Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Portrait of an Unknown Woman

  • By: Vanora Bennett
  • Narrated by: Lucy Scott
  • Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (27 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Portrait of an Unknown Woman cover art

Portrait of an Unknown Woman

By: Vanora Bennett
Narrated by: Lucy Scott
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £28.99

Buy Now for £28.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Figures in Silk cover art
Thirty Days in Paris cover art
A Winter Grave cover art
The Rich Earth cover art
Rembrandt's Mirror cover art
The Carpenter's Daughter cover art
Fool's Gold cover art
Maisie Dobbs cover art
Pengarron Pride cover art
The Templar Legacy cover art
The Towers of Tuscany cover art
The Misbegotten cover art
American Assassin cover art
Haunted Ground cover art
A Love Most Dangerous cover art
The Girl in the Glass Tower cover art

Summary

It's 1527 and Hans Holbein is welcomed as a guest at the splendid Chelsea home of Sir Thomas More to paint the family portrait. Unknown to them, it is the dawn of a tumultuous time in English history, affecting the family as well as Tudor society.

Meg Griggs, a foster daughter of More, attracts the attention of two people, one of them being Holbein. She marries one - but loves the other.

©2006 Vanora Bennett (P)2007 Oakhill Publishing Ltd

Critic reviews

"Bennett constructs lush backdrops and costumes, and has impeccable historical sense. She luminously shades in an ambiguous period with lavish strokes of humanity, unbridled passion and mystery." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Portrait of an Unknown Woman

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Lush Tudor Fiction

Portrait of an unknown woman, begins with Hans Holbein arriving to paint the family of Sir Thomas More. Meg Griggs is a ward of Sir Thomas and the beginning is told in the first person through her eyes. She is a bit of a lonely figure having watched her siblings married and start families of their own, but she has always been in love with the family Tutor, John Clement. And so the stage is set, so to speak.

The novel is a meandering tale, and not short of historical detail, and the author brings the period to life, enabling the listener to 'see' the story unfold easily. Slowly we come to realize that many things and events are not as they seem, and many surprises become apparent along the way. The character of Holbein is particularly well drawn, especially towards the final chapters.

My only complaint about this novel is that there is perhaps too much historical detail. Sometimes less is more. It's as if the author is letting us see how much she knows. Also the story switches frequently between first and third person the whole way through. I feel the story would have flowed better being told one way or the other. That said, I did get used to it after a while.

The story is narrated by Lucy Scott, who does an excellent job. I knew exactly which character was speaking just by the changes in her voice. Again, Hans Holbein was brilliantly done.

If you are interested in historical fiction, with a few twists and turns, and a gentle love story thrown in, do not hesitate. I will certainly be looking up other titles by Vanorra Bennett. Hope this helps.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Content and narration first class.

What a brilliant narrator Lucy Scott is. Difficult text to bring to life, but she is fantastic. The story was intense and at times quite hard work. The characters were well defined and when it ended, I wanted more. Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Jo
  • 15-07-13

A portrait of love and scandal

A world famous artist, a king in hiding, political intrigue and plenty of twists, what more could a person wish for? I found this book easy to listen to and easy to follow, but it didn't feel like I was being spoon fed. Each character was easy to identify and the narrator brought forth qualities that are only hinted on in the story.

Set in tudor england it highlights the problems women face in a male dominated society. That not to say the main character is dowdy or submissive, far from it, she is enquiring, progressive and challenging for the times. I have totally enjoyed this book and have listened to it twice and was not bored either time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not bad, not great

I made two mistakes when I started this book - firstly, I started it straight after listening to Jane Eyre & so had not escaped the 'spell' a book casts on you; secondly, I decided to go for something lighter after such a full on classic, and the contrast was rather jarring. I wouldn't say this book is bad, just not brilliant. The narration is competent but - I know I am being picky - I found there were some strange inflections to words at the end of some sentences. A pleasant enough listen, but not gripping.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect historical family

Wonderful depiction of a family dealing with religious and emotional difficulties in detail of emotions

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting slant on the Princes in the Tower tale

I'm not sure I can completely agree with the twist on the Princes in the Tower tale, it seems too far fetched for me but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Holbein's paintings through his eyes. It made me fetch out some old art books to actually see the portrait that was being described. Overall an interesting story but I personally found it disappointing after previous books by this author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Not up to much

I found this book very tedious it is the only book that I've purchased from audible that I haven't listened to all the way through, Meg the main character in it got on my nerves so much I wanted to hit her with a wet fish..
Very poor indeed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it ...

.... very much.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!