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Queens' Play
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 2
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Series: The Lymond Chronicles, Book 2
- Length: 21 hrs and 39 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure
Non-member price: $39.50
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The Disorderly Knights
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 3
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Summer, 1551, and Francis Crawford of Lymond is in Malta to assist the Knights of St John defend the island from an invading Turkish fleet. But under a weak leader there is dissension in the ranks of the Knights - and the chances of repelling invasion look slim. Here Lymond meets Knight Grand Cross Graham Reid Malett - known as Gabriel - a fellow Scot famed for his virtues. It is soon clear that Gabriel's wiles in war and intrigue rival Lymond's own as he attempts to bring his new comrade in arms into the bosom of his scheming.
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Gripping
- By Peter Gregson on 04-09-2019
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The Game of Kings
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 21 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1547 and, after five years imprisonment and exile far from his homeland, Francis Crawford of Lymond - scholar, soldier, rebel, nobleman, outlaw - has at last come back to Edinburgh. But for many in an already divided Scotland, where conspiracies swarm around the infant Queen Mary like clouds of midges, he is not welcome. Lymond is wanted for treason and murder, and he is accompanied by a band of killers and ruffians who will only bring further violence and strife. Is he back to foment rebellion? Does he seek revenge on those who banished him? Or has he returned to clear his name?
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Historical fiction at its best
- By Amazon Customer on 05-04-2021
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Pawn in Frankincense
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 4
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 24 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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It is 1552 and the royal galley Dauphine, under the command of Francis Crawford of Lymond, sails the glittering but dangerous Mediterranean looking for a lost son. Yet as the search grows more urgent, Lymond knows he is being drawn deeper into the intricate web of his enemy Gabriel, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St John, who is already weaving a subtle tapestry of revenge. It is a journey that will lead Lymond to Constantinople and the court of Suleiman the Magnificent, where a terrible game will be played with deadly and incalculable consequences....
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The Ringed Castle
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 5
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 25 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Sixteen-year-old Philippa Somerville has left Constantinople intact. Returning to England as wife in name only to Francis Crawford of Lymond, she wastes no time in seeking the truth about her new spouse, even as she finds herself navigating the paranoid court of Queen Mary. Lymond, meanwhile, arrives in Moscow to assist its young Tsar Ivan to create a fledgling Russian army. But when he is tasked to visit London as Ivan's envoy, his path is bound to cross that of the wife he has sworn to divorce.
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Checkmate
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 6
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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.
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Historical writing at its best
- By Anonymous User on 03-05-2020
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Niccolo Rising
- House of Niccolo, Book 1
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 23 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyers apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire. Niccolo Rising, book one of the series, finds us in Bruges, 1460. Street smart, brilliant at figures, adept at the subtleties of diplomacy and the well-timed untruth, Dunnett's hero rises from wastrel to prodigy in a breathless adventure.
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The best historical fiction of all time? Probably
- By james on 01-10-2019
-
The Disorderly Knights
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 3
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Summer, 1551, and Francis Crawford of Lymond is in Malta to assist the Knights of St John defend the island from an invading Turkish fleet. But under a weak leader there is dissension in the ranks of the Knights - and the chances of repelling invasion look slim. Here Lymond meets Knight Grand Cross Graham Reid Malett - known as Gabriel - a fellow Scot famed for his virtues. It is soon clear that Gabriel's wiles in war and intrigue rival Lymond's own as he attempts to bring his new comrade in arms into the bosom of his scheming.
-
-
Gripping
- By Peter Gregson on 04-09-2019
-
The Game of Kings
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 21 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1547 and, after five years imprisonment and exile far from his homeland, Francis Crawford of Lymond - scholar, soldier, rebel, nobleman, outlaw - has at last come back to Edinburgh. But for many in an already divided Scotland, where conspiracies swarm around the infant Queen Mary like clouds of midges, he is not welcome. Lymond is wanted for treason and murder, and he is accompanied by a band of killers and ruffians who will only bring further violence and strife. Is he back to foment rebellion? Does he seek revenge on those who banished him? Or has he returned to clear his name?
-
-
Historical fiction at its best
- By Amazon Customer on 05-04-2021
-
Pawn in Frankincense
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 4
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 24 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1552 and the royal galley Dauphine, under the command of Francis Crawford of Lymond, sails the glittering but dangerous Mediterranean looking for a lost son. Yet as the search grows more urgent, Lymond knows he is being drawn deeper into the intricate web of his enemy Gabriel, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St John, who is already weaving a subtle tapestry of revenge. It is a journey that will lead Lymond to Constantinople and the court of Suleiman the Magnificent, where a terrible game will be played with deadly and incalculable consequences....
-
The Ringed Castle
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 5
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 25 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sixteen-year-old Philippa Somerville has left Constantinople intact. Returning to England as wife in name only to Francis Crawford of Lymond, she wastes no time in seeking the truth about her new spouse, even as she finds herself navigating the paranoid court of Queen Mary. Lymond, meanwhile, arrives in Moscow to assist its young Tsar Ivan to create a fledgling Russian army. But when he is tasked to visit London as Ivan's envoy, his path is bound to cross that of the wife he has sworn to divorce.
