Audio only
Length19h 29m
About this audiobook
From the author of The Good Wife of Bath comes this brilliant recreation of the vibrant, optimistic but politically treacherous world of London's Restoration theatre, where we are introduced to the remarkable playwright Aphra Behn, now a feminist icon but then an anomaly, who gravitated to the stage - a place where artifice and disguise are second nature and accommodates those who do not fit in.
'Karen Brooks demonstrates her considerable talent for capturing the historical moment in this richly told, immersive read that will acquaint readers with a woman whose name we should all know. ' Pip Williams, author of The Bookbinder of Jericho
It's 1679 and into the tumult, politics and colour of Restoration London and its lively theatre scene comes the fierce and opinionated Tribulation Johnson. Cast out from her family as ungodly and unworthy, Tribulation is determined to forge her own remarkable path.
Arriving in London, Tribulation is astonished to discover that the widowed cousin she's been sent to live with is none other than the most infamous woman in London: the former spy and traitor's mistress, the playwright and polemical poetess, Aphra Behn. Tribulation cannot believe her good fortune as she is thrust into city life and the heady, mercurial milieu of the theatre. Under Aphra's guidance, Tribulation is encouraged to write, think and speak for herself. But women aren't supposed to have a voice, or ideas, let alone wield a pen and write for a living, and there are harsh consequences for those who don't obey society's rules.
Together, Aphra and Tribulation must not only face vilification and mockery but terrible danger as plots to overturn the monarchy gather pace. When someone from Aphra's complicated past reappears, the women's loyalties - to King, country, and ultimately each other - are bitterly tested. Can their relationship survive the burning fires of religious hatred, suspicion and deceit?
When everyone plays a part, and all the world's a stage, who you trust?
Praise for Karen Brooks
'So damn readable and fun ... This is the story of a woman fighting for her rights; it breaches the walls of history.' The Australian
''All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn'. Karen Brooks has done better. She has revived Aphra and her words.' The Newtown Review of Books
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (846)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph, LibraryThing
GenreDystopia, Fairy Tales and Folklore, Horror
Length19 hrs 29 mins
Narrated byFelicity Jurd
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJan 3, 2024
LanguageEnglish
More from Karen Brooks
The Extraordinary Florence StokerKaren Brooks18h 42m4.5 (12)$29 · $0.00
The Extraordinary Florence StokerKaren Brooks18h 42m4.5 (12)$29 · $0.00
The Whisky WidowKaren Brooks18h 27m4.1 (798)$28 · $0.00
The Good Wife of BathKaren Brooks19h 49m4.3 (7.5K)$40 · $0.00
The Good Wife of BathKaren Brooks19h 48m4.2 (9K)$40 · $0.00
The Whisky WidowKaren Brooks18h 27m4.1 (801)$40 · $0.00
The Escapades of Tribulation JohnsonKaren Brooks19h 29m4.1 (538)$40 · $0.00
At the Foot of the Cherry Tree: The bestselling, heart-warming novel based on a true story of forbidden love & heartbreak SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYMOCKS 2023 BOOK OF THE YEARAlli Parker10h 8m4.4 (5.6K)$29 · $0.00
Counting Lost StarsKim van Alkemade13h 55m4.4 (22.7K)$33 · $0.00
The German WifeKelly Rimmer13h 49m4.3 (70.3K)$33 · $0.00
The Tattooist of AuschwitzHeather Morris7h 26m4.3 (1.4M)$24 · $0.00
1984Eric Arthur Blair12h 41m4.3 (6.1M)$1 · $0.00
The Unbreakable Heart of Oliva DenaroViola Ardone8h 57m4.3 (14.7K)$29 · $0.00
The Pearl That Broke Its ShellNadia Hashimi13h 47m4.3 (125.6K)$8 · $0.00
Lord of the SilentElizabeth Peters6h 7m4.3 (14.9K)$24 · $0.00
The Little LiarMitch Albom7h 41m4.3 (122.5K)$26 · $0.00
The Benevolent Society Of Ill-Mannered LadiesAlison Goodman15h 33m4.3 (25.5K)$33 · $0.00
The Flight GirlsNoelle Salazar10h 21m4.3 (49.9K)$29 · $0.00
Scandalous WomenGill Paul10h 46m4.4 (1.5K)$29 · $0.00
Daughters of the OccupationShelly Sanders10h 59m4.3 (5.3K)$29 · $0.00
The Woman in the White KimonoAna Johns11h 55m4.3 (47.1K)$29 · $0.00
The Keeper of Hidden BooksMadeline Martin10h 53m4.3 (42.9K)$29 · $0.00
The Complete Western Stories of Elmore LeonardElmore Leonard6h 49m4.3 (4K)$24 · $0.00
The Home for Unwanted GirlsJoanna Goodman9h 59m4.3 (77.5K)$29 · $0.00
Reminiscences of a Stock OperatorEdwin Lefèvre10h 39m4.3 (50.9K)$29 · $0.00
