The Rivals of Versailles: A Novel
Mistresses of Versailles, Book 2
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Narrated by:
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Elizabeth Wiley
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By:
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Sally Christie
About this listen
The year is 1745, and King Louis XV's bed is once again empty. Enter Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, a beautiful girl from the middle classes. As a child, a fortune-teller had told young Jeanne's destiny: She would become the lover of a king and the most powerful woman in the land. Eventually connections, luck, and a little scheming pave her way to Versailles and into the king's arms.
All too soon, conniving politicians and hopeful beauties seek to replace the bourgeois interloper with a more suitable mistress. As Jeanne, now the Marquise de Pompadour, takes on her many rivals - including a lustful lady-in-waiting, a precocious 14-year-old prostitute, and even a cousin of the notorious Nesle sisters - she helps the king give himself over to a life of luxury and depravity. Around them war rages, discontent grows, and France inches ever closer to the Revolution.
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The Second Empress
- A Novel of Napoleon's Court
- By: Michelle Moran
- Narrated by: Adam Alexi-Malle, Emma Bering, Tanya Franks
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the 18-year-old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war. Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection....
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A brilliant novel!
- By BVerité on 12-08-12
By: Michelle Moran
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Push Not the River
- By: James Conroyd Martin
- Narrated by: Dawn Harvey
- Length: 19 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Push Not the River is the rich story of Poland in the late 1700's - a time of heartache and turmoil as the country's once peaceful people are torn apart by neighboring countries and divided loyalties. It is then, at the young and vulnerable age of seventeen, that Lady Anna Maria Berezowska loses both of her parents and must leave the only home she has ever known.
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Save your time; buy something else.
- By AMS on 10-22-15
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A Wicked Pursuit
- A Breconridge Brothers Novel
- By: Isabella Bradford
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In Isabella Bradford’s enthralling new trilogy, three noble brothers - London’s most scandalous rakes - are about to do the unthinkable: settle down. Harry Fitzroy, Earl of Hargreave, is the first to meet his match and lose his heart...to a lady who’s not all what he expected. As the eldest son of the Duke of Breconridge, Harry Fitzroy is duty-bound to marry - and marry well. Giving up his rakish ways for the pleasures of a bride’s bed becomes a delightful prospect when Harry chooses beautiful Lady Julia Barclay, the catch of the season.
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Great performance... Okay storyline.
- By Ladonna on 09-29-17
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The Irish Duke
- By: Virginia Henley
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Virginia Henley pens sumptuous historical romances eagerly devoured by fans. In The Irish Duke, Henley delivers an enthralling tale about a woman determined not to fall in love. Lord Abercorn of Ireland fell madly for Louisa when they were children. But she refused him then, as she still refuses every man, adamant she will never marry. Yet when scandal rocks her family, Louisa must accept Lord Abercorn as her husband.
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Wonderful historic love story.
- By Jaguar1212 on 09-30-16
By: Virginia Henley
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Meryton Vignettes
- Tales of Pride and Prejudice
- By: Elizabeth Adams
- Narrated by: Brigid Lohrey
- Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In this collection of six short stories, the people of Pride and Prejudice move on, grow up, and explore paths not taken. Time leads these beloved characters down roads of self-discovery, courage, and heartbreak. And sometimes the journey takes them to surprising places.
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Wonderful
- By Kindle Customer on 04-17-17
By: Elizabeth Adams
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You May Kiss the Bride
- The Penhallow Dynasty, Book 1
- By: Lisa Berne
- Narrated by: Carolyn Morris
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Wealthy and arrogant, Gabriel Penhallow knows it's time to fulfill his dynastic duty. All he must do is follow "The Penhallow way" - find a biddable bride, produce an heir and a spare, and then live separate lives. It's worked so well for generations, certainly one kiss with the delectable Livia Stuart isn't going to change things. Society dictates he marry her, and one chit is as good as another as long as she's from a decent family.
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Slow Story. EXCELLENT SUPERB NARRATION!
- By Tracy T on 03-30-17
By: Lisa Berne
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Potent Pleasures
- The Pleasures Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Eloisa James
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Reckless desire sends Charlotte Daicheston into the garden with a dashing masked stranger. He's powerful and unforgettable, a devastatingly handsome footman who lures her - not against her will - into a grand indiscretion at a masquerade ball. Then he vanishes. Several years later, after Charlotte has made her dazzling debut in London society, they meet again. But the rogue is no footman. He's rich, titled, and he doesn't remember Charlotte. Worse, he's the subject of some scandalous gossip.
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A Mind "F" in the Best Possible Way
- By Cynthia on 12-23-14
By: Eloisa James
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Florence Grace
- By: Tracy Rees
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Florrie Buckley is an orphan living on the wind-blasted moors of Cornwall. It's a hard existence, but Florrie is content; she runs wild in the mysterious landscape. She thinks her destiny is set in stone. But when Florrie is 14, she inherits a never-imagined secret. She is related to a wealthy and notorious London family: the Graces.
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Utterly brilliant!!!
