The Portuguese Affair
The Chronicles of Christoval Alvarez, Book 3
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Narrated by:
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Jan Cramer
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By:
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Ann Swinfen
About this listen
The year after defeating the Spanish Armada, England retaliates. The expedition to Portugal sets out to destroy what remains of Spain's Atlantic fleet, drive the Spanish out of Portugal, put the claimant Dom Antonio of Aviz on the throne, and seize the Azores. But from the time the English fleet, led by Drake and Norreys, reaches Plymouth, things start to go wrong. Christoval Alvarez, sent to carry out two missions by Walsingham, has a more important private plan in mind. Are any members of the family still alive? And what will become of the disaster-ridden expedition?
©2014 Ann Swinfen (P)2016 Ann SwinfenListeners also enjoyed...
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- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In the year 1492, the Inquisition has all of Spain in its grip. Yonah Toledano, the 15-year-old son of a celebrated Spanish silversmith, has seen his father and brother die during terrible days - victims whose murders go almost unnoticed in a time of mass upheaval. Trapped in Spain by circumstances, he is determined to honor the memory of his family by remaining a Jew. On a donkey named Moise, Yonah begins a meandering journey, a young fugitive zigzagging across the vastness of Spain.
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Disappointing narration
- By karen inbal glickman on 04-09-19
By: Noah Gordon
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Mistress of the Art of Death
- A Novel
- By: Ariana Franklin
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In medieval England, four children have been murdered, and the townsfolk blame their Jewish neighbors. The doctor chosen to investigate is a woman, Adelia. As she examines the victims and retraces their last steps, she must conceal her true identity in order to avoid accusations of witchcraft. Along the way, she's assisted by Sir Rowley Picot, a man with a personal stake in the investigation. A former Crusader knight, Rowley may be a needed friend - or the fiend for whom they are searching.
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History-Mystery of the Year & its only March
- By Irenehope on 03-02-07
By: Ariana Franklin
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Quillifer
- Quillifer, Book 1
- By: Walter Jon Williams
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Quillifer is young, serially in love, studying law, and living each day keenly aware that his beloved homeport of Ethlebight risks closure due to silting of the harbor. His concerns for the future become much more immediate when he returns from a summery assignation to find his city attacked by Aekoi pirates, leading to brigands in the streets and his family and friends in chains.
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The opposite of George R R Martin (in a good way)
- By A reader on 10-30-17
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The Queen's Bastard
- A Novel of Elizabeth I and Arthur Dudley
- By: Robin Maxwell
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Historians have long whispered that Elizabeth "the Virgin Queen's" passionate, lifelong affair with Robin Dudley, Earl of Leicester, may have led to the birth of a son, Arthur Dudley. In this exquisite sequel to The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn, Robin Maxwell fashions a stunning fictional account of the child switched at birth by a lady-in-waiting who foresaw the deleterious political consequences of a royal bastard.
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Story? what Story?
- By A User on 06-08-13
By: Robin Maxwell
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The Skystone
- Camulod Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Jack Whyte
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone knows the story-how Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, how Camelot came to be, and about the power struggles that ultimately destroyed Arthur's dreams. But what of the time before Arthur and the forces that created him?
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Fascinating new series
- By Jim R. Whitt Jr. on 08-27-13
By: Jack Whyte
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Nights of the Witch
- War God, Book 1
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 22 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A young girl called Tozi stands at the bottom of a pyramid, waiting to be led to the top where her heart will be cut out.... Pepillo, a Spanish orphan who serves a sadistic Dominican friar, is aboard the Spanish fleet as it sails towards Mexico.... This is the epic story of the clash of two empires, two armies and two gods of war. Five hundred desperate adventurers are about to pit themselves against the most brutal armies of the ancient Americas, armies hundreds of thousands strong.
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engaging story.
- By Dennis Lewis on 12-14-16
By: Graham Hancock
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Oath of Fealty
- Paladin's Legacy, Book 1
- By: Elizabeth Moon
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter follows her dream of becoming a hero out of legend by running away to join the army. Military life and warfare aren't anything like she imagined - yet she holds to both her duty and her dreams. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold tell of her rise to become the paladin who saves a kingdom. In this new trilogy, Paks's former comrades in Duke Phelan's Company assume new roles and the story turns to follow their adventures.
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More Moon Magic
- By James on 04-20-10
By: Elizabeth Moon
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Children of Earth and Sky
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request - and possibly to do more - and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor's wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.
