The Howe Dynasty
The Untold Story of a Military Family and the Women Behind Britain's Wars for America
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Narrated by:
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Polly Lee
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By:
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Julie Flavell
About this listen
New York Times Book Review • Editors’ Choice
Finally revealing the family’s indefatigable women among its legendary military figures, The Howe Dynasty recasts the British side of the American Revolution.
In December 1774, Benjamin Franklin met Caroline Howe, the sister of British General Sir William Howe and Richard Admiral Lord Howe, in a London drawing room for “half a dozen Games of Chess”. But as historian Julie Flavell reveals, these meetings were about much more than board games: They were cover for a last-ditch attempt to forestall the outbreak of the American War of Independence.
Aware that the distinguished Howe family, both the men and the women, have been known solely for the military exploits of the brothers, Flavell investigated the letters of Caroline Howe, which have been blatantly overlooked since the 19th century. Using revelatory documents and this correspondence, The Howe Dynasty provides a groundbreaking reinterpretation of one of England’s most famous military families across four wars.
Contemporaries considered the Howes impenetrable and intensely private - or, as Horace Walpole called them, “brave and silent”. Flavell traces their roots to modest beginnings at Langar Hall in rural Nottinghamshire and highlights the Georgian phenomenon of the politically involved aristocratic woman. In fact, the early careers of the brothers - George, Richard, and William - can be credited not to the maneuverings of their father, Scrope Lord Howe, but to those of their aunt, the savvy Mary Herbert Countess Pembroke. When eldest sister Caroline came of age during the reign of King George III, she too used her intimacy with the royal inner circle to promote her brothers, moving smoothly between a straitlaced court and an increasingly scandalous London high life.
With genuine suspense, Flavell skillfully recounts the most notable episodes of the brothers’ military campaigns: how Richard, commanding the HMS Dunkirk in 1755, fired the first shot signaling the beginning of the Seven Years’ War at sea; how George won the devotion of the American fighters he commanded at Fort Ticonderoga just three years later; and how youngest brother General William Howe, his sympathies torn, nonetheless commanded his troops to a bitter Pyrrhic victory in the Battle of Bunker Hill, only to be vilified for his failure as British commander in chief to subdue Washington’s Continental Army.
Britain’s desperate battles to guard its most vaunted colonial possession are here told in tandem with London parlor-room intrigues, where Caroline bravely fought to protect the Howe reputation in a gossipy aristocratic milieu. A riveting narrative and long overdue reassessment of the entire family, The Howe Dynasty forces us to reimagine the Revolutionary War in ways that would have been previously inconceivable.
©2021 Julie Flavell (P)2021 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"The Howe story is more compelling than the stupid redcoats caricature that has persisted for more than two centuries, as Julie Flavell demonstrates in 'The Howe Dynasty,' her vibrant biography of the accomplished, beguiling family.... The Howes have long been opaque and even inscrutable. Flavell’s scholarship and deft storytelling add nuance, sympathy and granularity to the family portrait." (Rick Atkinson, New York Times Book Review)
"A richly detailed and lively saga of one of its most distinguished families. Challenging and insightful, it reflects impressive scholarship, grounded in exhaustive archival research on both sides of the Atlantic.... The Howe Dynasty shows how women whose supreme function in life was to produce male heirs could nonetheless find a voice through informal 'networking,' establishing crucial contacts in the drawing room or on the hunting field that could be mobilized to secure favors and control opinion." (Stephen Brumwell, Wall Street Journal)
"In this brilliantly conceived and vividly written biography...Flavell skillfully alternates vivid descriptions of overseas battles with developments in England, and brings new insights to William’s alleged affair with the 'captivating Bostonian' Elizabeth Lloyd Loring. History buffs won’t want to miss this richly textured account." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
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- By Byron on 08-24-21
By: Mike Duncan
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You Never Forget Your First
- A Biography of George Washington
- By: Alexis Coe
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Alexis Coe
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Young George Washington was raised by a struggling single mother, demanded military promotions, caused an international incident, and never backed down - even when his dysentery got so bad he had to ride with a cushion on his saddle. But after he married Martha, everything changed. With irresistible style and warm humor, You Never Forget Your First combines rigorous research and lively storytelling that will have listeners - including those who thought presidential biographies were just for dads - inhaling every word.
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You Never Forget Your Worst
- By Wm Cole on 02-27-20
By: Alexis Coe
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The Patriots
- Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Making of America
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In this masterful narrative, Winston Groom brings his signature storytelling panache to the tale of our nation's most fascinating founding fathers - Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams - painting a vivid picture of the improbable events, bold ideas, and extraordinary characters who created the United States of America.
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For newbies or history buffs
- By SBR72 on 06-06-21
By: Winston Groom
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A History of France
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: John Julius Norwich
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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John Julius Norwich - called a "true master of narrative history" by Simon Sebag Montefiore - returns with the book he has spent his distinguished career wanting to write, A History of France, a portrait of the past two centuries of the country he loves best. Beginning with Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul in the first century BC, this study of French history comprises a cast of legendary characters - Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Napoleon, Joan of Arc, and Marie Antionette, to name a few - as Norwich chronicles France's often violent, always fascinating history.
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Kings and Wars
- By Awake Tex on 08-22-19
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George Washington
- The Political Rise of America's Founding Father
- By: David O. Stewart
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Washington's rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in history. In his mid-20s, this third son of a modest Virginia planter had ruined his own military career thanks to an outrageous ego. But by his mid-40s, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Army. By his mid-50s, he was unanimously elected the nation's first president. How did Washington emerge from the wilderness to become the central founder of the United States of America?
