The Stockholm Octavo
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
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By:
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Karen Engelmann
About this listen
For fans of Patrick Suskind’s classic Perfume comes a dazzling debut set during Stockholm’s opulent golden age and brilliantly interweaving history, romance, and intrigue - a story in which one man’s fortune holds the key to a nation’s precarious fate.
Life is close to perfect for Emil Larsson, a self-satisfied bureaucrat in the Office of Customs and Excise in 1791 Stockholm. He is a true man of the town - a drinker, card player, and contented bachelor - until one evening when Mrs. Sofia Sparrow, a fortune-teller and proprietress of an exclusive gaming parlor, shares with him a vision she has had: a golden path that will lead him to love and connection. She lays an octavo for him, a spread of eight cards that augur the eight individuals who can help him realize this vision - if he can find them.
Emil begins his search, intrigued by the puzzle of his octavo and the good fortune Mrs. Sparrow’s vision portends. But when Mrs. Sparrow wins a mysterious folding fan in a card game, the octavo’s deeper powers are revealed. For Emil it is no longer just a game of the heart; collecting his eight is now crucial to pulling his country back from the crumbling precipice of rebellion and chaos.
Set against the luminous backdrop of late 18th-century Stockholm, as the winds of revolution rage through the great capitals of Europe, The Stockholm Octavo brings together a collection of characters, both fictional and historical, whose lives tangle in political conspiracy, love, and magic in a breathtaking tale that will leave you spellbound.
©2012 Karen Engelmann (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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By: Lynn Flewelling
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The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock
- A Novel
- By: Imogen Hermes Gowar
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1780s London, a prosperous merchant finds his quiet life upended when he unexpectedly receives an unusual creature - and meets a most extraordinary woman - in this much-lauded, atmospheric debut that examines our capacity for wonder, obsession, and desire. One September evening in 1785, Jonah Hancock hears an urgent knocking on his front door near the docks of London. The captain of one of Jonah’s trading vessels is waiting eagerly on the front step, bearing shocking news. On a voyage to the Far East, he sold the Jonah’s ship for something rare and far more precious: a mermaid.
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Gave up
- By Isabella Piestrzynska on 10-27-18
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Jack Maggs
- By: Peter Carey
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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With scars on his back and silver in his pocket, the huge figure of Jack Maggs strides across the rich landscape of 19th century London. As this enigmatic man moves through its streets and houses, his single-minded quest to find his son will engender love, deceit, and vengeance in the lives around him.
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Jack Maggs
- By Kathleen on 04-04-05
By: Peter Carey
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Rushed to the Altar
- By: Jane Feather
- Narrated by: Jill Tanner
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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A best-selling author of more than 25 historical romances, Jane Feather boasts more than 10 million copies of her books in print. Rushed to the Altar kicks off a new trilogy in high style. In order to inherit a fortune, Jasper Sullivan, Earl of Blackwater, must rescue a “fallen woman.” So when a lady of the night attempts to pick his pocket, he makes a daring proposal. Everything seems to have dropped into place for Jasper—but he may have made a colossal blunder.
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Just Ok...
- By Just so you know on 08-03-11
By: Jane Feather
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Shades of Milk and Honey
- By: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The fantasy novel you’ve always wished Jane Austen had written. When Jane realizes that one of Melody’s suitors is set on taking advantage of her sister for the sake of her dowry, she pushes her skills to the limit of what her body can withstand in order to set things right—and, in the process, accidentally wanders into a love story of her own.
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Great if you love speculative fiction and Austen
- By Womble on 05-07-12
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Glamorous Illusions
- Grand Tour Series, Book 1
- By: Lisa T. Bergren
- Narrated by: Jaime Draper
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Cora is about to discover who she truly is. It’s the summer of 1913, and Cora Kensington’s life on the family farm has taken a dark turn. Not only are the crops failing, but someone dear to Cora is failing as well. One fateful afternoon, a stranger comes to call, and Cora discovers a terrible secret about her past… a secret that will radically change her future. Cora is invited to take the “Grand Tour” of Europe, a trip intended to finish a person’s education and solidify an understanding of refinement and ancient culture.
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One of my favorites!
- By Diane Ellingsen on 06-19-17
By: Lisa T. Bergren
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Delicious
- By: Sherry Thomas
- Narrated by: Virginia Leishman
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Delicious presents Verity Durant, an irresistible woman of a more elegant age. Verity is renowned from London to Paris for her succulent cuisine - and for her rapacious carnal appetite. And she's determined to tempt prim and proper politician Stuart Somerset with forbidden fruits he's never tasted.
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Sherry Thomas, Wonderful as Always!
- By Shoppermom on 06-04-18
By: Sherry Thomas
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The Book of Scandal
- Scandalous, Book 1
- By: Julia London
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Nathan Grey, the Earl of Lindsey, is infamously known as the Libertine of Lindsey for his scandalous ways with women. But when he hears gossip that his estranged wife, Evelyn, is about to be named in The Book of Scandal, he has no choice but to remove her from London to protect her and himself from charges of treason — even if it calls for abduction!
