June is one of my favourite months- it is Audiobook Month! I love that in the last decade, audiobooks have become far more popular and accessible. While you do still come across people who are persnickety about “whether or not it counts as reading” (it does- don’t gate-keep reading…), more and more people are listening to their books. It can make work or housework fly by, or keep you company on your walks. I admit, I have many audiobooks that I love, but I wanted to focus this list. These are my top 7 historical fiction audiobooks to listen to!
Quickly before we dig into my favourite historical fiction audiobooks, an intro to audiobooks themselves! Depending on your library you may be able to borrow them for free from services like Overdrive/Libby and Hoopla. (Overdrive/Libby have a waiting list, so you will have to wait like a normal library request; Hoopla has no waiting list.) If you are looking to subscribe to a service or purchase audiobooks, please see my post on Kobo Audiobooks, Audible, and Google Play Books. I have a Kobo monthly subscription and use both Overdrive and Hoopla for my listening!
The Royal Governess, Wendy Holden
In 1933, twenty-two-year-old Marion Crawford accepts the role of a lifetime, tutoring their Royal Highnesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose. Her one stipulation to their parents the Duke and Duchess of York is that she bring some doses of normalcy into the sheltered and privileged lives of the two young princesses.
At Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Balmoral, Marion defies oppressive court protocol to take the girls on tube trains, swimming at public baths, and on joyful Christmas shopping trips at Woolworth’s. From her ringside seat at the heart of the British monarchy she witnesses the upheaval of the Abdication and the glamour and drama of the 1937 Coronation.
During the war, as Hitler’s Heinkels fly over Windsor, she shelters her charges in the castle dungeons (not far from where the Crown Jewels are hidden in a biscuit tin). Afterwards, she is there when Elizabeth first sets eyes on Philip. But being beloved governess and confidante to the Windsor family has come at a cost. She puts her private life on hold until released from royal service following Princess Elizabeth’s marriage in 1947.
Why You Should Listen to This Audiobook…
While most of us know Queen Elizabeth as a steady element throughout our lives, we don’t tend to see her as the young girl she was once outside of photographs and documentaries. However, Holden draws us into the Princess’ childhood. Holden does take liberties with the story, but given that this is fiction, I think it works! Marion is so often reduced to “beloved nanny cut off after writing book”, but she led a rich life that deserves attention, too. It really gives you more context for her memoir, The Little Princesses.
Katherine Lee McEwan is the narrator, and she does a wonderful job with narration. Although McEwan is English, she handles Scottish accents well; she seamlessly blends from aristocratic English to Aberdeen, lovely to listen to.
Find my Book Bite on The Royal Governess here!
The Fabergé Secret, Charles Belfoure (NetGalley)
St Petersburg, 1903. Prince Dimitri Markhov counts himself lucky to be a close friend of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. Cocooned by the glittering wealth of the Imperial court, the talented architect lives a life of luxury and comfort, by the side of his beautiful but spiteful wife, Princess Lara. But when Dimitri is confronted by the death and destruction wrought by a pogrom, he is taken aback. What did these people do to deserve such brutality? The tsar tells him the Jews themselves were to blame, but Dimitri can’t forget what he’s seen. Educated and passionate, Doctor Katya Golitsyn is determined to help end Russian oppression. When she meets Dimitri at a royal ball, she immediately recognizes a kindred spirit, and an unlikely affair begins between them. As their relationship develops, Katya exposes Dimitri to the horrors of the Tsar’s regime and the persecution of the Jewish people, and he grows determined to make a stand . . . whatever the cost.
Why You Should Listen to This Audiobook…
If you are at all interested in the decades leading up to the Russian Revolution, or the Romanov dynasty, you must listen to The Fabergé Secret from Charles Belfoure. I find dual POVs in books can be distracting in some cases, but Balfoure uses Dimitri and Katya’s different (but connected) stories to build a fascinating picture of the Russian court and society. And I really appreciated the Belfoure approached the oft-ignored topic of anti-Semitism at the Russian court. It is often avoided, but it had very real effects on millions of people and shouldn’t be glossed over.
