A Delightful Romp through Scandal and History

A great listen!!!! If you like your history with more personal insight to its protagonists then this book is for you. An engaging and interesting listen

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5 people found this helpful

Interesting book

I found it an interesting book but was somewhat irritated by the reader and her style and how her voice dropped in certain places.
A book that shows that lives are not necessarily very happy and certainly mothers from Cliveden don’t come out of it very !

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3 people found this helpful

Great tale, dreadful narrator.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this but no I wouldn't listen to it again. I would read it though. The house itself has a wonderful history and it's fascinating to hear about it, but the narrator seems to be trying to turn it into some kind of drama - swooping and emoting all over the place. She treats it as if it were a work of fiction and it gets very, very annoying very, very quickly. I would far rather that she had simply read the book as a work of non-fiction. The story is dramatic enough without her trying to help.

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6 people found this helpful

Enjoyable mix of history and gossip

I enjoyed this account of the lives of the female inhabitants of Clivedon spanning 5 centuries set against the backdrop of English/UK political and social history. Surprisingly the author often writes of the English King/country after the union of the crowns and joining of the Scottish and English parliaments no wonder we Scots fees marginalized! I'm left with the feeling that in many ways little has changed in the UK. An aristocratic/ wealthy elite still pull the strings, get the plum jobs and own much of the land and wealth a lot of which was originally bestowed on their forebears who fought for or bedded a Monarch.
Carole Boyd (the Archers Linda Snell) is an excellent choice as narrator.

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4 people found this helpful

Poor narrator

Loved the book, which was basically 5 mini biographies in one, but really struggled with the narrator. Her waxing and waning intonation meant that the last 3 or 4 words of every second sentence were almost completely inaudible. very frustrating.

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Brilliant book!

This is a very well researched fascinating insight into much of British history, radiating out from one estate, with so many connections to prominent people of the day.

The author clearly explains the context of each era but never makes the information too heavy or 'intellectual'. She reminded me of some history I had forgotten, but better still I learned a good deal that I had never known or understood before.

I always enjoy Carole Boyd's reading as she has a very relaxing pace and a clear understanding of the book and its characters. My one small criticism this time is that she occasionally dropped her volume too low to be comfortably heard, even by someone who's just passed a hearing test!

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and shall listen to it again before too long.

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2 people found this helpful

Cliveden through the centuries

fascinating history of aristocratic lives and personalities - read lots of it more than once picking up various references , getting a closer look at politicians and events,
also liked the tone of voice of narrator

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Very impressive!

Thoroughly entertaining and well researched narrative, which flows very smoothly, thanks to the melodious tones of the reader. I've read widely on the subject yet there was more to learn here. The book combines erudition and humour very cleverly and is clearly written from the heart.

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7 people found this helpful

Gripping good story.

A fascinating insight into the life of a stately home, and the mistresses of the house, from the 17th to 20th centuries. This book covers two centuries of royal connections with the house, and a century of the political and personal intrigues of the Astor family. The story is fast paced and highly entertaining. The only criticism I have is that I found the narrator rather irritating, but this is probably a matter of personal taste.

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1 person found this helpful

Fabulous book fabulously read!

Loved it! What a story! What characters! And I learnt so much about the history of England through the lives of all the people in the book. It is really well written - I would love to read other books by Natalie Livingstone! And Carol Boyd's performance is fab - I laughed when I realised she plays Linda Snell in the Archers on Radio 4!

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