-
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy
- Four Women Undercover in the Civil War
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $31.93
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Spymistress
- By: Jennifer Chiaverini
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Chiaverini delights fans by transforming true events into riveting historical fiction. Set during the Civil War, The Spymistress introduces little-known Elizabeth Van Lew, a Virginia woman who used a vast spy network to steal Confederate secrets for the Union. But her next mission would prove the ultimate test of her mettle: infiltrate the infamous Confederate Libby Prison and orchestrate a daring escape.
-
-
Great Civil War era book!
- By Timp598 on 10-24-13
-
The Girls of Atomic City
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians - many of them young women from small towns across the South - were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.
-
-
More than Just the Girls
- By Jane Mcdowell on 01-14-14
By: Denise Kiernan
-
The Ghosts of Eden Park
- The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America
- By: Karen Abbott
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early days of Prohibition, long before Al Capone became a household name, a German immigrant named George Remus quits practicing law and starts trafficking whiskey. Within two years he's a multi-millionaire. The press calls him "King of the Bootleggers", writing breathless stories about the Gatsby-esque events he and his glamorous second wife, Imogene, host at their Cincinnati mansion, with party favors ranging from diamond jewelry for the men to brand-new cars for the women. By the summer of 1921, Remus owns 35 percent of all the liquor in the United States.
-
-
Quite entertaining
- By Buretto on 08-15-19
By: Karen Abbott
-
Sin in the Second City
- Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul
- By: Karen Abbott
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Karen Abbott's colorful, nuanced portrait of the iconic Everleigh sisters; their world-famous brothel, the Everleigh Club; and the perennial clash between our nation's hedonistic impulses and Puritanical roots culminates in a dramatic last stand between brothel keepers and crusading reformers. Sin in the Second City offers a vivid snapshot of America's journey from Victorian-era propriety to 20th-century modernity.
-
-
Great book - brilliant narrator!
- By Z. Halley on 04-17-10
By: Karen Abbott
-
Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker
- By: Jennifer Chiaverini
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, novelist Jennifer Chiaverini presents a stunning account of the friendship that blossomed between Mary Todd Lincoln and her seamstress, Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Keckley, a former slave who gained her professional reputation in Washington, D.C. by outfitting the city’s elite. Keckley made history by sewing for First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln within the White House, a trusted witness to many private moments between the President and his wife, two of the most compelling figures in American history.
-
-
A Wonderful Re-Imagining of Mrs. Keckley's Life
- By Melissa on 03-04-13
-
American Ulysses
- A Life of Ulysses S. Grant
- By: Ronald C. White
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 27 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new biography of the Civil War general and American president, by the author of the New York Times bestseller A. Lincoln. The dramatic story of one of America's greatest and most misunderstood military leaders and presidents, this is a major new interpretation of Ulysses S. Grant. Based on seven years of research with primary documents, some of them never tapped before, this is destined to become the Grant biography of our times.
-
-
An Absolutely Superb Work
- By Michael J. Nardotti, Jr. on 11-05-16
By: Ronald C. White
-
The Spymistress
- By: Jennifer Chiaverini
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Chiaverini delights fans by transforming true events into riveting historical fiction. Set during the Civil War, The Spymistress introduces little-known Elizabeth Van Lew, a Virginia woman who used a vast spy network to steal Confederate secrets for the Union. But her next mission would prove the ultimate test of her mettle: infiltrate the infamous Confederate Libby Prison and orchestrate a daring escape.
-
-
Great Civil War era book!
- By Timp598 on 10-24-13
-
The Girls of Atomic City
- The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
- By: Denise Kiernan
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians - many of them young women from small towns across the South - were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains.
-
-
More than Just the Girls
- By Jane Mcdowell on 01-14-14
By: Denise Kiernan
-
The Ghosts of Eden Park
- The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz-Age America
- By: Karen Abbott
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early days of Prohibition, long before Al Capone became a household name, a German immigrant named George Remus quits practicing law and starts trafficking whiskey. Within two years he's a multi-millionaire. The press calls him "King of the Bootleggers", writing breathless stories about the Gatsby-esque events he and his glamorous second wife, Imogene, host at their Cincinnati mansion, with party favors ranging from diamond jewelry for the men to brand-new cars for the women. By the summer of 1921, Remus owns 35 percent of all the liquor in the United States.