Nancy Peterson was a fantastic narrator- I thought she did a wonderful job of differentiating all of the characters without turning them into stereotypes or caricatures. Given just how much I’ve read about tsarist Russia, I was able to wonderfully escape into this story, and Peterson is a big part of that.
The Social Graces, Renée Rosen
In the glittering world of Manhattan’s upper crust, where wives turn a blind eye to husbands’ infidelities, and women have few rights and even less independence, society is everything. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor—the Mrs. Astor.
But times are changing.
Alva Vanderbilt has recently married into one of America’s richest families. But what good is money when society refuses to acknowledge you? Alva, who knows what it is to have nothing, will do whatever it takes to have everything.
Sweeping three decades and based on true events, this is a gripping novel about two fascinating, complicated women going head to head, behaving badly, and discovering what’s truly at stake.
Why You Should Listen to This Audiobook…
I debated including this book on the list. The first quarter of the book dragged for me, but once it picked up (and really picked up at the 50% mark), I couldn’t stop listening. My other qualm is that we are repeatedly told that women had no agency in the period, but if you have any knowledge of it at all, it becomes redundant very quickly. However, once we got into the Vanderbilt and Astor scandals, it is easy to see why this was deemed an “It book” of Spring 2021. If you, like me, are waiting for Julian Fellowes’ GIlded Age series, this will be good listening in the meantime.
The Social Graces actually has two narrators: Hillary Huber and Saskia Maarleveld. I have to say, I haven’t listened to many books with multiple narrators but I did enjoy it. If you find yourself a bit distracted when you listen, this is the book for you- you will immediately know which character we are with.
Love and Fury, Samantha Silva (NetGalley)
August, 1797. Midwife Parthenia Blenkinsop has delivered countless babies, but nothing prepares her for the experience that unfolds when she arrives at Mary Wollstonecraft’s door. Over the eleven harrowing days that follow, as Mrs. Blenkinsop fights for the survival of both mother and newborn, Mary Wollstonecraft recounts the life she dared to live amidst the impossible constraints and prejudices of the late 18th century, rejecting the tyranny of men and marriage, risking everything to demand equality for herself and all women. She weaves her riveting tale to give her fragile daughter a reason to live, even as her own strength wanes. Wollstonecraft’s urgent story of loss and triumph forms the heartbreakingly brief intersection between the lives of a mother and daughter who will change the arc of history and thought.
Why You Should Listen to This Audiobook…
I know that I just shared this for my Book Bite (see below) but I knew that I needed to include this book on the list. There are some female authors who are constantly in the spotlight, namely Austen and the Brontë sisters. However, there are far more who also deserve our attention, Mary Wollstonecraft being one of them. While I did learn about The Vindication of the Rights of Woman in my Romantic Lit class, I didn’t learn much about here. This fictional look at her life contextualised Vindication for me, and also shows how complex the past can be.
Ell Potter is one of the most emotional but understated narrators that I’ve listened to. She conveys so much but holds back a lot, and it is powerful listening.
Find my Book Bite on Love and Fury here!
The Last Collection, Jeanne Mackin
Paris, 1938. Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli are fighting for recognition as the most successful and influential fashion designer in France, and their rivalry is already legendary. They oppose each other at every turn, in both their politics and their designs: Chanel’s are classic, elegant, and practical; Schiaparelli’s bold, experimental, and surreal.
When Lily Sutter, a recently widowed young American teacher, visits her brother, Charlie, in Paris, he insists on buying her a couture dress–a Chanel. Lily, however, prefers a Schiaparelli. Charlie’s beautiful and socially prominent girlfriend soon begins wearing Schiaparelli’s designs as well, and much of Paris follows in her footsteps.
Schiaparelli offers budding artist Lily a job at her store, and Lily finds herself increasingly involved with Schiaparelli and Chanel’s personal war. Their fierce competition reaches new and dangerous heights as the Nazis and the looming threat of World War II bear down on Paris.