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silliest book I ever downloaded
- By connie on 05-22-11
By: Julia London
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The Irish Healer
- A Novel
- By: Nancy Herriman
- Narrated by: Amanda McKnight
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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1830s London is rich with promise ... and fraught with peril. Rachel Dunne and James Edmunds are about to discover that love is too. Rachel Dunne has always been a healer ... until she’s accused of causing the death of a child under her care. Acquitted but shunned, she flees Ireland in search of a new life, convinced that she’ll be fine so long as no one in London learns of her disgrace - or forces her to ever sit at another sickbed.
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should have a Christian/Religion tag
- By Wendy on 07-06-12
By: Nancy Herriman
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Winter Collection
- Six Historical Short Stories (A Timeless Romance Anthology, Book 1)
- By: Sarah M. Eden, Heidi Ashworth, Annette Lyon, and others
- Narrated by: Karen Peakes
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Six award-winning authors have contributed brand new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Collection. A collection unlike any other, listeners will love this compilation of six sweet historical romance novellas, set in varying eras, yet all with one thing in common: Romance.
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Winter
- By Manila J. Dobbs on 08-12-23
By: Sarah M. Eden, and others
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The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre
- By: Dominic Smith
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In this luminous novel, Dominic Smith reinvents the life of one of photography's founding fathers. In 1839, Louis Daguerre's invention took the world by storm. A decade later, he is sinking deep into delusions brought on by exposure to mercury, the very agent that allowed his daguerreotype process. Believing the world will end within one year, he creates his "Doomsday List", 10 items he must photograph before the final day. It includes a woman he has always loved but has not seen in half a century.
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Dud
- By Deborah on 01-31-08
By: Dominic Smith
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The Adorned
- By: John Tristan
- Narrated by: Shannon Gunn
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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My name is Etan, and I am Adorned. A living piece of art, I exist to please the divine rulers of Kered. With nowhere to turn after my father died, I tried my luck in the capital city. Little did I know how quickly I would be robbed, beaten and forced to sell myself into servitude. But I was lucky enough to gain the attention of Roberd Tallisk, an irascible but intriguing tattoo artist who offered to mark me with enchanted ink for the enjoyment of the nobles. I was given a chance to better my station in life, and I could not refuse.
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Bloody Brilliant...until the last few chapters
- By Danny on 10-26-13
By: John Tristan
What listeners say about The Stockholm Octavo
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- discerning consumer
- 01-29-18
Outstanding storytelling
The story revolves around card reading (octavo akin to tarot) and is rich w historical figures and fascinating characters. My reading houses are eclectic but good historical fiction is hard to pass up. Don't miss this masterpiece - and be patient and allow the story to unfold.
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Overall
- miriam wismar
- 03-24-15
Great Entertaining Historical Fiction
This was a delicious book that wove, history, magic, art and science with intrigue and a group of wonderful characters! I can't wait for the author's next book!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Adeliese Baumann
- 07-24-13
Disappointing debut
I had high hopes for this novel. So many positive critical reviews, a time in history that fascinates me, a country I dearly love, and what sounded like some really interesting characters. All this with Simon Vance's narration? How could I resist?
But I wish I had.
The basic publisher's book description sets the scene: Emil Larsson encounters a cartomancer at a gaming house, she reads his cards, and thus are set into motion the events of the novel.
As a commercial artist, Ms. Engelmann certainly does have an eye for sensory detail. To name but one example, the reader learns more than she ever wanted to know about the subject of fans, their construction, uses, and "language." While this is the special interest of one character, the Baroness Uzanne, some may find this quantity of detail a bit much. At times it felt as if Ms. Engelmann tried to include every bit of fan-related knowledge she acquired, whether or not it added anything to the story.
The characters were not very believable, nor did I care much what happened to them. Possibly this is because they are of secondary importance to the structure in which this story is told. And that, for me, was the real problem: the over-reliance upon form is fatal to this novel. From the outset, the structure of "the Octavo" does not so much underpin the structure of the story as visibly dominate it.
When Sofia Sparrow reads the cards for Emil, she tells him "....any event that may befall the seeker can be connected to a set of eight people, and the eight must be in place for the event to transpire." These are: the Companion, the Prisoner, the Teacher, the Courier, the Trickster, the Magpie, the Prize, and the Key, all of which center around the Seeker. This construct made the book feel very much like the result of a creative writing course in pseudo-mythic storytelling. (As an aside, there is another book, "The Octavo Handbook" that is sold as a divination guide on the author's website).
I was also hoping for a somewhat more original set of circumstances, or at least an interesting treatment of known circumstances, in an historical novel. Although the period may be unfamiliar to those who know little of Sweden, the story itself is just a dressing up of a theme treated many times before. To name but two examples, Daniel Auber's opera of 1833, and Verdi's 1859 "Un ballo in maschera" were also inspired by the times of King Gustav III, and in particular, his assassination during a masquerade ball.
Better luck next credit.
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5 people found this helpful