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Prince

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Prince

By: Rory Clements
Narrated by: Jonathan Aris
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About this listen

Spring 1593. England is a powder keg of rumour and fear. Plague rages, famine is rife, the ageing Queen's couriers scheme: Elizabeth's Golden Age is truly tarnished. Meanwhile Spain watches and waits - and plots. Into this turmoil a small cart clatters through the streets of London, carrying a deadly load. It is the first in a wave of horrific bombing attacks on the Dutch immigrant community that will change John Shakespeare's life for ever. Driven on by cold rage, Shakespeare's investigations will take him from magnificent royal horseraces to the opulent chambers of Black Luce's brothel, from the theatrical underworld of Marlowe and Kyd to the pain-wracked torture cells of priest-hunter Richard Topcliffe, and from the elegant offices of master tactician Robert Cecil to the splintering timbers of an explosive encounter at sea.

As Shakespeare delves ever deeper, he uncovers intricate layers of mystery and deception that threaten the heart not only of the realm, but of all that he holds dear.

2011, CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award, Short-listed

©2011 Rory Clements (P)2011 John Murray Historical Mystery Royalty England Fiction Heartfelt
All stars
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This narrator makes Robert Cecil's character sound irritatingly like Julian Clary, which seems an unlikely tone in a man effectively governing a country.
Other than that quite enjoyable!

Overly camp narration of an otherwise decent story

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Brilliant writing, gripping narration and a story at least partially rooted in historical fact. Well worth your time.

Truly wondrous

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The story teller manages to bring all the characters to life, whilst sustaining the character of the hero as a constant presence.
Both the story and it’s teller bring to mind the intrigue, colour, scent and violence of the period. Unfortunately, it is a real diversion and hard to turn off once the scene has been set.

The reader is amazing and the story gripping

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Did the Liverpool vernacular exist in Elizabethan times? A minor point for an excellent narrator.

Narration usually excellent …

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A grim and brutal book made even more unpaletable by short chapters that tend to destroy the flow of the story. Not a bokk I would read or listen to a second time
For me the novel's only redeeming aspect is excellent performance by the narrator Jonathan Aris

Heavy Readingr

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