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Abridged
The Devil's Queen - Abridged by Jeanne Kalogridis
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The Devil's Queen - Abridged

A Novel of Catherine de Medici

$20.99

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Narrator Kate Reading

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Length 6 hours 18 minutes
Language English
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Catherine de Medici is one of the most maligned monarchs in history: blamed for the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in which hundreds of innocents died. What motivated this Renaissance woman who was born of Florence's most powerful family, and one day came to rule France?

In her latest historical fiction bestseller, Jeanne Kalogridis tells the story of Catherine, a tender young girl, destined to be a pawn in Machiavellian games. Left a fabulously rich heiress, imprisoned and threatened by her family's enemies, she was finally married off to a handsome prince of France.

Overshadowed by her husband's mistress, the conniving Diane de Poitiers, and now consort to a King, Catherine resorted to sorcery to win his love, enhance her fertility and foil her enemies. Against the lavish and decadent backdrop of the French court, and Catherine's visions induced by the black arts, Kalogoris reveals the great love and desire Catherine bore for her husband Henry, and her stark determination to keep her sons on the throne.

JEANNE KALOGRIDIS lives in California, where she shares a house with an adorably wiggly black lab named Django. She is the author of the critically acclaimed The Borgia Bride, and numerous other dark fantasy and historical novels.

Kate Reading is the recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been named by AudioFile magazine as a “Voice of the Century,” as well as the Best Voice in Science Fiction & Fantasy in 2008 and 2009 and Best Voice in Biography & Culture in 2010. She has narrated works by such authors as Jane Austen, Robert Jordan, Edith Wharton, and Sophie Kinsella. Reading has performed at numerous theaters in Washington D.C. and received a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in Aunt Dan and Lemon. AudioFile magazine reports that, "With subtle control of characters and sense of pacing, Kate’s performances are a consistent pleasure."

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Reviews

“Both the unabridged and abridged recordings feature a brilliant, perfectly nuanced performance by pseudonymous narrator Kate Reading...” —Library Journal

“You'll be captivated by Kate Reading's narration. She eases us into Catherine's character with fluid pronunciations of Italian and French and a flow that sweeps us into her story.” —AudioFile

“Jeanne Kalogridis's deftly written historical novel is superbly narrated by Kate Reading...The Devil's Queen is enthusiastically recommended as a personal 'theater of the mind' experience.” —The Midwest Book Review

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