-
-
Quite entertaining
- By Buretto on 08-15-19
By: Karen Abbott
-
Sin in the Second City
- Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for America's Soul
- By: Karen Abbott
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Karen Abbott's colorful, nuanced portrait of the iconic Everleigh sisters; their world-famous brothel, the Everleigh Club; and the perennial clash between our nation's hedonistic impulses and Puritanical roots culminates in a dramatic last stand between brothel keepers and crusading reformers. Sin in the Second City offers a vivid snapshot of America's journey from Victorian-era propriety to 20th-century modernity.
-
-
Great book - brilliant narrator!
- By Z. Halley on 04-17-10
By: Karen Abbott
-
Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker
- By: Jennifer Chiaverini
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, novelist Jennifer Chiaverini presents a stunning account of the friendship that blossomed between Mary Todd Lincoln and her seamstress, Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Keckley, a former slave who gained her professional reputation in Washington, D.C. by outfitting the city’s elite. Keckley made history by sewing for First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln within the White House, a trusted witness to many private moments between the President and his wife, two of the most compelling figures in American history.
-
-
A Wonderful Re-Imagining of Mrs. Keckley's Life
- By Melissa on 03-04-13
-
American Ulysses
- A Life of Ulysses S. Grant
- By: Ronald C. White
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 27 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new biography of the Civil War general and American president, by the author of the New York Times bestseller A. Lincoln. The dramatic story of one of America's greatest and most misunderstood military leaders and presidents, this is a major new interpretation of Ulysses S. Grant. Based on seven years of research with primary documents, some of them never tapped before, this is destined to become the Grant biography of our times.
-
-
An Absolutely Superb Work
- By Michael J. Nardotti, Jr. on 11-05-16
By: Ronald C. White
-
Capital Dames
- The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868
- By: Cokie Roberts
- Narrated by: Cokie Roberts
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social, Southern town of Washington, DC, found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year battle that would determine the future of the United States. After the declaration of secession, many fascinating Southern women left the city, leaving their friends - such as Adele Cutts Douglas and Elizabeth Blair Lee - to grapple with questions of safety and sanitation as the capital was transformed into an immense Union army camp and later a hospital.
-
-
Enlightening
- By Jean on 05-07-15
By: Cokie Roberts
-
The Alice Network
- A Novel
- By: Kate Quinn
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive.
-
-
Great narration, story lacking
- By Andrea on 02-28-19
By: Kate Quinn
-
Eliza Hamilton
- The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton
- By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fans fell in love with Eliza Hamilton - Alexander Hamilton’s devoted wife - in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s phenomenal musical Hamilton. But they don’t know her full story. A strong pioneer woman, a loving sister, a caring mother, and, in her later years, a generous philanthropist, Eliza had many sides - and this fascinating biography brings her multifaceted personality to vivid life.
-
-
Eliza Deserves Better
- By jmn89 on 12-20-19
By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
-
North and South
- North and South Trilogy, Book 1
- By: John Jakes
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 30 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two strangers, young men from Pennsylvania and South Carolina, meet on the way to West Point.... Thus begins this brilliant novel of antebellum America, spanning three generations and chronicling the lives and loves of two great family dynasties. The Hazards and the Mains are brought together in bonds of friendship and affection that neither jealousy nor violence can shatter - until a storm of events sunders the nation and brings the cataclysm of war!
-
-
Captivating novel of the Civil War
- By 9S on 01-12-13
By: John Jakes
-
The Monuments Men
- Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
- By: Robert M. Edsel, Bret Witter
- Narrated by: Jeremy Davidson
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Monuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture.
-
-
Fine book, adequate narration
- By Paul Bennett on 03-13-10
By: Robert M. Edsel, and others
-
Irena's Children
- The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto
- By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
- Narrated by: Amanda Carlin
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1942 one young social worker, Irena Sendler, was granted access to the Warsaw Ghetto as a public health specialist. While she was there, she began to understand the fate that awaited the Jewish families who were unable to leave. Soon she reached out to the trapped families, going from door to door and asking them to trust her with their young children. She started smuggling children out of the walled district, convincing her friends and neighbors to hide them.
-
-
So worth reading...
- By Jan on 10-07-16
By: Tilar J. Mazzeo
-
The Rival Queens
- Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal That Ignited a Kingdom
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for 30 years. Her youngest daughter, Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.
-
-
Definitely not a dull bio!