-
Checkmate
- The Lymond Chronicles, Book 6
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Monteath
- Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Historical writing at its best
- By Anonymous User on 03-05-2020
-
Niccolo Rising
- House of Niccolo, Book 1
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 23 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyers apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire. Niccolo Rising, book one of the series, finds us in Bruges, 1460. Street smart, brilliant at figures, adept at the subtleties of diplomacy and the well-timed untruth, Dunnett's hero rises from wastrel to prodigy in a breathless adventure.
-
-
The best historical fiction of all time? Probably
- By james on 01-10-2019
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The Spring of the Ram
- House of Niccolo, Book 2
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1461, the mysterious, enigmatic Nicholas is in Florence. Backed by none other than Cosimo de' Medici, he will sail the Black Sea to Trebizond, last outpost of Byzantium, and the last jewel missing from the crown of the Ottoman Empire. But trouble lies ahead. Nicholas's step-daughter - at the tender age of 13 - has eloped with his rival in trade: a Machiavellian Genoese who races ahead of Nicholas, sowing disaster at every port. And time is of the essence: Trebizond may fall to the Turks at any moment.
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Race of Scorpions
- House of Niccolo, Book 3
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 26 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Race of Scorpions by Dorothy Dunnett, read by John Banks. This is the third book in the House of Niccolo series. Set in 15th-century Cyprus, this novel continues the saga of Nicholas van der Poel, international mercenary who started out as a dyer's apprentice, as he plays for the highest stakes with the greatest superpowers in Europe.
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Scales of Gold
- The House of Niccolo, Book 4
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 24 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The year 1464 finds our hero Nicholas in Venice. Plagued by enemies bent on dissolving his assets and smearing his character, he sets sail for Africa, legendary location of the Fountain of Youth and the source of gold in such abundance that men prefer to barter in shells. He will discover the charms of the beautiful Gelis - a woman whose passion for Nicholas is rivalled only by her desire to punish him for his role in her sister's death.
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Best one yet...couldn’t beat it with a big stick
- By james on 14-08-2020
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The Unicorn Hunt
- House of Niccolo, Book 5
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 29 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Unicorn Hunt, by Dorothy Dunnett, read by John Banks. The fifth title in the House of Niccolo sequence, recreating the perilous world of trade, war and banking in Renaissance Europe. Niccolo has returned to Venice from Africa - richer, wiser yet ever unpredictable. He journeys to Scotland, closer at hand to the secrets of his birth.
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King Hereafter
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 40 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett. It is the 11th century, and Europe is full of young kings - some dreaming of new civilisation, some content to live as their forefathers have done, and all ceaselessly fighting, befriending or betraying one other. Such is the world of the real Macbeth, part Christian, part Viking, who has the imagination and determination to move himself and his people out of a barbarian past and into flowering nationhood. In this brilliant recreation of his life we see him as a man of extraordinary courage, wit and skill - utterly self-reliant yet profoundly in love with woman he marries.
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Fabulous
- By Heather Schlusemeyer on 27-07-2019
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To Lie with Lions
- The House of Niccolo, Book 6
- By: Dorothy Dunnett
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 28 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Merchant-banker Nicholas de Fleury, having wrested his infant son from the boy's formidable mother, pauses en route to the land of golden light to set in train a deception that will ensnare nations in the triumphant ruin of his enemies. This is volume six in the House of Niccolo.
Publisher's Summary
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Queen's Play by Dorothy Dunnett, read by David Monteath.
It is 1548, and seven-year-old Mary Queen of Scots, betrothed to her cousin the Dauphin, heir to the French throne, has been dispatched to France. But far from home and vulnerable, surrounded by the double-dealing and debauchery of a dangerous and unpredictable court, she suffers a series of 'accidents'.
Her mother, Scotland's Queen Dowager, orders Francis Crawford of Lymond to protect Mary, believing that at the very heart of Henri II's glittering, decadent court is an assassin hired to kill the infant monarch.
Lymond must secretly hunt down this individual before he himself is exposed....
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What listeners say about Queens' Play
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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- S. Woods
- 02-05-2019
Brilliant
A wonderfully rich, intricate, and sophisticated story, beautifully told. The best writing I have ever come across.
3 people found this helpful
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- Flowform
- 27-07-2019
A wonderful book, a fabulous performance
I have read the Lymond Chronicles many times, but this is the first time I have had them read to me, and I am amazed at how much more I get out of them when they are performed so brilliantly as they are here, by David Monteath.
1 person found this helpful
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- fiona
- 14-04-2021
Brilliant
Having read these books many times, I am left in a cold sweat at the end waiting for the next one. The reader is fantastic...
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- Hilary
- 29-11-2019
Converted!
I continue to find the plots of this series insanely complicated, but I’m still hooked. I love the enigmatic character of Lymond and the level of historical detail. I guess the complexity of intrigue would have been authentic too, so I’m happy to go with the flow. I’ve also invested in the Dorothy Dunnett Companion which I would recommend as containing a wealth of historical information as well as helping me to hang on to who’s who. Bring on the next one!
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