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The Young Lion

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The Young Lion

By: Blanche d'Alpuget
Narrated by: Colin Morgan
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About this listen

 Queen Eleanor of France, said to be the most beautiful woman in Europe, has not been able to give birth to an heir. A strategic liaison with Geoffrey the Handsome, the virile and charming Duke of Normandy, could remedy that – or lead to her downfall and Geoffrey's death. What begins with cool calculation becomes a passionate affair. Despite his love for Eleanor, however, Geoffrey has larger plans: to help his warrior son, Henry, seize the English throne. When Henry saves his father from discovery and execution by the French, he falls foul of Eleanor – and madly in love with her Byzantine maid. Should he become King of England, however, this dazzling woman will never be acceptable as his queen. These intertwined relationships – heated, forbidden and perilous – are the heart of a vivid story of ambition, vengeance and political intrigue set in the glorious flowering of troubadour culture, mysticism and learning that is 12th-century France.©2013 Blanche d'Alpuget (P)2019 Bolinda Publishing Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Royalty

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Critic reviews

‘Blanche d’Alpuget … has a remarkable ear for the passions and cravings of her characters. Her narrative is so fresh and energetic you will swear she’s bringing us a first-hand account.’ (Stephanie Dowrick)
‘This is exuberant story-telling history, full of sex, passion and politics.’ (Geraldine Doogue)
All stars
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I absolutely loved the intro to this series, I just really hope audible follows the entire series to its conclusion.

Plantagenet

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Great story with lots of details about that period of history without being dry. Loved the narration with all the different accents for so many characters. Can't wait to listen to the rest of the series.

Great Story and dynamic narration

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I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining and colourful story which brings to life a period of history that is often glossed over these days. The narrator is excellent and breathes so much life into all the characters and situations. It held my attention from beginning to end.

Colourful and Entertaining

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Colin Morgan is absolutely superb in this. Each character is individually voiced, with a variety of accents, while the overall narration is a softer version of his native northern Irish. The story is entertaining, although I'm not sure how historically accurate it is. That is unimportant; it's a fun medieval tale, and I hope Colin reads the others in the series.

Entertaining

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I enjoyed listening to this book very much. Colin Morgan’s different voices and accents of different characters are amazing, I am happy to hear and watch anything he does.

It’s is an enjoyable book, well written

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I Loved this book, Colin Morgan's narration was utterly amazing and outstanding. Thank You Colin, I look forward to listening to the 2nd chapter

Excellent

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one of my first audiobooks. I did enjoy this and certainly got me more interested in the events of the time, but I don't think I will pick up subsequent episodes. Enjoyed the narrator and he did try to make all the characters distinct. There were quite a few so it took time to get used to them. None of them are particularly likeable and it is heavy on the action rather than flowery prose

Interesting historically but didn't draw me in

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It is difficult to overpraise this book. It is a long time since I enjoyed a book so much - and it is really instructive in a way that is
very enjoyable.
What a great narrator. I hope he reads the rest of this series when they are written.

Great Book.

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Not sure I would have chosen this story if I hadnt been interested in how Colin Morgan would narrate it. I was not disappointed. He brought it alive, what could have been a tale which could have been overwhelming with characters was given a signature voice and personality! Really enjoyed it.. onto book 2!

The many voices of Colin Morgan

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An enjoyable story and an interesting depiction of French and English court intricacies and politics of the 12th century. The author has done excellent research on the topic and the fact that the story is rooted in historical events is an angle I find interesting. The combination of that and colorful (and dark) fictional characters makes it a great story and the sublime storytelling from the narrator made it very captivating.
Colin Morgan keeps your attention by perfectly emphasizing and changing pace as well as effortlessly shifting between countless individually voiced characters and the voice of the storyteller.
In short: An outstanding performance and a very good story.

Enjoyably story excellently performed

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