- By Nella on 07-04-15
By: Nancy Goldstone
-
Damnation Island
- Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York
- By: Stacy Horn
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today it is known as Roosevelt Island. In 1828, when New York City purchased this narrow, two-mile-long island in the East River, it was called Blackwell's Island. There, over the next hundred years, the city would build a lunatic asylum, prison, hospital, workhouse, and almshouse. Stacy Horn has crafted a compelling and chilling narrative told through the stories of the poor souls sent to Blackwell's, as well as the period's city officials, reformers, and journalists (including the famous Nellie Bly). Damnation Island re-creates what daily life was like on the island....
-
-
Great look at a dark piece of NYC history.
- By Jess Post on 11-27-18
By: Stacy Horn
-
The Romanov Sisters
- The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra
- By: Helen Rappaport
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With this treasure trove of diaries and letters from the grand duchesses to their friends and family, we learn that they were intelligent, sensitive, and perceptive witnesses to the dark turmoil within their immediate family and the ominous approach of the Russian Revolution - the nightmare that would sweep their world away and them along with it. The Romanov Sisters will surprise people, even aficionados.
-
-
Made you want to change the ending
- By MissSusie66 on 01-23-15
By: Helen Rappaport
-
George Washington's Secret Six
- The Spy Ring That Saved America
- By: Brian Kilmeade, Don Yaeger
- Narrated by: Brian Kilmeade
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the cohost of Fox & Friends, the true story of the anonymous spies who helped win the Revolutionary War. Among the pantheon of heroes of the American Revolution, six names are missing. First and foremost, Robert Townsend, an unassuming and respected businessman from Long Island, who spearheaded the spy ring that covertly brought down the British
-
-
Pretty good
- By Thomas on 09-24-15
By: Brian Kilmeade, and others
-
The House of Kennedy
- By: James Patterson
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Kennedys have always been a family of charismatic adventurers, raised to take risks and excel, living by the dual family mottos: "To whom much is given, much is expected" and "Win at all costs". And they do - but at a price. Across decades and generations, the Kennedys have occupied a unique place in the American imagination: charmed, cursed, at once familiar and unknowable. The House of Kennedy is a revealing, fascinating account of America's most storied family, as told by America's most trusted storyteller.
-
-
Nothing New
- By Visa on 04-23-20
By: James Patterson
-
The Hamilton Affair
- By: Elizabeth Cobbs
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hamilton was a bastard son, raised on the Caribbean island of St. Croix. He went to America to pursue his education. Along the way he became one of the American Revolution's most dashing - and unlikely - heroes. Adored by Washington, hated by Jefferson, Hamilton was a lightning rod: the most controversial leader of the American Revolution.
-
-
A terrific historical fiction novel
- By DAnthony on 12-22-16
By: Elizabeth Cobbs
Publisher's Summary
Karen Abbott, the New York Times best-selling author of Sin in the Second City and "pioneer of sizzle history" (USA Today), tells the spellbinding true story of four women who risked everything to become spies during the Civil War.
Karen Abbott illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little-known aspects of the Civil War: The stories of four courageous women - a socialite, a farmgirl, an abolitionist, and a widow - who were spies.
After shooting a Union soldier in her front hall with a pocket pistol, Belle Boyd became a courier and spy for the Confederate army, using her charms to seduce men on both sides. Emma Edmonds cut off her hair and assumed the identity of a man to enlist as a Union private, witnessing the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The beautiful widow, Rose O'Neale Greenhow, engaged in affairs with powerful Northern politicians to gather intelligence for the Confederacy, and used her young daughter to send information to Southern generals. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Richmond abolitionist, hid behind her proper Southern manners as she orchestrated a far-reaching espionage ring, right under the noses of suspicious rebel detectives.
Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies' descendants, Abbott seamlessly weaves the adventures of these four heroines throughout the tumultuous years of the war. With a cast of real-life characters including Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, General Stonewall Jackson, detective Allan Pinkerton, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and Emperor Napoleon III, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy draws you into the war as these daring women lived it.
More from the same
What listeners say about Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- B Rose
- 11-15-14
Good book ruined by narrator!
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I couldn't even finish it because narrator was horrible.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
A different narrator.
What didn’t you like about Karen White’s performance?
She can't figure out what tone of voice to use it changes from one minute to the next. Horrible!
Any additional comments?
Why doesn't audible screen these narrators better? It so irritating when a good book is ruined by one. There are so many great ones, be more selective!
32 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sheesha
- 11-12-14
Shockingly Bad Narrator
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
A different narrator would have helped a great deal. It's hard to understand how this style of narration could have been permitted. She reads in an artificially stilted cadence presumably meant to evoke a serious tone, and perhaps to signify direct quotations in the text. It is awful and completely distracting from the story.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
A different narrator. It was often hard to follow the content due to the problems noted above with the narrator.
