The King's Mistress
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Donada Peters
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By:
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Emma Campion
About this listen
History has not been kind to Alice Perrers, the notorious mistress of King Edward III. Scholars and contemporaries alike have deemed her a manipulative woman who used her great beauty and sensuality to take advantage of an aging and increasingly senile king. But who was the woman behind the scandal? A cold-hearted opportunist - or someone fighting for her very survival?
Like most girls of her era, Alice is taught obedience in all things. At the age of 14 she marries the man her father chooses for her, dutifully accepting the cost of being torn from the family she holds so dear and losing the love of her mother forever. Despite these heartbreaks, Alice finds that merchant Janyn Perrers is a good and loving husband and the two settle into a happy life together. Their bliss is short-lived, however; it unravels the dark day a messenger appears at Alice's door and notifies her of Janyn's sudden disappearance.
In the wake of this tragedy, Alice learns that her husband kept many secrets - secrets that result in a price on her own head and that of her beloved daughter. Her only chance to survive lies in the protection of King Edward and Queen Philippa, but she therefore must live at court as a virtual prisoner. When she is singled out by the king for more than just royal patronage, the stakes are raised. Disobeying Edward is not an option, not when her family is at risk, but the court is full of ambitious men and women, many of whom will stop at nothing to see her fall from grace.
Emma Campion paints a colorful and thrilling portrait of the court of Edward III - with all of its extravagance, scandalous love affairs, political machinations, and murder - and the devastating results of being singled out by the royal family. At the center of the storm is Alice, surviving by her wits in this dangerous world, where the choices are not always of her own making. Emma Campion's dazzling novel shows that there is always another side to the story.
©2010 Emma Campion (P)2010 Random HouseListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"In THE KING’S MISTRESS, Alice Perrers at last comes into her own as a keen observer, not a villain, of English history. The High Middle Ages, the role of women, court intrigue, lust and love, all come alive through Alice's eyes. Yet the panoply of powerful people flaunting their influence and toying with other people's lives sounds amazingly modern. This is a rich novel to enjoy and ponder." (Karen Harper, author of The First Princess of Wales)
"From her beginnings as a merchant's wife to her life as King Edward III's powerful mistress, Alice Perrers comes alive in Emma Campion's richly imagined novel. Beautifully written and utterly absorbing, this is an epic story you won't want to put down!" (Michelle Moran, author of Cleopatra's Daughter)
"From the mercantile riches of early medieval London to the halls of intrigue in Westminster, Emma Campion weaves a sweeping, sumptuous account of a tumultuous era and of an irresistibly fallible woman, whose bold rise to power comes at an extraordinary price." (C.W. Gortner, author of The Last Queen and The Confessions of Catherine De Medici)
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One of the Best Tudor Novels Availalbe
- By Bonnie-Ann on 03-02-13
By: Robin Maxwell
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First of the Tudors
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Tom Clegg, Non Haf
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Jasper Tudor, son of Queen Catherine and her second husband, Owen Tudor, has grown up far from the intrigue of the royal court. But after he and his brother Edmund are summoned to London, their half brother, King Henry VI, takes a keen interest in their future. Bestowing earldoms on them both, Henry also gives them the wardship of the young heiress Margaret Beaufort. Although she is still a child, Jasper becomes devoted to her and is devastated when Henry arranges her betrothal to Edmund.
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War of the Roses, Again
- By Laurel on 03-27-17
By: Joanna Hickson
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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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Infamous
- By: Virginia Henley
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Strong-willed and free spirited, lady-in-waiting Marjory de Warenne long ago gave her body and soul to the charming and beguiling Earl of Warwick, Guy de Beauchamp. But her family never approved of the pairing. Now, on the eve of war and an arranged marriage to another suitor, Jory yearns for the man who could make all of her dreams come true.