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Deep Echoes of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By Sarah on 05-13-16
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
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The Red Wolf Conspiracy
- By: Robert V. S. Redick
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The Imperial Merchant Ship Chathrand is the last of her kind. Six hundred years old, the secrets of her construction long forgotten, the massive vessel dwarfs every other sailing craft in the world. It is a palace with sails, a floating outpost of the Empire of Arqual. And it is on its most vital mission yet: to deliver a young woman whose marriage will seal the peace between Arqual and its mortal enemy, the secretive Mzithrin Empire.
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Not Bad, not great.
- By Aerindel on 10-15-09
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The Gates of Athens
- By: Conn Iggulden
- Narrated by: George Blagden
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Evoking two of the most famous battles of the Ancient World - the Battle of Marathon and the Last Stand at Thermopylae - The Gates of Athens is a bravura piece of storytelling by a well acclaimed master of the historical adventure novel.
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One of Iggulden’s best ever!
- By Bud R on 01-15-21
By: Conn Iggulden
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Shadowmarch
- Shadowmarch, Volume I
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 29 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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For generations the misty Shadowline has marked the boundary between the lands of men and the lost northern lands that are the lair of their inhuman enemies, the ageless Qar. But now that boundary line is moving outward, threatening to engulf the northernmost land in which humans still live - the kingdom of Southmarch.
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It's the characters that matter...
- By JC on 11-09-10
By: Tad Williams
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Crispin: The End of Time
- By: Avi
- Narrated by: Ron Keith
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Newbery Medal-winning author Avi completes the Crispin saga with this third installment of the riveting trilogy. In 14th-century England, Crispin has embarked on one adventure after another since discovering that he, once known only as “Asta’s son,” has a much grander future than he ever could have imagined. Encountering such trustworthy souls as Bear during the course of his travels, Crispin teeters on the brink of fulfilling his destiny in this stunning tale of the Middle Ages.
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DO NOT READ THISSSSS
- By C. Smith on 02-25-20
By: Avi
What listeners say about The Portuguese Affair
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Pen Name
- 10-09-17
A Let Down
Not as interetsting as other books in series. Hard to follow and depressing. Not as believable as others.
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- Book lover
- 04-19-18
Was drake really that horrible?
I got a new perspective on drake. He really appears to be a horrible vain person. I assume it is historically correct? I knew Essex was a peacock which is accepted... there was a little bit of repetition at the end which got tiresome
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- Cindi
- 03-06-19
Depressing but historically accurate
I really like Ann Swinfen and I liked the first two installments of the Alvarez series. Like the other reviewers, I found Book 3 to be somber and overall very depressing. But Swinfen is spot on in her depiction of the historical events of the English Armada which, as history knows, was a total and complete failure, so it's not that surprising that poor Kit endured hardship and witnessed horrific things during this enterprise. Swinfen could, however, have given us a glimmer of sunshine to contrast against the overall darkness of the book, but instead chose to keep the story very dark on all fronts. I was really frustrated with the upshot of Kit's personal mission but I suppose you can't expect happy endings all the time. This book also provides a lot of insight into what Kit and her family had to endure at the hands of the Inquisition, and it is just heartbreaking knowing that people are capable of treating others that way merely on account of religious differences. Such a sad time in history.
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- Martha H.
- 08-14-22
A sad tale
Once again Kit Alvarez proves herself brave and resourceful in this tale of the disastrous Portuguese expedition. Not all stories can be charming and triumphant and this one certainly was not. However the realistic depictions on an expedition gone wrong and also the realities of warfare prove instructive for the reader. How vast are the follies of men.
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- E. Fischel
- 05-09-22
Just. Too. Grim.
I must agree with other reviewers that while this book is well written and narrated, it is just too full of suffering and despair to be in any way enjoyable. Swinfen is unrelenting in the telling of this grotesque adventure. It just gets more and more horrible, right down to the last sentence. Unless you are a sociopath and so incapable of empathy, I'd recommend skipping this one.
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- Gail N.
- 12-08-17
A bleak and disturbing tale, very dark
While I am a fan of Ann Swinfen and have enjoyed other books in this series and in her other series about medieval England, I found the raw and disturbing descriptions of warfare and suffering too much to bear and had to skip large sections. I do not doubt the historical accuracy of the events described but I did not enjoy the book and cannot recommend it.
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1 person found this helpful