- By Maria on 07-04-16
By: Tracy Rees
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Magic Flutes
- By: Eva Ibbotson
- Narrated by: Kate Lock
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Spring, 1922. Tessa is a beautiful, tiny, dark-eyed princess who’s given up her duties to follow her heart and work backstage at the Viennese opera. She keeps her true identity a well-guarded secret, but when a wealthy, handsome Englishman discovers this bewitching urchin backstage, Tessa’s two lives collide - and in escaping her inheritance, she finds her destiny....
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delightful story spoiled by the reader
- By A Lennox on 01-09-24
By: Eva Ibbotson
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Marry in Haste
- Marriage of Convenience Series, Book 1
- By: Anne Gracie
- Narrated by: Charlotte Anne Dore
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Major Calborne Rutherford returns to England on the trail of an assassin, only to find he's become Lord Ashendon, with the responsibility for vast estates and dependent relatives. Cal can command the toughest of men, but his wild half-sisters are quite another matter. They might just be his undoing. When he discovers that Miss Emmaline Westwood, the girls' former teacher, guides them with ease, Cal offers her a marriage of convenience.
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Ruined by the robotic narrator.
- By Cate F. on 05-29-17
By: Anne Gracie
What listeners say about The Rivals of Versailles: A Novel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Robin Johnson
- 09-25-16
good historical fiction
I love historical fiction and learned a lot about Versailles listening to this book. Narration was well done.
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- Amazon Customer JackieW
- 08-09-16
Kings chics
love this book!! So well written. and the reading of it was like a good movie!
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- Jennifer Kimball
- 01-09-22
Love the second installment!
This book is told from the perspective of the Marquise de Pompadour, Adelaide (Louis XV's daughter) and his various petite mistrsses. Again, I love how Wiley gives the many daughters of Louis XV their own personality through her voice. Madame de Pompadour was with Louis XV the longest out of his many lovers, and I believe her "reign" saw his greatest transformation to the "debauched libertine" history knows him to be. I also love how Christie gives his lesser mistresses their own perspective as well, especially Morphise (Louise O'Murphy) who was just a teenager when she became the king's lover. It shows the darker side of 18th century France, and gives the story versatility. 5/5!!
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- Donna C
- 07-01-19
Narration is BRILLIANT!!!
Story is entertaining. Narration makes me feel I’m right there. Is there an Oscar for audiobook narration? Elizabeth Wiley deserves one!
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- Marti
- 08-22-18
A good sequel.
This is a good sequal in this line of of books. The succession of mistress's that went through the palace is amazing. This book brings it to life.
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- GinaGMart
- 06-12-20
Irritating & Superficial
I hated this book - I didn't much like the first one either. Book 1 - Sister's of Versailles was more interesting in story but the narration of Book 1 is just as irritating as Book2. Deleting Book3 from my wish list. There was a time when Audibles let you return books you did not like - I wanted to return book 2 because its like pulling teeth trying to finish but apparently they are no longer doing this. I am trying so hard to finish this book but the more I listen the more difficult it becomes. The characters are so superficial and catty - UGH,
I've never written a bad review - this is my fist but I had to do it to warn others not to waste their credits.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Judith A. Golba
- 04-24-19
Not something I liked . Didn't finish .
It was not a good book at all. Did not like at all. The narrator had a childish voice
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- Michelle
- 02-06-17
The Rivals of Versailles
The Narrator ,Elizabeth Willey has chosen the wrong occupation. She has neither the voice , nor the talent to perform.
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- The Louligan
- 11-12-16
HOODWINKED! BAMBOOZLED! LED ASTRAY!!
I was very disappointed. This book is a fictional account of Versailles "side chicks" and includes way more sexual events than historic ones. But the narrator sounded like she was reading "Alice In Wonderland" rather than a racy sexually explicit romance novel! Listening to sex acts being presented as if this was a children's story is just creepy. Plus this is a story that takes place in 18th century FRANCE! Why is it being read by an American with a whiny midwestern voice?
Enough about the narrator...... The author seemed to forget that this is a period piece. The story and dialogue includes terms and vernacular of the 20th and, even 21st, centuries. I was waiting for one of the mistresses to tell us how she just met Justin Timberlake at his VIDEO SHOOT!
Finally, at 15.5 hours, this book is way too long to contain so little actual history. "Baby Mama Drama" is no substitute for a reasonable inclusion of actual historical data about fashion, food, religion, art, music, customs, transportation, classes other than the nobility, and a sense of local color. None of the palace mistresses were given any character development, making them vapid and unlikeable. Even the magnificent "Madame de Pompadour" - Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, chief mistress and longtime friend of Louis XV, comes off as a silly golddigging airhead, instead of the dynamic and brilliant patron of the arts that she was. I never got a real sense in this book of her considerable contribution to French history, other than her oral "skills" in the boudoir with Louis and just about every male in his court.
I bought this book based on the Ratings and Reviews of Audible.com members. However, I don't know WHAT they listened to but I felt "hoodwinked, bamboozled and led astray" by their assessments. Not worth "the price of admission". 😡
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12 people found this helpful