
The Historian
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Narrated by:
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Justine Eyre
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Paul Michael
About this listen
The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known, and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself, to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive.
What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed, and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler's dark reign, and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.
©2005 Elizabeth Kostova. All Rights Reserved. (P)2005 Books on TapeListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
- 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year, Adult Fiction
"A bloodthirsty delight....Both literary and scary, this one is guaranteed to keep one reading into the wee hours." (Booklist)
"Along with all the fascinating historical information, there's also a mounting casualty count, and the big showdown amps up the drama by pulling at the heartstrings at the same time it revels in the gruesome. Exotic locales, tantalizing history, a family legacy and a love of the bloodthirsty: it's hard to imagine that readers won't be bitten, too." (Publishers Weekly)
"The Historian is artfully constructed and atmospheric." (Washington Post Book World)
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Story
All children mythologize their birth... So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's beloved collection of stories, long famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale. The enigmatic Winter has always kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she summons a biographer to tell the truth about her extraordinary life: Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth remains an ever-present pain.
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Simply Amazing Story--2 missing chapters
- By JE on 01-28-10
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The Devil Aspect
- A Novel
- By: Craig Russell
- Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Czechoslovakia, 1935: Viktor Kosárek, a newly trained psychiatrist who studied under Carl Jung, arrives at the infamous Hrad Orlu Asylum for the Criminally Insane. The facility is located in a medieval mountaintop castle surrounded by forests, on a site that is well known for concealing dark secrets going back many centuries. The asylum houses six inmates - the country's most treacherous killers - known to the terrified public as the Devil's Six. Viktor intends to use a new medical technique to prove that these patients share a common archetype of evil, a phenomenon he calls The Devil Aspect.
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ACTUALLY KEPT MY INTEREST THROUGHOUT!
- By Summer G on 12-15-20
By: Craig Russell
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The Deep
- By: Alma Katsu
- Narrated by: Jane Collingwood
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Someone, or something, is haunting the ship. Between mysterious disappearances and sudden deaths, the guests of the Titanic have found themselves suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone from the moment they set sail. Several of them, including maid Annie Hebley, guest Mark Fletcher, and millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, are convinced there's something sinister - almost otherwordly - afoot. But before they can locate the source of the danger, as the world knows, disaster strikes.
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More sad slice-of-life than horror
- By Anonymous User on 04-28-20
By: Alma Katsu
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The Eight
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Neville
- Narrated by: Susan Denaker
- Length: 25 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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New York City, 1972: A dabbler in mathematics and chess, Catherine Velis is also a computer expert for a Big Eight accounting firm. Before heading off to a new assignment in Algeria, Cat has her palm read by a fortune-teller. The woman warns Cat of danger. Then an antiques dealer approaches Cat with a mysterious offer: He has an anonymous client who is trying to collect the pieces of an ancient chess service, purported to be in Algeria. If Cat can bring the pieces back, there will be a generous reward.
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Best Plot-Driven Novel I've Ever Read
- By Tango on 09-08-13
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The Keep
- By: Jennifer Egan
- Narrated by: Jeff Gurner, Geneva Carr
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Two cousins, devastated by a childhood prank, reunite 20 years later to renovate a castle in Eastern Europe. The fortress has a bloody history that stretches back hundreds of years. Amid extreme paranoia and eerie silence, the men reenact the signal event of their youth, with even more catastrophic results.
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Utterly disappointing.
- By J. Lee on 04-01-19
By: Jennifer Egan
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Fevre Dream
- By: George R.R. Martin
- Narrated by: Ron Donachie
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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When struggling riverboat captain Abner Marsh receives an offer of partnership from a wealthy aristocrat, he suspects something’s amiss. But when he meets the hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York, he is certain. For York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet. Nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investment in a decade. York has his own reasons for wanting to traverse the powerful Mississippi. And they are to be none of Marsh’s concern - no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious his actions may prove.
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Vampires, the Mississippi, and George R. R. Martin
- By Carol on 10-21-12
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The Cement Garden
- By: Ian McEwan
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the world's most acclaimed novelists, New York Times best-selling author Ian McEwan has earned the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. After their parents die, four children are left alone in the family house. They are free to live however they choose, but they must preserve their terrible secret.
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One of his best
- By Yennta on 04-03-10
By: Ian McEwan
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Child of God
- By: Cormac McCarthy
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In this taut, chilling audiobook, Lester Ballard - a violent, dispossessed man falsely accused of rape - haunts the hill country of East Tennessee when he is released from jail. While telling his story, Cormac McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humor, and characteristic lyrical brilliance.
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And HE has sent me here?
- By Darwin8u on 04-14-13
By: Cormac McCarthy
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Hungerstone
- By: Kat Dunn
- Narrated by: Perdita Weeks
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s the height of the industrial revolution and ten years into Lenore’s marriage to steel magnate Henry, their relationship has soured. When Henry’s ambitions take them from London to the remote British moorlands to host a hunting party, a shocking carriage accident brings the mysterious Carmilla into their lives. Carmilla, who is weak and pale during the day but vibrant at night. Carmilla, who stirs up something deep within Lenore. And before long, girls from the local villages fall sick, consumed by a terrible hunger . . .
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11/10 for both the novel itself and for the narration
- By britney giraffe on 03-10-25
By: Kat Dunn
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The Black Hunger
- By: Nicholas Pullen
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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John Sackville will soon be dead. Shadows writhe in the corners of his cell as he mourns the death of his secret lover and as the gnawing hunger inside him grows impossible to ignore. He must write his last testament before it is too late. The story he tells will take us to the darkest part of the human soul. It is a tale of otherworldly creatures, ancient cults, and a terrifying journey from the stone circles of Scotland to the icy peaks of Tibet. It is a tale that will take us to the end of the world.
By: Nicholas Pullen
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Experimental Film
- By: Gemma Files
- Narrated by: Morgan Hallett
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Fired at almost the same time as her son, Clark, is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, former film critic turned teacher Lois Cairns is caught in a depressive downward spiral, convinced she's a failure who's spent half her adult life writing about other people's dreams without ever seeing any of her own come true.
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Smartly done and well written.
- By Bill on 06-27-17
By: Gemma Files
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So Thirsty
- By: Rachel Harrison
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Sloane Parker is dreading her birthday. She doesn’t need a reminder she’s getting older, or that she’s feeling indifferent about her own life. Her husband surprises her with a birthday-weekend getaway—not with him, but with Sloane’s longtime best friend, troublemaker extraordinaire Naomi. Sloane anticipates a weekend of wine tastings and cozy robes and strategic avoidance of issues she’d rather not confront, like her husband’s repeated infidelity.
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Weak Ending
- By Jennifer on 10-09-24
By: Rachel Harrison
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Honolulu
- By: Alan Brennert
- Narrated by: Ali Ahn
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in the 1920s and 1930s, Honolulu explores the stark contrast between the image of the glamorous Hawaiian paradise portrayed to the mainland and the harsh reality of life on the island. With characters as vivid and richly descriptive as the history of Hawaii itself, this novel is sure to enthrall listeners.
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Very Distracting Narrator
- By P Hermes on 05-22-12
By: Alan Brennert
What listeners say about The Historian
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Overall
- Tina
- 01-29-06
Excellent narration, but...
I love historical fiction because it tends to make history come alive, but the history in this book is dead. I could never concentrate on the parts about the Ottomans doing this or that - it just didn't hold my attention, and never seemed to move the story forward.
I like the concept of a book written in letters, but it goes to far with letters inside of letters inside of letters, and the only present character appears too rarely.
The narration is fabulous - a male and a female voice with excellent ability to change accents - without this variation, I don't think I could have made it through the book, and I certainly couldn't have read it.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Kate
- 08-05-07
Amazing stoyteller
This novel took me places I have never been before - my imagination ran wild in the streets of Istanbul and hiked up hills to monasteries in France. What an incredible romp through Europe with a vampire on you heels!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jody
- 11-21-13
Vampires for adults (Is that possible?)
What made the experience of listening to The Historian the most enjoyable?
It makes you feel like you are reading a historical novel. You find yourself in a Transylvania reverie wondering if vampires might be real. Didn't the historian just prove it? The narrators did an excellent job of gliding from one character to another without any annoying disturbances in the flow of the story. Because the story was written about an earlier time, before cell phones and computers, it was much easier for us to be seduced into picturing it a perfect era for Dracula, even if it was in the 20th century. Some of the other reviewers made me laugh because they felt like it had "unbelievable plot twists" and
coincidences. This is a story about vampires after all. If you want a an enjoyable fictional read, without all the blood, gore and sex of other vampire novels, this is the book for you. And yes, unbelievable things just might happen and for no particular reason other than to entertain us.
What other book might you compare The Historian to and why?
The Historian definitely has the flavor of Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley with the old world architecture and the Romanian woods and mountains.
What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Hearing the different dialects, especially when they are done well, really makes a story come to life.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I found the meeting with Helens mother very moving. It was a little bit of light in a book about darkness.
Any additional comments?
If you liked the original Dracula, you will love this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Brandon
- 02-16-09
For a historian? Fun
A whole lot of this book takes place in libraries and old castles. So, I really could see how some would find it boring.
For me? It was awesome. It's a vampire novel from the prospective of a historian. As a history buff who loves nothing more than the dustiest floor of the library, it was a really different and compelling take on the vampire novel.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Melanie
- 08-15-07
Great book!
This was a wonderful book. The characters were well developed and the story kept you captivated. I couldn't wait to go to work so that I could listen some more.
The format did get a little confusing because the story was told in three parts in three different time periods, so you had to pay close attention to what time period they were talking about.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Gail Holdeman
- 11-13-06
Very Enjoyable
I had purchased the book thinking I would spend the month reading it until I found it on Audible. I got the unabridged because I wanted to "read" the whole book. I enjoyed it tremendiously. It reminded me alot of the Devinci Code, and the mystery in it. The author's writing is very good, and the two readers made it easy to keep up with the changes in protagonist of the story.
I normally don't read books about Dracula or this type of book. But this search for Dracula isn't the ordinary story of vampires. The author gives alot of historical information and a very interesting story line. I was always curious about what was going to happen, and was surprised at the ending. I enjoyed it alot, and recommend you read it even if you aren't interested in Dracula.
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1 person found this helpful
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- donald tower
- 02-25-16
good story but very long!
really enjoyed the story and the history of the countries involved but it was very long and struggled to make it to the end
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Overall
- Janice Budd
- 02-07-11
Historical Fiction on the Trail of Dracula
It seems that my review will echo that of many others. The ending was a bit of a let down. The other thing that brought my rating down were some inconsistencies.
One I will mention is that at the beginning of the novel, the young heroine had travelled to a city. She gave the city a ficticious name to protect it from thrill seeking tourists. It was an obvious reference to the effect that The Divinci Code had on people who thronged to see the landmarks in the book. I thought both - a ficticious name for the city and the nod to The Divinci Code - totally irrelevant. It seemed to stick out as a sore thumb when other cities and landmarks were not similarily treated.
What I loved about the book was the attention to detail in the historical research. It had me searching maps and articles online for more information. The other thing I loved was the narration of Paul Michaels. I see that Audibles has another version narrated by Joanne Whalley, Dennis Bourtsikaris, and others. I would highly recommend that you get the version with Paul Michaels. He is masterful at accents. Each character that he speaks for has their own unique sound.
It was a pleasure to read a book about Dracula that didn't follow the Romeo & Juliet theme of the Twilight series and the plethora of its ilk that is the fad of teenage girls everywhere. It returns Dracula and vampires back to the evil, cruel creatures of Bram Stoker's day.
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- Ursula
- 07-31-15
Hang in there!! It's worth it!!
Would you listen to The Historian again? Why?
Yes, the story is so detailed, especially in historical references that one would have to in order to truly recall everything.
What did you like best about this story?
There is a great deal of research behind this story, making it all the more real for the listener. I found myself googling places in western Europe that I would have never known about otherwise. Similar to the art I googled while reading Dan Brown, the story makes you want to know more about the environment. I feel smarter after reading this book!!
What does Justine Eyre and Paul Michael bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Since this story is so detailed, the juxtaposition of male and female voices truly is helpful in keeping with the complex story line, especially when moving from the present to the past within the chapters.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
The Vlad you've never known
Any additional comments?
Starts out a little dry, but well worth the time you put in. Stay with it!!
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- Maggie Bootman
- 01-13-15
The Historian
Would you listen to The Historian again? Why?
No. The plot, story, and narration were good but it was a little too long. The book could have been summed up in a shorter period of time.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
I was really disappointed in the ending. It left some loose ends and unanswered questions. It was just abrupt.
Which scene was your favorite?
I enjoyed the scenes in Turkey and Bulgaria.
Who was the most memorable character of The Historian and why?
I enjoyed the girl narrator. Though we do not know much about her, she has a thirst for the truth about the past.
Any additional comments?
It seemed a little one-sided historical speaking. I wish both sides were discussed.
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