Length10h 32m
About this audiobook
1660, Paris.Claudette’s life is like an ever-revolving stage set. From an impoverished childhood wandering the French countryside with her family’s acting troupe, Claudette finally witnesses her mother’s astonishing rise to stardom in Parisian theaters. Working with playwrights Corneille, Molière and Racine, Claudette’s life is culturally rich, but like all in the theatrical world at the time, she is socially scorned.
A series of chance encounters gradually pull Claudette into the alluring orbit of Athénaïs de Montespan, mistress to Louis XIV and reigning “Shadow Queen.” Needing someone to safeguard her secrets, Athénaïs offers to hire Claudette as her personal attendant.
Enticed by the promise of riches and respectability, Claudette leaves the world of the theater only to find that court is very much like a stage, with outward shows of loyalty masking more devious intentions. This parallel is not lost on Athénaïs, who fears political enemies are plotting her ruin as young courtesans angle to take the coveted spot in the king’s bed.
Indeed, Claudette’s “reputable” new position is marked by spying, illicit trysts, and titanic power struggles. As Athénaïs becomes ever more desperate to hold onto the King’s favor, innocent love charms move into the realm of deadly black magic, and Claudette is forced to consider a move that will put her own life—and the family she loves so dearly—at risk. Set against the gilded opulence of a newly constructed Versailles and the War of Theaters, The Shadow Queen is a seductive, gripping novel about the lure of wealth, the illusion of power, and the increasingly uneasy relationship between two strong-willed women whose actions could shape the future of France.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.8 (2.1K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing, StoryGraph
GenreHistorical Fiction, Romance, General Fiction
Length10 hrs 32 mins
Narrated byMeredith Mitchell
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateApr 8, 2014
LanguageEnglish
Northern ShadowsDaniel Greene12h 52m4.7 (281)$23
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
The Labyrinth of the SpiritsCarlos Ruiz Zafon27h 55m4.5 (77.2K)$53 · $0.00
The Things We Cannot SayKelly Rimmer13h 48m4.5 (359.1K)$33 · $0.00
Their Castilian OrphanAnna Belfrage14h 45m4.7 (122)$27
Lieutenant Hornblower (Annotated)C. S. Forester11h 41m4.5 (2.9K)$2 · $0.00
Eagles over BritainLee Jackson12h 26m4.5 (18.6K)$23
Rilla of InglesideLucy Maud Montgomery11h 44m4.5 (48.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Viennese DressmakerKathryn Gauci11h 46m4.5 (2.1K)$23 · $0.00
The Man in the Brown Suit & They Came to BaghdadAgatha Christie15h 43m4.6 (495)$33 · $0.00
Under the Light of the Italian MoonJennifer Anton12h 28m4.5 (5.3K)$23 · $0.00
Jubilee, 50th Anniversary EditionMargaret Walker15h 43m4.5 (9.5K)$25 · $0.00
Arch of TriumphErich Maria Remarque15h 51m4.4 (36.6K)$28
Serenade for NadiaZülfü Livaneli9h 9m4.4 (20.1K)$20
Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen14h 44m4.4 (4.7M)$2 · $0.00
Flying Colours (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith9h 26m4.4 (10.1K)$2 · $0.00
With Love from HarlemReShonda Tate13h 48m4.5 (2K)$6 · $0.00
Under the Java MoonHeather B. Moore12h 23m4.4 (3.2K)$23
Sweet Home Highland ChristmasMay McGoldrick, Jan Coffey2h 54m4.5 (1.4K)$7 · $0.00
FamilyJ. California Cooper4h 43m4.4 (3.6K)$15
Desperate MeasuresBrenda Jackson8h 59m4.7 (669)$28 · $0.00
Pride & Prejudice (Annotated)Jane Austen15h 10m4.7 (13.3K)$2 · $0.00
Searching For ThanksgivingS.E. Smith4h 24m4.8 (395)$20
The InheritanceBlair Howard6h 40m4.8 (283)$23
The Dance with Me TrilogyShelley Shepard Gray21h 44m4.7 (1.2K)$35