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The GOAT!
- By Michael N. on 03-26-24
By: David O. Stewart
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James Monroe
- A Life
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 28 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The extraordinary life of James Monroe: Soldier, senator, diplomat, and the last Founding Father to hold the presidency, a man who helped transform 13 colonies into a vibrant and mighty republic.
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Large and inconsistent, much like Monroe himself.
- By Kindle Customer on 01-31-21
By: Tim McGrath
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Martha Washington
- An American Life
- By: Patricia Brady
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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With this revelatory and painstakingly researched book, Martha Washington, the invisible woman of American history, at last gets the biography she deserves. In place of the domestic frump of popular imagination, Patricia Brady resurrects the wealthy, attractive, and vivacious young widow who captivated the youthful George Washington. And even as it brings Martha Washington into sharper and more accurate focus, this sterling life sheds light on her marriage, her society, and the precedents she established for future First Ladies.
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DAR Book Club
- By Kimberly Dillard on 12-26-23
By: Patricia Brady
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The Virginia Dynasty
- Four Presidents and the Creation of the American Nation
- By: Lynne Cheney
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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A vivid account of leadership focusing on the first four Virginia presidents - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe - from the best-selling historian and author of James Madison.
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Captivating
- By Jean on 11-19-20
By: Lynne Cheney
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Oblivion or Glory
- 1921 and the Making of Winston Churchill
- By: David Stafford
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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This is an engaging and original account of 1921, a pivotal year for Winston Churchill that had a lasting impact on his political and personal legacy. After the tragic consequences of his involvement in the catastrophic Dardanelles Campaign of World War I, Churchill’s political career seemed over. He was widely regarded as little more than a bombastic and unpredictable buccaneer until, in 1921, an unexpected inheritance heralded a series of events that laid the foundations for his future success.
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Great explanation if this great m Chirchill’s an
- By David Hitchins on 10-25-20
By: David Stafford
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The Greek Revolution
- 1821 and the Making of Modern Europe
- By: Mark Mazower
- Narrated by: John Lee, Mark Mazower
- Length: 20 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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As Mark Mazower shows us in his enthralling and definitive new account, myths about the Greek War of Independence outpaced the facts from the very beginning, and for good reason. This was an unlikely cause, against long odds, a disorganized collection of Greek patriots up against what was still one of the most storied empires in the world, the Ottomans. The revolutionaries needed all the help they could get.
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Excellent, had it not been for the narrator
- By Jean N on 05-15-22
By: Mark Mazower
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Our First Civil War
- Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Steve Hendrickson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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What causes people to forsake their country and take arms against it? What prompts their neighbors, hardly distinguishable in station or success, to defend that country against the rebels? That is the question H. W. Brands answers in his powerful new history of the American Revolution.
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Not a fresh take on the Revolution
- By James on 01-05-22
By: H. W. Brands
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The Last Emperor of Mexico
- The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World
- By: Edward Shawcross
- Narrated by: Gustavo Rex
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 1860s, Napoleon III, intent on curbing the rise of American imperialism, persuaded a young Austrian archduke and a Belgian princess to leave Europe and become the emperor and empress of Mexico. They and their entourage arrived in a Mexico ruled by terror, where revolutionary fervor was barely suppressed by French troops. When the United States, now clear of its own Civil War, aided the rebels in pushing back Maximilian’s imperial soldiers, the French army withdrew, abandoning the young couple. The regime fell apart.
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Excellent
- By Kyle P. Dalton on 03-24-22
By: Edward Shawcross
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The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold
- An American Life
- By: Joyce Lee Malcolm
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Proud and talented, history now remembers this conflicted man solely through the lens of his last desperate act of treason. Yet the fall of Benedict Arnold remains one of the Revolutionary period's great puzzles. Why did a brilliant military commander, who repeatedly risked his life fighting the British, who was grievously injured in the line of duty, and fell into debt personally funding his own troops, ultimately became a traitor to the patriot cause?
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good story....questionable performance
- By Amazon Customer on 07-12-19
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Founding Mothers
- The Women Who Raised Our Nation
- By: Cokie Roberts
- Narrated by: Cokie Roberts
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Abridged
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Cokie returns with Founding Mothers, an intimate look at the passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families and country proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it.
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Founding Mothers
- By Carol Roath on 05-31-04
By: Cokie Roberts
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The Borgias
- Power and Depravity in Renaissance Italy
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice, and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy. Examples of infamy flourished alongside some of the finest art produced in western history.
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Gossip
- By Amazon Customer on 10-02-19
By: Paul Strathern
What listeners say about The Howe Dynasty
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- JudyAnn Lorenz
- 03-30-22
more to history
the story of the Howe family was interesting to me. Expanding historical understanding. well read.
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- Anne Ruszkiewicz
- 04-03-22
A very interesting, slightly partisan history
This is a a very interesting and extremely well researched book with a unique and valuable focus. It is very valuable for showing the role upper class women could play “under the radar” of Georgian 18th century society. It is also very valuable for showing the British side, especially the home front, of the American Revolution- a revelation to many Americans. It’s only flaws are the author sometimes descends into a tedious and not very convincing apologia for one or the other brothers Howe - especially re: Elizabeth Loring and her venal husband. The narrator is good except when she attempts an American accent which makes one cringe and is totally unconvincing and inauthentic. Even her attempt to give Caroline a feminine voice is at odds with the portrait she paints of her. She should not try different voices.
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- James Messelbeck
- 08-25-21
very tangential to Britain's wars for America
For me way too much detail about British aristocracy and way too little about the rise of the Howe dynasty
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