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The Nightingale's Castle
A Novel of Erzsébet Báthory, the Blood Countess
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Narrated by:
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Elinor Coleman
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By:
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Sonia Velton
About this listen
In the vein of riveting historical novels such as Hamnet and Circe—with a touch of Dracula—a propulsive feminist reimagining of the story of Erzsébet Báthory, the infamous sixteenth-century Hungarian aristocrat known as the “Blood Countess”, who was rumored to have murdered hundreds of peasant girls and bathed in their blood.
In 1573, Countess Erzsébet Báthory gives birth to an illegitimate child. Secretly taken to a peasant family living in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, the infant girl is raised as their own. Years later, a young woman called Boróka—ignorant of her true history—is sent to join the Countess’s household.
Terrified of the Countess’s murderous reputation and the brutally cruel women who run the castle, Boróka struggles to find her place. Then plague breaches the castle’s walls, and a tentative bond unexpectedly forms between the girl and the Countess. But powerful forces are moving against the great lady whose wealth and independence threatens the king. Can the Countess trust the women seemingly so close to her? And when the show trial begins against the infamous “Blood Countess” where will Boróka’s loyalties lie?
©2024 Sonia Velton (P)2024 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Before joining the Confederate Army, brothers Joseph and Thomas were actually sisters, Josephine and Libby. But that bloodiest battle, Antietam, leaves Libby widowed. She vows vengeance, dons her husband Arden’s clothes, and sneaks off to enlist with the Stonewall Brigade, swearing to kill one Yankee for every year of her husband’s too-short life. Desperate to protect her grief-crazed sister, Josephine insists on joining her. Surrounded by flying bullets, deprivation, and illness, the sisters are found by other dangers.
By: Kathy Hepinstall, and others
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The Silence Factory
- A Novel
- By: Bridget Collins
- Narrated by: Bridget Collins, Ned Porteous
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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1820: Sophia Ashmore-Percy reluctantly accompanies her husband James to a remote Greek island, where he searches for rare biological specimens. Once there, however, she sets on her own voyage of discovery—stumbling across the very creature he is looking for, making an unexpected connection with a local woman, and ultimately reconsidering her marriage, life, and own desires. Decades later, audiologist Henry Latimer is sent to the home of industrialist Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy and tasked with curing the man’s young daughter, Philomel, of her deafness.
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Not my favorite by this author
- By unco on 08-26-24
By: Bridget Collins
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Fervor
- A Novel
- By: Toby Lloyd
- Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Hannah and Eric Rosenthal are devout Jews living in North London with their three children and Eric’s father Yosef, a Holocaust survivor. Both intellectually gifted and deeply unconventional, the Rosenthals believe in the literal truth of the Old Testament and in the presence of God (and evil) in daily life.
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Jewish tradition
- By LizBowlin on 01-14-25
By: Toby Lloyd
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Bonnie
- A Novel
- By: Christina Schwarz
- Narrated by: Candace Thaxton
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Born in a small town in the desolate reaches of Western Texas and shaped by her girlhood in an industrial wasteland on the outskirts of Dallas, Bonnie Parker was a natural performer and a star student. She dreamed of being a movie star or a singer or a poet. But her dramatic nature, contorted by her limited opportunities and her overwhelming love for Clyde Barrow, pushed her into a course from which there was no escape but death.
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Authentic and beautiful writing
- By Eugenia Luck on 10-07-20
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The Lost Jewels
- A Novel
- By: Kirsty Manning
- Narrated by: Natasha Beaumont
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Present day. When respected American jewelry historian Kate Kirby receives a call about the Cheapside jewels, she knows she’s on the brink of the experience of a lifetime. But the trip to London forces Kate to explore secrets that have long been buried by her own family.
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Need sleep?
- By Bird Miller on 05-10-21
By: Kirsty Manning
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We, the Drowned
- By: Carsten Jensen
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 25 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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We, the Drowned is the story of the port town of Marstal, Denmark, whose inhabitants sailed the world from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the Second World War. The novel tells of ships wrecked and blown up in wars, of places of terror and violence that continue to lure each generation. The result is a brilliant seafaring novel, a gripping saga encompassing industrial growth, the years of expansion and exploration, the crucible of the first half of the twentieth century, and most of all, the sea.
