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Daughters of the Winter Queen
- Four Remarkable Sisters, the Crown of Bohemia and the Enduring Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots
- Narrated by: Laura Kirman
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
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Daughters of the Winter Queen
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Summary
In a sweeping narrative encompassing political intrigue, illicit love affairs and even a murder mystery, Nancy Goldstone tells the riveting story of a queen who lost her throne, and of her four defiant daughters.
Elizabeth Stuart's (1596-1662) marriage to a German count far below her rank was arranged with the understanding that her father, James I of England, would help his new son-in-law achieve the crown of Bohemia. The terrible betrayal of this promise would ruin 'the Winter Queen', as Elizabeth would forever be known, imperil the lives of those she loved and launch a war that would last thirty years.
Forced into exile, the Winter Queen found refuge for her growing family in Holland, where the glorious art and culture of the Dutch Golden Age formed the backdrop to her daughters' education. The eldest, Princess Elizabeth (1618-80), counted the philosopher René Descartes as her closest friend. Louisa (1622-1709), whose lively manner would provoke heartache and scandal, was a gifted artist. Henrietta Maria (1626-51), the beauty of the family, would achieve the dynastic ambition of marrying into royalty, although at great cost. But it was the youngest, Sophia (1630-1714), a heroine in the tradition of Jane Austen, with a ready wit and strength of character, who would fulfil the promise of her great-grandmother Mary, Queen of Scots, a legacy which endures to this day.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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What listeners say about Daughters of the Winter Queen
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- darkbluepoppy
- 17-04-18
Excellent research and writing, dreadful narration
A well written, authoritative history of a relatively unknown branch of the Stuarts completely ruined for me by a narration displaying lack of understanding, mispronunciation and ignorance of punctuation to the point almost of incoherence. I shall buy the book and read it myself.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Hayley McCoy
- 10-10-18
interesting title
the book being named "Daughters of the winter queen" leaves much to be desired. The book I enjoyed as it is filled with much background history and intertwining royal links that I adore. However if you are reading this book to learn solely about the daughters of the winter queen there may be a better book elsewhere. the book focuses much on the early years of princess Elizabeth later Queen of Bohemia, then on her many older children including much time on her older sons, their marriages and her own political battles. in all the Daughters of the Winter Queen in my own opinion did not live very eventful lives, two of which became abbess'. Henrietta married and died 6 months later. The youngest Sophia is the most interesting as her bloodline was elected to take over the succession of the British throne. I feel a more interesting book could have surrounded solely Sophia, or more individually on all of the Queen of Bohemia's children, or perhaps on solely her son's her appear to have lived extremely eventful lives. it is well worth a listen but do not expect to hear much about the daughters
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Poppytastic
- 24-08-19
Struggling. A poor reading of a good book.
Having read the book previously I bought the audiobook expecting to enjoy it greatly. Unfortunately Laura Kirman is a poor performer. She either just spoke the text having not read it at all in advance, or was unable to understand what she was reading. Her phrasing frequently changes the meaning of what is written. Many unusual (though not obscure) words are mispronounced. Makes it very hard to listen to. Clearly very low production values.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- pippistrelle
- 12-02-19
An interesting book but...
Enjoyed the content, but the mispronunciation of most proper names drove me to distraction. If you're going to narrate a book where the name Richelieu crops up very frequently, please note it is not pronounced Ree-shell-you. This narrator actually pronounced Monsieur as mon-sewer - not for comedic effect. The mispronunciation wasn't confined to French words either: virtually every proper noun originating outside England was mangled. It's a shame.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous Listener
- 17-11-23
Interesting book, disappointing narration
Distracting narration, littered with mispronunciations and very disjointed reading from the narrator, very hard to listen to. Disappointing as the book is very interesting, but I’ll maybe continue with Kindle.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Nomenclature
- 30-09-23
Very mixed
It’s a shame writer makes peculiar asides about the subjects and the intellectual content - it’s patronising and banal. Why write about these extraordinary women if the author wasn’t prepared to do so without defensiveness.
The narrator’s mispronunciations of basic vocabulary is risible and distracting at best.
Shame as this has potential to be a fascinating historical biography.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 22-02-23
Terrible narration
I am really keen to read this book, unlike the narrator, her performance makes it impossible to listen. Returning audio book and going to the library to get the actual book.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Louisa W.
- 28-06-21
Unbearable to listen to.
An interesting time in history but so excruciating to listen to as it is very badly read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Observelordburleigh
- 09-03-21
It'd make a great period drama anthology!
Fascinating stories of incredible women for their age. I had no idea that Mary Queen of Scots had such a lasting impact and wide-reaching lineage! 100% recommend 👏
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Franklymydarling
- 08-07-18
Interesting ..... if confusing.
Chocked full of royal history but a little confusing at times, as the narrative jumps back and forth in history.
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