Judith Arnopp has 6 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 3 narrators, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 3 ratings. The most-rated is The Kiss of the Concubine.
The Kiss of the Concubine
Summary
January 28, 1547. It is almost midnight, and the cream of English nobility hold their breath as King Henry VIII prepares to face his God. As the royal physicians wring their hands and Archbishop Cranmer gallops through the frigid night, two dispossessed princesses pray for their father's soul, and a boy, soon to be king, snivels into his velvet sleeve.
Time slows, and dread settles around the royal bed, the candles dip, and something stirs in the darkness...something, or someone, has come to tell the king it is time to pay his dues.
The Kiss of the Concubine is the story of Anne Boleyn, the second of Henry VIII's queens.
©2013 Judith Arnopp (P)2018 Judith Arnopp
The Beaufort Bride
Summary
As King Henry VI slips into insanity and the realm of England teeters on the brink of civil war, a child is married to the mad king's brother. Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, takes his child bride into Wales, where she discovers a land of strife and strangers. At Caldicot Castle and Lamphey Palace, Margaret must put aside childhood, acquire the dignity of a Countess, and, despite her tender years, produce Richmond with a son and heir. While Edmund battles to restore the king's peace, Margaret quietly supports his quest; but it is a quest fraught with danger. As the friction between York and Lancaster intensifies, 14-year-old Margaret, now widowed, turns for protection to her brother-in-law, Jasper Tudor. At his stronghold in Pembroke, two months after her husband's death, Margaret gives birth to a son whom she names Henry, after her cousin, the king. Margaret is small of stature, but her tiny frame conceals a fierce and loyal heart and a determination that will not falter until her son's destiny as the king of England is secured. The Beaufort Bride traces Margaret's early years from her nursery days at Bletsoe Castle to the birth of her only son in 1457 at Pembroke Castle. Her story continues in book two, The Beaufort Woman.
©2016 Judith Mary Arnopp (P)2018 Judith Arnopp
The Beaufort Woman
Summary
Margaret Beaufort's story continues in The Beaufort Woman. As the struggle between York and Lancaster continues, Margaret Beaufort fights for admittance to the court of the victorious Edward IV of York and his unpopular queen, Elizabeth Woodville. The old king and his heir are dead, leaving only Margaret's son, the exiled Henry Tudor, with a tenuous claim to the throne. The royal nursery is full, with two small princes securing York's continuing rule. But Edward and Elizabeth's magnificent court hides a dark secret, a deception that threatens the security of the English throne...and all who lust after it. With the untimely death of the king, Margaret finds herself at the heart of chain of events that threaten the supremacy of York and will change England forever. The Beaufort Woman: one woman's selfless struggle for the rights of her son.
©2016 Judith Arnopp (P)2018 Judith Arnopp
A Song of Sixpence
Summary
In the years after Bosworth, a small boy is ripped from his rightful place as future king of England. Years later, when he reappears to take back his throne, his sister, Elizabeth, now queen to the invading king, Henry Tudor, is torn between family loyalty and duty.
As the final struggle between the houses of York and Lancaster is played out, Elizabeth is torn by conflicting loyalty, terror, and unexpected love.
Set at the court of Henry VII, A Song of Sixpence offers a new perspective on the early years of Tudor rule. Elizabeth of York, often viewed as a meek and uninspiring queen, emerges as a resilient woman whose strengths lie in endurance rather than resistance.
©2015 Judith Arnopp (P)2018 Judith Arnopp
The Heretic Wind
Summary
Adored by her parents and pampered by the court, the infant Princess Mary’s life changes suddenly and drastically when her father’s eye is taken by the enigmatic Anne Boleyn. Mary stands firm against her father’s determination to destroy both her mother’s reputation and the Catholic church. It is a battle that will last throughout both her father’s and her brother’s reign, until she is almost broken by persecution. When King Edward falls ill and dies, Mary expects to be crowned queen. But she has reckoned without John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, who before Mary can act, usurps her crown and places it on the head of her Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey. Furious and determined not to be beaten, Mary musters a vast army at Framlingham Castle; a force so strong that Jane Grey’s supporters crumble in the face of it, and Mary is at last crowned queen of England. But her troubles are only just beginning. Rebellion and heresy take their toll both on Mary’s health, and on the English people. Suspecting she is fatally ill, and desperate to save her people from heresy, Mary steps up her campaign to compel her subjects to turn back to the Catholic faith. All who resist will face punishment for heresy in the flames of the Smithfield fires.
©2020 Judith Arnopp (P)2020 Judith Arnopp
The King's Mother
Summary
October 1485: With the English crown finally in his possession, Henry Tudor’s endeavors to restore order to the realm are hindered by continuing unrest. While the king is plagued with uprisings and pretenders to his throne, Margaret in her capacity as the king’s mother oversees the running of his court. The warring houses of York and Lancaster are united, the years of civil strife are at an end, but as the royal nursery fills with children, the threats to Henry’s throne persist, and Margaret’s expectation of perfect harmony begins to disintegrate. As quickly as Henry dispatches those who move against him, new conflicts arise, and dogged by deceit and the harrowing shadow of death, Margaret realizes her time for peace has not yet come. Intrigue, treason, and distrust blights the new Tudor dynasty, challenging Margaret’s strength of character and her steadfast faith in God. The King’s Mother is the third and final book in the Beaufort Chronicle, tracing the life of Margaret Beaufort.
©2017 Judith Arnopp (P)2018 Judith Arnopp