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The Forbidden Queen
- Narrated by: Emily Lucienne
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
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The Forbidden Queen
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Summary
A Sunday Times BestsellerEngland’s Forgotten Queens
‘O’Brien cleverly intertwines the personal and political in this enjoyable, gripping tale.’
-The Times
The jewel in the French crown, Katherine de Valois, is waiting under lock and key for King Henry V. While he’s been slaughtering her kinsmen in Agincourt, Katherine has been praying for marriage to save her from her misery. But the brutal King wants her crown, not her innocent love.
For Katherine, England is a lion’s den of greed, avarice and mistrust. And when Katherine is widowed at twenty-one she is a prize ripe for the taking. Her young son the future monarch, her hand in marriage worth a kingdom.
This is a deadly political game; one the Dowager Queen must learn fast. The players – Duke of Gloucester, Edmund Beaufort and Owen Tudor -are circling.
Who will have her? Who will ruin her?
This is the story of Katherine de Valois. The forbidden queen who launched the most famous dynasty of all time…
Praise for Anne O’Brien
‘O’Brien cleverly intertwines the personal and political in this enjoyable, gripping tale.’
- The Times
‘A gem of a subject … O’Brien is a terrific storyteller’
- Daily Telegraph
‘Joanna of Navarre is the feisty heroine in Anne O’Brien’s fast-paced historical novel The Queen’s Choice.’
-Good Housekeeping
‘A gripping story of love, heartache and political intrigue.’
-Woman & Home
‘Packed with drama, danger, romance and history.’
-Pam Norfolk, for the Press Association
‘Better than Philippa Gregory’ – The Bookseller
‘Anne O’Brien has joined the exclusive club of excellent historical novelists.’ – Sunday Express
‘A gripping historical drama.’
-Bella
‘This book has everything – royalty, scandal, fascinating historical politics and ultimately, the shaping of the woman who founded the Tudors.’ – Cosmopolitan
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What listeners say about The Forbidden Queen
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bananarama
- 03-10-18
beautifully written and beautifully read
Excellent all round and beautifully read, the second I have heard by the narrator and both were engrossing
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tracy Hardy
- 29-12-23
Such a tragic life
Excellent book, very well written and exceptionally well read but omg what a tragic ending, I feel absolutely bereft
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alison
- 27-03-21
The Forbidden Queen
Beautifully read.
What was unrealistic in the story was how Owen Tudor and The Queen Dowager Catherine de Valois could marry in St George’s Chapel, a royal peculiar, without banns. Banns were brought in during 1215. A special licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury was not brought in until later. Surely if banns had been read for 3 weeks the Duke of Gloucester would have found some way of preventing the wedding despite the fact that banns are read to prevent marriages of consanguinity and not for political reasons. In fact if someone objects to a marriage and time elapses while the objection is sorted out so that the date is missed, then they are responsible for paying the church’s fees.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sophie
- 01-06-23
Excellent
Very enjoyable read. Narrator was very good and emotive. Looking forward to listening to more from Anne obrien
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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
- Christine
- 03-05-23
narrator
I was really looking foward to this book but the narrator spoilt it for me. so slow and monotonous, I tried speeding it up but gave up in the end and returned it.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- jonjo
- 14-12-16
This has to be the worst historical novel ever
What did you like best about The Forbidden Queen? What did you like least?
The story lines dragged out to the point of being boring and the narrator had me falling asleep, I feel somewhat sorry for her as the material she had to work with was the worst.
What could Anne O'Brien have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
If she can't write a decent story with all the historical material available, please leave it alone instead of dragging the story out with fluffy romantic rubbish. Take time to read some of Elizabeth Chadwick's books to see how it's done.
What didn’t you like about Emily Lucienne’s performance?
Everything
Did The Forbidden Queen inspire you to do anything?
Yes leave this review
Any additional comments?
Said it all above
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. Wendy Hawkins
- 30-01-18
Welsh pronunciation ruins story
Excellent story but what a shame the reader did not seek out the proper prounciation of annwyl, Cariad and Angharad. As a Welsh person who does not speak the language the reader ruined the enjoyment by the mispronunciation of Owain Glyn Dwr amongst other words. Would not have taken much to find the real annunciation of the words surely?
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Random Purchaser
- 27-08-20
Saccharine and inaccurate
Very disappointed - Catherine Valois is portrayed as very stupid and so gullible that it is impossible to be invested in her as the main character of this book. I understand that the author must take some liberties for the sake of a good story, but I think the ending of this book is too far from the truth. Also, the narrator mispronounced lots of words and names - this should have been picked up by the editor.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- I.M
- 06-03-17
Awful, incredibly whiny.
If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?
I could hardly get through this book. The performance is fine and the Narrator has a decent range in terms of emotions and voices.
The story itself, however, is awful, all the main character does is whine about men and being sad and insecure. Several times I had to turn the book off because I wanted to slap the main character. If this is how Anne O'Brien portrays her heroins than it is the last book I will ever read of her. A real shame as the history behind the story is incredibly interesting and full of potential.
You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?
The Narrator is pretty good.
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2 people found this helpful