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Checkmate

The Lymond Chronicles Book Six

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Checkmate

By: Dorothy Dunnett
Narrated by: David Monteath
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audio edition of Checkmate by Dorothy Dunnett, read by David Monteath.

It is 1557 and legendary Scottish warrior Francis Crawford of Lymond is once more in France. There he is leading an army to rout the hated English from Calais.

Yet while Lymond seeks victory on the battlefield he is haunted by his troubled past - chiefly the truth about his origins and his marriage (in name only) to young Englishwoman Philippa Somerville.

As the French offer him a way out of his marriage and his wife appears in France on a mission of her own, the final moves are made in a great game that has been playing out over an extraordinary decade of war, love and struggle - bringing the Lymond Chronicles to a spellbinding close.

 Action & Adventure Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Romance Thriller & Suspense World Literature Marriage Fiction Suspense War Highlander

Critic Reviews

Praise for Dorothy Dunnett
A storyteller who could teach Scheherazade a thing or two about pace, suspense and imaginative invention
Marvellous, breathtaking
A masterpiece of historical fiction
One of the greatest tale-spinners since Dumas
Lashings of excitement, colour and subtlety
Vivid, engaging, densely plotted - are almost certainly destined to be counted among the classics of popular fiction
All stars
Most relevant
This series of books by Dorothy Dunnett are a master class in historical writing at its best. To rediscover them through audible with such a wonderful narrator has been such a joy. Cannot recommend them enough. Love love them all but the climax finally in this last book is worth the wait. A true symphony of words her writing has been described and it is true.

Historical writing at its best

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I loved this book as a teenager and even more 30 years later. Spellbinding. Very hard to put down once you’ve started, especially with the other five books behind it. The other books can drag at times, this one is a classic page turner.

All Time Fave

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The conclusion to The Lymond Chronicles by the best historical novelist ever Lady Dorothy Dunnett.
Overall the narration by David Monteath is good, especially with the distinction of different characters.
His Scots is great but the French is terrible and these books have a large amount of literary allusions, poetry and quotations in French, Spanish, Latin & Italian.
I am new to audiobooks and this series is a great favourite of mine with a wonderfully flawed but charismatic hero and a carefully researched and wide arching historical setting.

Wonderful

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