By: Carsten Jensen
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Sisters of Shiloh
- By: Kathy Hepinstall, Becky Hepinstall Hilliker
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Before joining the Confederate Army, brothers Joseph and Thomas were actually sisters, Josephine and Libby. But that bloodiest battle, Antietam, leaves Libby widowed. She vows vengeance, dons her husband Arden’s clothes, and sneaks off to enlist with the Stonewall Brigade, swearing to kill one Yankee for every year of her husband’s too-short life. Desperate to protect her grief-crazed sister, Josephine insists on joining her. Surrounded by flying bullets, deprivation, and illness, the sisters are found by other dangers.
By: Kathy Hepinstall, and others
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The Demon Summoner Omnibus
- Demon Summoner, Books 1–3
- By: Greg Walters
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 28 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The year is 1642. As a decades-long war rages through Central Europe, military field surgeon Martin shares a shocking truth with his apprentice Gustav: Demons are real, and the victims of battle are their reward for fighting for mankind. A reveal that changes everything…
By: Greg Walters
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Soul Riders: The Epic Star Stable Trilogy
- The Soul Riders Series, Books 1-3
- By: Helena Dahlgren
- Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Lisa Peterson is a teenage girl who is coming to terms with the tragic loss of her mother in a riding accident. Lisa swore she would never ride again, but everything changes when she moves to the island of Jorvik and meets Starshine, a mysterious steed with a blue mane. In the stable, Lisa befriends Alex, Linda, and Anne, and together they start to realize that they all have magical connections with their horses—and each other.
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🤠🤠🐎🐴
- By Scott on 01-13-24
By: Helena Dahlgren
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Lizzy and Jane
- By: Katherine Reay
- Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Lizzy and Jane couldn’t be further from Jane Austen’s famous sisters for whom they are named. Elizabeth left her family’s home in Seattle 15 years ago to pursue her lifelong dream - chefing her own restaurant in New York City. Jane stayed behind to raise a family. Estranged since their mother’s death many years ago, the circumstances of their lives are about to bring them together once again.
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Great and difficult relationship between sisters
- By Sadie n Connolly on 09-15-24
By: Katherine Reay
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Brontë's Mistress
- A Novel
- By: Finola Austin
- Narrated by: Danielle Cohen
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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The scandalous historical love affair between Lydia Robinson and Branwell Brontë, brother to novelists Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, gives voice to the woman who allegedly brought down one of literature’s most famous families.
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Powerful Feminist Imagining—in its own time
- By Syd Young on 02-10-21
By: Finola Austin
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Countess
- By: Suzan Palumbo
- Narrated by: Chanté McCormick
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Virika Sameroo lives in colonized space under the Æerbot Empire, much like her ancestors before her in the British West Indies. After years of working hard to rise through the ranks of the empire’s merchant marine, she’s finally become first lieutenant on an interstellar cargo vessel. When her captain dies under suspicious circumstances, Virika is arrested for murder and charged with treason despite her lifelong loyalty to the empire. Her conviction and subsequent imprisonment set her on a path of revenge, determined to take down the evil empire that wronged her.
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Not Monte Cristo
- By William on 09-19-24
By: Suzan Palumbo
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Lost Believers
- A Novel
- By: Irina Zhorov
- Narrated by: Gilli Messer
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Galina, a promising young geologist from Moscow, is falling in love with her pilot, Snow Crane, on an expedition for minerals in Siberia. As their helicopter hovers over what should be a stretch of uninhabited forest, they see a small hut and a garden—and, the following day, when they hike from their field camp to the hut, they find a family.
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Lost believers
- By Amazon Customer on 07-08-24
By: Irina Zhorov
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The Memory Keeper
- By: Corin Burnside
- Narrated by: Peta Cornish
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Having grown up surrounded by nature, Bella Gardner loves nothing more than getting her hands dirty. When war breaks out, she immediately signs up for the Air Transport Auxiliary, frustrated she can’t play a more active role, yet keen to do something for the war effort. But when her brother is involved in a tragic accident, Bella must make a decision that changes the course of her life forever.