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Enjoyable
- By Heather Osteen on 08-15-07
By: Virginia Henley
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In the King's Service
- Childe Morgan Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Katherine Kurtz
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In this first book of an all-new Deryni trilogy, New York Times best-selling author Katherine Kurtz takes listeners back in time - before King Kelson's bride...before King Kelson's birth... when the magical Deryni blood was sought by the most powerful men and women in the kingdom of Gwynedd. Back when a man named Donal ruled over all.
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Needs a female reader
- By Shannon on 02-07-19
By: Katherine Kurtz
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The Autobiography of Henry VIII
- By: Margaret George
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 41 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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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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The Boleyn King
- Boleyn Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Laura Andersen
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Just seventeen years old, Henry IX, known as William, is a king bound by the restraints of the regency yet anxious to prove himself. With the French threatening battle and the Catholics sowing the seeds of rebellion at home, William trusts only three people: his older sister Elizabeth; his best friend and loyal counselor, Dominic; and Minuette, a young orphan raised as a royal ward by William’s mother, Anne Boleyn.
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Great idea, bad story
- By S. D. Ristick on 09-22-14
By: Laura Andersen
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The Agincourt Bride
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Catherine Harvey
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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When her own first child is tragically still-born, the young Mette is pressed into service as a wet-nurse at the court of the mad king, Charles VI of France. Her young charge is the princess, Catherine de Valois, caught up in the turbulence and chaos of life at court. Mette and the child forge a bond, one that transcends Mette’s lowly position. But as Catherine approaches womanhood, her unique position seals her fate as a pawn between two powerful dynasties.
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Disappointing
- By Michelle on 02-16-13
By: Joanna Hickson
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Notorious
- By: Virginia Henley
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Virginia Henley's historical romances have won praise for their ability to "illuminate and entertain" ( Publishers Weekly). It is 1322, and the Marcher lords are rebelling against King Edward II. Lady Brianna de Beauchamp, daughter of a powerful Marcher, knows she should not involve herself in the battle. But when she meets dangerously handsome Wolf Mortimer, who has the gift of second sight, she cannot deny her passions.
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Very sweet...
- By Marie on 07-13-09
By: Virginia Henley
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Bianca
- The Silk Merchant's Daughters
- By: Bertrice Small
- Narrated by: Jill Tanner
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Giovanni Pietro D’Angelo is a highly respected silk merchant who wants nothing more than to see his seven daughters married off. For Bianca, his beautiful eldest daughter, his sights are set on Giuliano Rovere, a famous member of the lawyer’s guild. Though Giuliano has a dark history with women, the Pietro D’Angelos have too much to gain from the pairing and turn a blind eye to his past deeds. Once married, Bianca discovers the true nature of her husband, and is sent seaside to recover. There, she meets Prince Sabih al Saqr, a Turkish wool merchant who has the power to heal her wounds.
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Bertrice Small
- By Jacci on 03-05-13
By: Bertrice Small
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Skye O'Malley
- A Novel (O'Malley Saga, Book 1)
- By: Bertrice Small
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre
- Length: 21 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Indomitable and bold in an era of royalty and rogues, Skye O'Malley is a woman who embraces her unbridled sensuality as valiantly as she fights for her children, her lovers, her empire. A woman of justice and honor, she will match wits with and challenge the most dangerous and powerful woman of her time: Queen Elizabeth I.
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A Classic
- By JuJu on 10-15-20
By: Bertrice Small
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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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The Queen’s Vow
- A Novel of Isabella of Castile
- By: C. W. Gortner
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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“No one believed I was destined for greatness.” So begins Isabella’s story, in this evocative, vividly imagined novel about one of history’s most famous and controversial queens - the warrior who united a fractured country, the champion of the faith whose reign gave rise to the Inquisition, and the visionary who sent Columbus to discover a new world. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner envisages the turbulent early years of a woman whose mythic rise to power would go on to transform a monarchy, a nation, and the world.
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Excellent historical fiction!