48 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Erin - Audible
- 10-07-14
Sensational!
What a freaking thrill ride. Karen Abbott found four of the most interesting and well-documented women in the Civil War and took off like a shot. One narcissist, two socialites, one cross-dresser, all spies.
I'm relatively knowledgeable about the American Civil War thanks to my father and the constant rehashing of the history from 4th grade through high school. Never before have I read something that gets so perfectly in depth about what the hell happened in Richmond. The microfocus on this particular city lends more depth and humanity to each person we meet--whether that's Pinkerton (mhmm, how did you think they started?) or Stonewall Jackson (yeah, he's there, too.)
It was a great look at how thoroughly incompetent some of the Union Generals were. This is less a history-written-by-the-winners... there's a lot of facepalming over McClellan.
Anyway, give it a listen.
The narrator, Karen White, was not great. 3 of 5 stars for her. She has the tendency to read in a stilted, serious "this is nonfiction" pattern, rather give way to the delightful narrative flow Abbott provided.
25 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- S. Gille
- 02-03-15
Narrator difficult to get past, I gave up
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
No, unfortunately the narrator was tough for me to get used to. Her pattern and emphasis seemed unnatural to me, an American born person.
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Karen White?
Probably anybody.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Katie
- 05-23-15
Extraordinary Women of the Civil War
Story was fascinating. Narration was average. Characters well developed. Learned a lot. Worth the listen.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jean
- 09-22-14
Engrossing book
I enjoyed this book as it provided another aspect of the Civil War that one rarely hears about. Abbott provides an alternate view of the Civil War by featuring previously untold stories of the impact women and civilians had on the war effort. She brings these individuals fully to life with passion for their causes. The subjects of Karen Abbott’s engrossing book are four women who worked undercover in the Civil War. Belle Boyd and Rose O’Neal Greenhow worked for the confederacy and Elizabeth Van Lew and Emma Edmondson worked for the Union. Boyd was 17 years old in 1861, known as “The Secesh Cleopatra” and La Bella Rebelle” she flirted and spied never making pronounced efforts to conceal her espionage activities. Emma Edmondson born in 1841 from Flint Michigan, by way of Canada, worked as a nurse and also infiltrated enemy terrain to gather intelligence. She masqueraded herself in various disguises to do this. She even disguised herself as a man and fought with the 2nd Michigan Infantry. Greenhow ran a spy ring out of Washington D.C. she also learned cipher and Morse code. In 2012 I read “Wild Rose” by Ann Blackman which gave an in-depth history of Greenhow’s life. Elizabeth Van Lew was of Richmond society. Her father was a prominent businessman and slave owner. She was one of Richmond’s wealthiest citizens. She had been educated in Philadelphia by an abolitionist governess. She ran a spy ring, learned to cipher and Morse code. Van Lew’s most impressive agent was Mary Jane Bower, her black servant.
Abbott did meticulous research for the book and it is smoothly written and structured (chronologically) so as a certain amount of suspense is built in. The author’s research included letters, diaries and news accounts of the time. Abbott claims that as many as four hundred women both North and South were posing and fighting as men. The author also stated women were capable not only of significant acts of treason, but of executing them more deftly than men. Karen Abbott is a well known history author and a graduate of Villanova University.
If you enjoy history and true stories of adventure and courage you will find this is just the book for you. I read this as an audio book with the use of “whispersync” so I could take advantage of the photographs in the book. Karen White did a good job narrating the book.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nichole
- 04-03-17
terrible narrator
I'm not sure if the story was good or not since the narration was awful. It was like listening to an automated voice, like the kind that guides you through prompts when calling your credit card company
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michelle
- 05-03-19
engaging
Love it and I'm usually into history stuff. great story's wonderful arranged. keep my attention from the beginning.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michellerose
- 02-19-19
Find a different narrator, but make sure to read
Great story. I think it would make a fantastic popcorn flick. The narrator is indecisive weather to use a character's voice, or her information voice. This was bearable, but annoying. I would recommend this one as a read, not a audio book. I feel that I would have compleated it sooner if there was a different narrator.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- alecia sirk
- 07-06-18
Wonderful Civil War story
I have read several things about the Civil War including the stellar Killer Angels, but I am so grateful to have read this book about for iron women who served their respective countries with gumption and dignity!
2 people found this helpful