Audiobooks by Lynn Cullen

From Lynn Cullen, the bestselling author of Mrs. Poe and Twain's End, comes a powerful novel set in the Midwest during the Great Depression, about two sisters bound together by love, duty, and pain. Ruth has been single-handedly raising four young daughters and running her family's Indiana farm for eight long years, ever since her husband, John, fell into a comatose state, infected by the infamous "sleeping sickness" devastating families across the country. If only she could trade places with her older sister, June, who is the envy of everyone she meets: blonde and beautiful, married to a wealthy doctor, living in a mansion in St. Paul. And June has a coveted job, too, as one of "the Bettys," the perky recipe developers who populate General Mills' famous Betty Crocker test kitchens. But these gilded trappings hide sorrows: she has borne no children. And the man she used to love more than anything belongs to Ruth. When the two sisters reluctantly reunite after a long estrangement, June's bitterness about her sister's betrayal sets into motion a confrontation that's been years in the making. And their mother, Dorothy, who's brought the two of them together, has her own dark secrets, which might blow up the fragile peace she hopes to restore between her daughters. An emotional journey of redemption, inner strength, and the ties that bind families together, for better or worse, The Sisters of Summit Avenue is a heartfelt love letter to mothers, daughters, and sisters everywhere.

Lynn Cullen (Author), Madeleine Maby (Narrator)

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Twain's End

From the bestselling and highly acclaimed author of the "page-turning tale" (Library Journal, starred review) Mrs. Poe comes a fictionalized imagining of the personal life of America's most iconic writer: Mark Twain.In March of 1909, Mark Twain cheerfully blessed the wedding of his private secretary, Isabel V. Lyon, and his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft. One month later, he fired both. He proceeded to write a ferocious 429-page rant about the pair, calling Isabel "a liar, a forger, a thief, a hypocrite, a drunkard, a sneak, a humbug, a traitor, a conspirator, a filthy-minded and salacious slut pining for seduction." Twain and his daughter, Clara Clemens, then slandered Isabel in the newspapers, erasing her nearly seven years of devoted service to their family. How did Lyon go from being the beloved secretary who ran Twain's life to a woman he was determined to destroy? In Twain's End, Lynn Cullen reimagines the tangled relationships between Twain, Lyon, and Ashcroft, as well as the little-known love triangle between Helen Keller, her teacher Anne Sullivan Macy, and Anne's husband, John Macy, which comes to light during their visit to Twain's Connecticut home in 1909. Add to the party a furious Clara Clemens, smarting from her own failed love affair, and carefully kept veneers shatter. Based on Isabel Lyon's extant diary, Twain's writings and letters, and events in Twain's boyhood that may have altered his ability to love, Twain's End explores this real-life tale of doomed love.

Lynn Cullen (Author), Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)

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Mrs. Poe

Frances Osgood is desperately trying to make a living as a writer in New York in 1845, which is not an easy task for a woman—especially a woman with two children and a philandering portrait painter as her husband who has abandoned her. As Frances tries to sell her poems and stories, her editor repeatedly tells her that he's only interested in writing similar to that of the mysterious, new literary sensation Edgar Allan Poe, whose poem, “The Raven,” has hit a public nerve. Soon after, Frances meets the handsome and mysterious Poe at a literary party. She is immediately drawn to him, but he is merely dismissive when she tells him that she has published collections of poetry. A few days later, however, Frances hears that Poe gave a lecture praising her collection of poems. She’s shocked at the news since he is known for only criticizing the work of his fellow poets. Poe asks to discuss poetry with Frances but instead ends up confiding in her about his dissatisfaction with his own work. He asks Frances to meet with his wife since she is an admirer of her poems. Frances is curious to meet Mrs. Poe, as she is Edgar’s cousin whom he married ten years prior, when she was very young. Frances is alarmed by her encounter with Mrs. Poe, who acts like an innocent child but seems malicious and slightly mentally impaired. When Frances is approached to write an article about Mr. and Mrs. Poe, she initially refuses, until she hears that Edgar has agreed to it on the condition that it is written by her. Frances is desperate for money, so she agrees. But as she begins to spend time with Edgar alone, Frances recognizes the danger of her task, because she is so deeply attracted to him. She commences spending more and more time with the Poes as a couple. As Frances does so, she comes to see that though Mrs. Poe pretends to be the innocent captured by an older man, it’s actually she who manipulates and controls Edgar through his pity for her sickness and his guilt at having married her when she was just thirteen. Although they initially try to ignore their feelings, Edgar and Frances become increasingly obsessed with each other and begin to carry on a passionate affair, endangering Frances' reputation in society circles. Edgar feels that Frances is everything that Mrs. Poe is not. Frances spends more and more time with the Poes, but Virginia seems to be unaware of the affair. Even when she catches the lovers together, she ignores what she has seen. In spite of Mrs. Poe's pretense of innocence, however, Frances realizes that Virginia is subtly thwarting their relationship--and Frances's well-being. Frances' social standing is further endangered when she obtains an unwanted suitor in writer Rufus Griswold, whose jealousy of Frances and Edgar's alleged affair threatens to ruin them both. When the stakes escalate, