Queen of the North

By: Anne O'Brien

Narrated by: Beth Eyre

Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

To those around her she was a loyal subject.

In her heart she was a traitor.

1399: England’s crown is under threat. King Richard II holds on to his power by an ever-weakening thread, with exiled Henry of Lancaster back to reclaim his place on the throne.

For Elizabeth Mortimer, there is only one rightful King - her eight-year-old nephew, Edmund. Only he can guarantee her fortunes and protect her family’s rule over the precious northern lands bordering Scotland.

But many, including Elizabeth’s husband, do not want another child King. Elizabeth must hide her true ambitions in Court and go against her husband’s wishes to help build a rebel army.

To question her loyalty to the King places Elizabeth in the shadow of the axe.

To concede would curdle her Plantagenet blood.

This is one woman’s quest to turn history on its head.

©2018 Anne O'Brien (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Once more Anne O’Brien takes her readers on an emotional rollercoaster ride through the lives of people that history has largely reduced to entries on a medieval family tree. In this gripping novel Elizabeth Mortimer’s story joins the growing list of female lives Anne has gloriously rescued from history’s recycling skip." (Joanna Hickson)

"Imaginative, rich in detail and immaculately researched." (Lancashire Post)

This book deserves a limited tv series!

I’m sure that I reviewed this book after my first listen years ago but now, after more listens than I can actually count, I need to review again. There have been many novels from this period brought to television. Why not this one? If my funds weren’t tied up in “life”, I’d gladly put some up for development. Phillips Gregory’s novels, which I also adore, were made into beloved series years ago. Why not this one? I’ve been longing for it and hoping to be surprised by it for years. They could weave the story with the York family story in Tapestry of Treason, also by Anne O’Brien. What a weekend binge that would be. I was always disappointed from the lack of converse between Elizabeth Percy and Constance of York in that novel.

Oh well. Guess I’ll just keep listening and keep hope alive💜

Repetitive at times

I quite enjoyed most of the story and it was easy to listen to. The one flaw was some of it was so repetitive in the last third of the book. I only needed to hear the lead character’s thoughts and reasons once (maybe twice) but she repeats them ad nauseum in Ch 16 through 23.

Narrator excellent

The plot is a bit too simple but well-written and the narrator has a beautiful voice.

I've read better...

Whoa, Elizabeth the so called Queen of the North was insufferable. So selfish, bitter, self centered and really clueless. The intrigues by The Queen of the North and her family are what made the book for me--not the characters. Although I admit the intrigues were ill thought out. I was aghast by her expectations when they committed treason. I actually liked Henry IV in this book more so than I did in The Queens Choice--which isn't saying much.

3.5 for story and narration.

P. S. I've enjoyed this authors other books immensely.

could not get into book

i could not get into book. i love anne o'brien but not in audio books

She brings you back to that era!

Anne O’Brien is excellent at historical fiction. You feel like you are back in that time period. Loved this book!

A Bit too Melodramatic

I almost quit this audiobook. Twice. Kept with it figuring there had to be some light at the end of the tunnel. I did finish it but ...meh. Didn't hate it but didn't really like it either. Melodrama is all I could hear. Not much actual substance to the characters but loads of plotting, family ties and intrigue.

Mixed feelings

While Anne O’Brien ‘s Queen of the North had many wonderful qualities, intriguing story told from a very interesting point of view and narrated beautifully by Beth Eyre; the padding of this novel with considerable repetition was so incredibly annoying that I ended up skipping chapters just to get back to the meat of the tale! The story and narration had so much going for it that it was a pity to see them marred by this “writer’s trick” or unconscious writer’s tick. Whichever...I would have preferred a shorter clear version to this drawn out would-be great story.