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Title details for The Ravenscar Dynasty by Barbara Taylor Bradford - Available

The Ravenscar Dynasty

#1 in series

by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Ric Jerrom
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available

On a bitterly cold day in 1904, the Deravenel family's future changes for ever. When Cecily Deravenel tells her 18-year-old son Edward of the death of his father, brother, and cousins in a fire, a part of him dies as well. Edward is comforted by his cousin Neville Watkins, who is suspicious of the deaths. The two men vow to seek the truth, avenge the deaths and take control of the business empire usurped from Edward's great uncle sixty years before. And so begins an epic saga about an astonishing family, set in extraordinary times. Power and money, passion and adultery, ambition and treachery--all illuminate a dramatic saga set against the backdrop of the Edwardian Era and the Belle Epoque, just before the first World War.

  • Creators

  • Series

    House of Deravenel

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    January 1, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780792746911
      • File size: 506071 KB
      • Duration: 17:34:18

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Devotees of Barbara Taylor Bradford will be overjoyed with her new dynasty, the Deravenals. When patriarch Richard perishes in a suspicious hotel fire, it falls to 17-year-old Edward and his cousin to avenge the death and regain control of the family business from their Lancashire relatives. That side of the family is ruled by an insane old man and his treacherous French wife, Margot. Listeners are back in the BTB bosom as the author mixes this family feud with sexual liaisons and ruthless subplots. Narrator Ric Jerrom manages to use enough voices to identify who is speaking, where, and when. He is adroit in depicting the men and especially convincing as the women, particularly the wicked Margot. M.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 20, 2006
      The doyenne of popular women's fiction (Just Rewards
      ) returns with the first installment of a projected trilogy centering on internecine power struggles within the early 20th century incarnation of the centuries-old Deravenel clan and their London-based family business. A suspicious hotel fire causes the death of patriarch Richard Deravenel along with that of one of his sons, his brother-in-law and his young nephew, forcing tall, handsome, bright, seductive, 17-year old Edward Deravenel out of Oxford into the world of commerce. He and cousin Neville Watkins (a successful businessman in his own right) plot to avenge their fathers' and brothers' deaths and seize the company, currently under the stewardship of a delusional absentee executive whose ambitious (and French) wife is behind the skullduggery. Edward's longtime friend, Will Hasling, also joins the fray, and Neville has his own motivations. Along the way, there are libidinous liaisons, wicked plots, personal catastrophes, a secret "love child" and lessons aplenty about the consequences of ruthless ambition. Expect strong, two-dimensional characters; tasteful and adroit sex; repetitive exchanges; a plot rich with period detail and reasonably backed-up friction.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Ric Jerrom offers a rousing performance of bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford's recent romantic family saga, set in early-nineteenth-century England--the first of a projected trilogy. When Richard Deravenel, head of the family business, is killed in a suspicious fire, his 17-year-old son, Edward, joins with his cousin, Neville, to assume leadership and avenge his father's death. All kinds of complications ensue. Jerrom handles this fine abridgment beautifully. His elegant, warm voice shades character well. And his crisp, lively narration glosses over the author's use of long expository paragraphs to explain the plot. This is sure to delight Bradford's legions of fans. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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