By: Corin Burnside
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The Winter Garden
- By: Nicola Cornick
- Narrated by: Emma Craig
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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When Robert Catesby, the charismatic son of a Catholic gentleman, marries heiress Catherine Leigh and inherits the rich Oxfordshire manor house at Aston from his grandmother, it seems that the future happiness of the couple must be assured. However, Robert’s deep involvement in plots to overthrow the Protestant queen Elizabeth I and his increasingly dangerous behavior threaten the lives of his wife and their young son.
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Never got my attention
- By Misty on 12-06-22
By: Nicola Cornick
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The Patient Assassin
- A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest for Independence
- By: Anita Anand
- Narrated by: Anita Anand
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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The “compelling [and] vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) true story of a man who claimed to be a survivor of a 1919 British massacre in India, his elaborate 20-year plan for revenge, and the mix of truth and legend that made him a hero to hundreds of millions.
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more interesting history
- By Autodidact on 09-07-19
By: Anita Anand
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The Thirty Names of Night
- A Novel
- By: Zeyn Joukhadar
- Narrated by: Samy Figaredo, Lameece Issaq
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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From the award-winning author of The Map of Salt and Stars, a new novel about three generations of Syrian Americans haunted by a mysterious species of bird and the truths they carry close to their hearts - a “vivid exploration of loss, art, queer and trans communities, and the persistence of history. Often tender, always engrossing, The Thirty Names of Night is a feat” (R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries).
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Might be easier to follow in print
- By Kate on 12-30-20
By: Zeyn Joukhadar
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The Rib King
- A Novel
- By: Ladee Hubbard
- Narrated by: Korey Jackson, Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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For 15 years August Sitwell has worked for the Barclays, a well-to-do White family who plucked him from an orphan asylum and gave him a job. The groundskeeper is part of the household’s all-Black staff, along with “Miss Mamie”, the talented cook, pretty new maid Jennie Williams, and three young kitchen apprentices - the latest orphan boys Mr. Barclay has taken in to "civilize" boys like August.
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Makes me wonder about a bunch of products
- By LATOYA LEWIS on 09-07-21
By: Ladee Hubbard
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At Sea
- By: Emma Fedor
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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When Cara and Brendan first meet, she’s fresh out of college, recovering from the recent death of her mother, and spending time on Martha’s Vineyard while trying to figure out her next steps. She’s swept away by Brendan’s humor and charm, and intoxicated by his thrilling, dangerous secret: He can breathe underwater. Able to stay beneath the waves for longer than should be possible, Brendan reveals that he is part of a secret experimental unit of the US Special Forces. And Cara, struck by the power of his conviction, by his unstoppable charisma, and by the evidence before her, believes him.
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Wonderfully Woven Tale
- By Joy on 03-26-23
By: Emma Fedor
What listeners say about The Nightingale's Castle
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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- Darcia Helle
- 08-31-24
Mixed Thoughts - Fantastic Audio Performance
Erzsebet Bathory, the Blood Countess, is a historical figure reviled for (allegedly) murdering hundreds of peasant girls and bathing in their blood.
But did she do it?
In THE NIGHTINGALE’S CASTLE, we’re introduced to an alternate version of Bathory, as a woman in power persecuted by the men who resent her.
I loved the premise of this story. The writing was good and held my interest. Ultimately, though, the execution fell a little short for me.
First, we have a lot of POV characters. I lost track of how many. I listened to the audiobook, which made it harder for me to keep up with the quick procession of characters. Bathory’s character remains in the background through much of the story, with the focus instead on the young women in her home.
Then we have a magical element that’s introduced late and not really explored. And that makes this book fantasy-adjacent, not really fantasy but also not plausible in reality. I needed to go deeper into that magic for the fantasy aspect to work, or to remove it altogether for a more realistic exploration.
The audiobook production is well done. Elinor Coleman does a fantastic job with the narration.
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