Why You Should Listen to This Audiobook…
Of course I had to include at least one book focused on fashion history! Elsa Schiaparelli is slowly becoming better known amongst the general population today, but Coco Chanel reigns supreme. And I find that entirely unfortunate as Chanel did some truly terrible things during the Second World War, and was in no way more talented than Schiap. The Last Collection fictionalises their complex relationship, with Lily playing the anchor. While I’m really not a huge fan of fiction based on WWII (Rachel McMillan’s The London Restoration is the big exception for that rule), I think that this book gives the war a human and quite female element. Fashion is often dismissed for being too female, but it played an essential role in war in many ways.
Sarah Mollo-Christensen is a fantastic narrator, with a gravitas that I don’t normally find. She also narrates one of my favourite cozy mysteries, the Murder on Location series!
The Jane Austen Society, Natalie Jenner (Advanced Listening Copy from St. Martin’s Press)
Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable.
One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen, one of England’s finest novelists. Now it’s home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen’s legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve both Jane Austen’s home and her legacy. These people—a laborer, a young widow, the local doctor, and a movie star, among others—could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, some from the recent war, others from more distant tragedies, they rally together to create the Jane Austen Society.
Why You Should Listen to This Audiobook…
There are absolutely a fabulous cast of characters in this book, but the standout for me is Chawton House itself. I sadly haven’t been able to visit Chawton House myself yet, but it felt like I was there myself. So often authors try to make their setting a character and fail, but Jenner more than succeeds at it. We get so many Austen-ish projects that only play on the name or basic characters/plots, but this is so originally Austen-ish!
If the narrator sounds familiar, that’s because it is Richard Armitage- from The Hobbit trilogy and North and South, amongst other projects! While Austen-themed projects tend to have female narrators, I appreciated having a male narrator. He balances it well, and it is a calming book to listen to.
Find my stop on the The Jane Austen Society Book Tour here!
The Other Windsor Girl, Georgie Blalock
In dreary, post-war Britain, Princess Margaret captivates everyone with her cutting edge fashion sense and biting quips. The royal socialite, cigarette holder in one hand, cocktail in the other, sparkles in the company of her glittering entourage of wealthy young aristocrats known as the Margaret Set, but her outrageous lifestyle conflicts with her place as Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister. Can she be a dutiful princess while still dazzling the world on her own terms?
Post-war Britain isn’t glamorous for The Honorable Vera Strathmore. While writing scandalous novels, she dreams of living and working in New York, and regaining the happiness she enjoyed before her fiancé was killed in the war. A chance meeting with the Princess changes her life forever. Vera amuses the princess, and what—or who—Margaret wants, Margaret gets. Soon, Vera gains Margaret’s confidence and the privileged position of second lady-in-waiting to the Princess. Thrust into the center of Margaret’s social and royal life, Vera watches the princess’s love affair with dashing Captain Peter Townsend unfurl.
But while Margaret, as a member of the Royal Family, is not free to act on her desires, Vera soon wants the freedom to pursue her own dreams. As time and Princess Margaret’s scandalous behavior progress, both women will be forced to choose between status, duty, and love…
Why You Should Listen to This Audiobook…
I am endlessly fascinated by Princess Margaret. While she could be difficult and snobbish, I think that she has been written off entirely by most people. I loved this story set in her youth, the time often termed “the Townsend period”. It is a fully fleshed out story that shows that Margaret was indeed more than just Peter Townsend, Tony Armstrong-Jones, and her sister the Queen. This book felt to me like the behind the scenes to all of the glamorous pictures of Margaret from the 1950s, in the best possible way!
Ann Marie Gideon somehow conveys youth and excitement right alongside the tradition and grandeur of the British aristocracy. We often hear far more about Princess Margaret’s suitors and love interests; Gideon wonderfully gives voice to her female friends.
What are your favourite historical fiction audiobooks? And how are you celebrating Audiobook Month?
Cheers,
The Historian
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