- By nursebettyknitting on 07-30-12
By: C. W. Gortner
What listeners say about The King's Mistress
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Debby Weaver
- 11-26-21
I love stories like this
that take a few known facts about a woman so long ago lost in history and give her the voice, her voice, a woman's view, that she deserves.
While I loved the story and the narrator's rich melodic voice, the constant pronunciation of a term we commonly know as a joust (jowst) as (jewst) was jarring at first the irritating as it continued. Now, if that is the pronunciation of the time period, I will apologize.
Many of issues, that continue to this day, of women being seen as chattle, having no voice or choice in their lives or of the children they bear can all be traced back to the middle ages and the so called enlightenment of "man'. I also see the mixing of church and government from the early ages as a catalyst if not the sole reason for this behavior. It is something we still struggle with in this day and age.
I commend the author for the research she did, basing the story on a real life woman and taking her life a bit farther than the research she found. You truly gave her back her voice.
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1 person found this helpful
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- KMP
- 08-01-21
Well told well read
This was an enjoyable book of a woman in History I had little information about.
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Overall
- Rebecca
- 07-05-11
Good Story
I loved this book. I like when an author takes historical fact (as well as people) and can write a good story around it (think Philippa Gregory novels). There really was a Alice Perrers and it was believed she was the King's mistress. It kept my interest, the narration was superb, the story compelling. I highly recommend this one!
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10 people found this helpful
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- Teresa L. Dilka
- 10-05-24
Title as should have been "Not My Fault"
. According to this story none of the horrible,and surely exaggerated, accusations against Alice Perrer were her fault but the fault of Edward 111. I don't see her as an innocent. . A poor ,beautiful , lesser maid to the ailing aging Queen Phillipa would have advanced herself by catching the eye of the King and exploiting the liaison as far as possible . She acted like a Queen.
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Overall
- Margaret
- 12-31-10
I LOVE THIS STORY!!
I love anything about old England and the Kings & Queens who lived during these times. The narrator does a great job and the story line is easy to follow. LOVE IT so much I honest feel like I have lived during this time. I would LOVE more books like this.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Robin Johnson
- 08-08-18
Great Writing and Narration
I happened to start listening to another 'mistress' book by Anne Easter Smith before I started this book but had to stop because I found the writing lacked good dialogue to develop the characters and the narration to be so monotone that I struggled to keep engaged in the content. I flipped over to this book by Emma Campion which is narrated by Donada Peters (who is awesome) and have not been disappointed. The characters are well developed with good dialogue and the narration varies character to character with energy that will keep you completely engaged! I can't wait to make my commute everyday to find out what happens next. If you love historical fiction I feel certain you will enjoy this one!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jeannie
- 06-16-17
Alice In Love
I really enjoyed listening to this story it had all the intrigues of medieval love and Hate I found it very entertaining intriguing I didn't want to stop listening great read
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- Laurie
- 11-21-21
It Was Amusing
The tale woven around Alice Perrers’ little known life whiled away a few hours. The first major story, of the Perrers family mystery, was the most engrossing. All made up, of course. After that it followed a more predictable trajectory. It was interesting that Alice described the Peasants Revolt as it must have been seen through the eyes of a wealthy woman connected to the royal family. I hardly recognized her description and had to check my history.
Donada Peters has a beautiful voice, very easy to listen to. She deserves even more credit than the author for keeping me listening. Great choice of narrator.
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- Payne
- 05-07-23
Perfect!
It doesn’t get too dark, but it’s what I believe as the reality of women’s role throughout history. Men are afraid of powerful females and say men were bewitched. I love Donita Peters!
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Overall
- Annette
- 07-26-10
guilty as charged.
No, it's not shockingly unique among it's genre. Yes, it was entertaining. Quite frankly, Donada's voice is a gem and she can make anything come alive. This is a tale about a young girl who feels used by the crown in an ancestral way...Wealth is displayed. Plague mentioned. It's all in period costume. What more do you want really. There's even a little titillation here and there...It's not high fiber, but sometimes you need a nice dessert book.
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10 people found this helpful