The Search (Annotated)Grace Livingston Hill7h 29m4.7 (1.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Captivating WarriorCami Checketts, Daniel Banner4h 8m4.7 (608)$15
TimberTate James15h 36m4.6 (28.8K)$23
The ReunionJana Deleon6h 31m4.6 (1.6K)$26 · $0.00
Long LostLexi Blake13h 12m4.6 (3.2K)$23
The Vineyard BrideKatie Winters5h 5m4.6 (1.9K)$15
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m4.6 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
Wishes from the HeartSophie Mays4h 9m4.7 (343)$15 · $0.00
Blizzard ShowdownShirlee McCoy5h 16m4.6 (1.1K)$12 · $0.00
The Heart of CourageLynne Basham Tagawa10h 57m4.7 (240)$20
Love Inspired Suspense October 2025 - Box Set 2 of 2Laura Scott, Carrie Stuart Parks, Jennifer Pierce17h 34m4.8 (88)$35 · $0.00
To Hold and ProtectSandra Owens7h 59m4.6 (1.1K)$8 · $0.00
The Newly Witch GameRobyn Peterman4h 39m4.7 (549)$15
Arctic WitnessHeather Woodhaven5h 46m4.6 (985)$12 · $0.00
MaelstromBethany Adams17h 6m4.6 (1.3K)$25
Supreme ClienteleAshley & JaQuavis8h 58m4.7 (3.4K)$20
Body Refinement in a Beast Tamer’s World, Book 1Seth Ring14h 7m4.7 (1.3K)$27
Desperate MeasuresBrenda Jackson8h 59m4.7 (669)$28 · $0.00
Searching For ThanksgivingS.E. Smith4h 24m4.8 (395)$20
Naughty 4Brenda Hampton7h 30m4.7 (726)$17
The Dance with Me TrilogyShelley Shepard Gray21h 44m4.7 (1.2K)$35
The DopemanJaQuavis Coleman5h 25m4.7 (3.8K)$20
BAEJahquel J.5h 22m4.7 (3.1K)$20
Dark RisingJeffrey Wilson, Brian Andrews13h 47m4.7 (1.3K)$27
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Grand Opening 2Carl Weber9h 16m4.7 (2.4K)$20
Sons of Valor II: Violence of ActionBrian Andrews, Jeffrey Wilson12h 34m4.6 (3.6K)$23
Malevolent MagicMildred Abbott7h 13m4.7 (1.2K)$17
Bikes, Toys, and Hot BoyzGenesis Woods, Shantaé13h 9m4.7 (722)$23
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m4.6 (33.1K)$33 · $0.00
Ghetto BastardK’wan7h 37m4.6 (2.9K)$20
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
The Vineyard BrideKatie Winters5h 5m4.6 (1.9K)$15
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m4.6 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
You may also like
The EuropeansHenry James6h 45m3.7 (8K)$17
The EuropeansHenry James6h 9m3.7 (7.7K)$20
The Last QueenChitra Banerjee Divakaruni13h 15m4.3 (12.7K)$33 · $0.00
Figures in SilkVanora Bennett15h 29m3.8 (2.6K)$33 · $0.00
I Am CleopatraNatasha Solomons9h 45m3.9 (2K)$29 · $0.00
Ten Years LaterAlexandre Dumas31h 29m4.2 (3.2K)$2.30 · $0.00
Phineas FinnAnthony Trollope27h 46m4.1 (10K)$1.80 · $0.00
Boleyn Traitor: The new thrilling historical Sunday Times bestseller, from the internationally acclaimed author of THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRLPhilippa Gregory19h 30m4.1 (14.2K)$40 · $0.00
Fools and MortalsBernard Cornwell10h 28m3.9 (14.3K)$29 · $0.00
The Vicomte De BragelonneAlexandre Dumas22h 9m4.1 (11.7K)$3.50 · $0.00
Mansfield ParkJane Austen14h 17m3.9 (445.8K)$1 · $0.00
The Secret Wife of Aaron BurrSusan Holloway Scott17h 55m4.2 (6.8K)$30 · $0.00
The Charterhouse of ParmaStendhal21h 43m3.9 (24.3K)$0.60 · $0.00
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge12h 22m3.8 (71)$2.30 · $0.00
The Last Empress of FrancePetie & Evelyne Kladstrup & Resnick, Evelyne Resnick11h 15m4.3 (175)$29 · $0.00
The Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun (Annotated)Louise-Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun8h 47m$2 · $0.00
Life of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen VictoriaSarah Tytler24h 17m$1 · $0.00
The Wheat PrincessJean Webster10h 57m3.6 (153)$2.30
The Complete Works of Sir Walter Scott: Novels, Short Stories, Poetry, Memoirs & LettersWalter Scott836h 28m4.6 (131)$1.99 · $0.00
The Valley of DecisionEdith Wharton16h 46m3.8 (816)$6 · $0.00