Notes from UndergroundFyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky4h 37m4.3 (313.6K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Uncharted Flight of Olivia WestSara Ackerman10h 33m4.3 (4K)$29 · $0.00
Dark HarmonyLaura Thalassa14h 25m4.2 (101.3K)$23
The High PriestessMaya Daniels5h4.5 (48)Free
Going PostalTerry Pratchett11h 23m4.5 (189.9K)$29 · $0.00
No Woman Left BehindJulie Moffett8h 49m4.5 (3K)$25 · $0.00
The Undead PoolKim Harrison16h 13m4.4 (34.6K)$33 · $0.00
The Sweetest FiendRaven Kennedy16h 35m4.4 (2.6K)$40 · $0.00
TILL WE HAVE FACES (Cupid & Psyche – The Story Behind the Myth)C. S. Lewis9h 51m4.3 (104.5K)$1 · $0.00
Grimms' Fairy TalesJacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm9h 46m4.3 (256.5K)$2 · $0.00
The Hymns of OrpheusThomas Taylor3h 13m4.4 (777)$21 · $0.00
The Olive Fairy BookAndrew Lang9h 46m4.4 (1.3K)$2.30 · $0.00
The Once and Future King (Annotated)T. H. White28h 26m4.3 (121.8K)$2 · $0.00
Further Tales of the CityArmistead Maupin8h 10m4.3 (20.4K)$26 · $0.00
A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens3h 11m4.3 (1.1M)$1.20 · $0.00
Norse MythologyNeil Gaiman6h 30m4.2 (453.7K)$24 · $0.00
The Grimm's Fairy Tales - Complete Edition: 200+ Stories in One VolumeBrothers Grimm29h 32m4.2 (168.7K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Wonder ClockHoward Pyle, Katharine Pyle8h 16m4.3 (2.1K)$1 · $0.00
The Family InheritanceTricia Stringer12h 14m4.3 (2.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Good Wife of BathKaren Brooks19h 48m4.2 (9K)$40 · $0.00
Grimms' Fairy TalesJacob and Wilhelm Grimm10h 13m4.2 (291K)$1.20 · $0.00
Mary JaneJessica Anya Blau9h 45m4.2 (166.6K)$29 · $0.00
Lost GodsBrom14h 50m4.4 (18.5K)$33 · $0.00
The AccusedJana DeLeon6h 32m4.4 (3.9K)$12 · $0.00
Corpus HermeticumHermes Trismegistus3h 43m4.4 (8.6K)$7 · $0.00
LambChristopher Moore15h 22m4.3 (211.3K)$33 · $0.00
CARMILLA (Gothic Classic) (Annotated)Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu4h 2m4.4 (1K)$1.99 · $0.00
The ExorcistWilliam Peter Blatty12h 52m4.3 (285.9K)$8 · $0.00
Lost ValleyWalt Browning7h 47m4.3 (5.4K)$20 · $0.00
Twice TemptedJeaniene Frost8h 17m4.3 (54.8K)$26 · $0.00
Scared to BreatheKerena Swan10h 56m4.4 (1.7K)$13.60 · $0.00
1984George Orwell12h 18m4.3 (6M)$25 · $0.00
The Best Tales of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe5h 19m4.4 (2.2K)$1 · $0.00
A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens3h 7m4.3 (1.1M)$5 · $0.00
Hollywood DeadRichard Kadrey9h 22m4.3 (5.5K)$29 · $0.00
Frankenstein (The Uncensored 1818 Edition) (Annotated)Mary Shelley9h 25m4.3 (1.7M)$3 · $0.00
The Collected Ghost StoriesM. R. James18h 30m4.3 (12.1K)$2 · $0.00
Jane Eyre (Annotated)Charlotte Brontë22h 44m4.2 (2.4M)$2 · $0.00
The Chance of a Lifetime (Musaicum Romance Classics)Grace Livingston Hill8h 27m4.3 (862)$1 · $0.00
Heat 2Michael Mann, Meg Gardiner18h 39m4.3 (20.9K)$40 · $0.00
The Silence of Bonaventure ArrowRita Leganski11h 23m4.3 (7.5K)$29 · $0.00
Zanoni (Annotated)Edward Bulwer-Lytton17h 9m4.4 (301)$2 · $0.00
You may also like
The Escapades of Tribulation JohnsonKaren Brooks19h 29m4.1 (538)$40 · $0.00
ShirleyCharlotte Brontë25h 37m3.9 (43.6K)$4 · $0.00
The HeiressMolly Greeley11h 44m3.8 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
Coningsby; Or, The New GenerationEarl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli19h 26m3.6 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
Mansfield ParkJane Austen14h 17m3.9 (445.8K)$1 · $0.00
A Most Intriguing LadySarah Ferguson12h 43m3.9 (4.1K)$33 · $0.00
Ann Veronica - A New Woman Novel (Complete Edition) (Annotated)H. G. Wells13h 7m3.7 (8.7K)$1.99 · $0.00
There and BackGeorge MacDonald18h 11m4.1 (634)$2.30 · $0.00
LoyaltyAvi9h 48m4.0 (891)$29 · $0.00
Parrot and Olivier in AmericaPeter Carey17h 36m3.5 (13.1K)$28 · $0.00
A Woman of CourageTania Blanchard13h 3m4.1 (870)$33 · $0.00
My Dear HamiltonStephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie23h 7m4.4 (63.6K)$46 · $0.00
Felix Holt, the RadicalGeorge Eliot19h 42m3.7 (7.7K)$2.30
Diana the HuntressM. C. Beaton6h 12m3.8 (1.6K)$17
The Unexpected DivaTiffany L. Warren15h 15m4.1 (857)$33 · $0.00
Music from Another WorldRobin Talley9h 56m4.2 (3.5K)$29 · $0.00
Ribbons of ScarletKate Quinn, Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, E. Knight, Sophie Perinot, Heather Webb16h 1m4.2 (5.7K)$33 · $0.00
Felix Holt, the RadicalGeorge Eliot15h 38m3.7 (6.3K)$1 · $0.00
You're the Duke That I WantLenora Bell9h 30m3.7 (1K)$29 · $0.00
The ProfessorCharlotte Brontë9h 24m3.7 (33.9K)$20