in the past than confront the present, which is why working with a gruff but brilliant antiques dealer is perfect. While clearing out an estate, she pries open an old tin that holds the relics of a lost relationship: among the treasures, a World War II-era diary and a photograph of a young woman in uniform. Eager to find the author of the hauntingly beautiful, unfinished diary, Cara digs into this soldier’s life, but soon realizes she may not have been ready for the stark reality of wartime London she finds....
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Never Forget
- By Caliope on 05-15-19
By: Julia Kelly
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The Blood of Flowers
- By: Anita Amirrezvani
- Narrated by: Shohreh Aghdashloo
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In 17th-century Persia, a 14-year-old woman believes she will be married within the year. When her beloved father dies, she and her mother find themselves alone and without a dowry. With nowhere else to go, they are forced to sell the brilliant turquoise rug the young woman has woven to pay for their journey to Isfahan, where they will work as servants for her uncle, a rich rug designer in the court of the legendary Shah Abbas the Great.
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Top 5 on my lifelong list
- By Cheryl on 09-14-07
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The Gods of Gotham
- By: Lyndsay Faye
- Narrated by: Steven Boyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1845. New York City forms its first police force. The great potato famine hits Ireland. These two seemingly disparate events will change New York City. Forever.... Timothy Wilde tends bar near the Exchange, fantasizing about the day he has enough money to win the girl of his dreams. But when his dreams literally incinerate in a fire devastating downtown Manhattan, he finds himself disfigured, unemployed, and homeless. His older brother obtains Timothy a job in the newly minted NYPD, but he is highly skeptical of this new "police force".
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above average historical fiction
- By connie on 04-12-12
By: Lyndsay Faye
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The Dress Lodger
- By: Sheri Holman
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifteen-year-old Gustine is a "dress lodger", a young prostitute who rents a beautiful blue dress from her landlord to attract a higher class of clientele. To make sure she earns her fees and to keep her from running off with his fantastical gown, her pimp has set a malevolent old woman, known only as "the Eye", to follow her through the back alleys of Sunderland.
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Mediocre
- By Stephanie on 03-16-05
By: Sheri Holman
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Noah Barleywater Runs Away
- By: John Boyne
- Narrated by: Andrew Sachs
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Eight-year-old Noah's problems seem easier to deal with if he doesn't think about them. So he runs away, taking an untrodden path through the forest. Before long, he comes across a shop. But this is no ordinary shop: It's a toyshop, full of the most amazing toys, and brimming with the most wonderful magic. And here Noah meets a very unusual toymaker. The toymaker has a story to tell, and it's a story of adventure and wonder, and broken promises. He takes Noah on a journey. A journey that will change his life.
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Brilliant Funny Magical Story
- By Kirk A Mann on 04-29-19
By: John Boyne
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The Keepers of the House
- By: Shirley Ann Grau
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Abigail was the last keeper of the house, the last to know the Howland family's secrets. Now, in the name of all her brothers and sisters, she must take her bitter revenge on the small-minded Southern town that shamed them, persecuted them, but could never destroy them.
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Wonderful
- By Pyewacket on 12-12-07
By: Shirley Ann Grau
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The Women on Platform Two
- By: Laura Anthony
- Narrated by: Jessica Regan, Shakira Shute, Maeve Smyth
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that if she conceives again, her health complications could prove fatal.
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Fabulous story!
- By kanga2012 on 04-21-25
By: Laura Anthony
Excellent
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Beautiful
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Terrific
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What a spectacular book.
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Brilliant
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I’m so glad I read this!
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This was a beautiful and heartbreaking tale.
I was completely enthralled.
Wonderful
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Not as good
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wonderful book
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My Favorite!
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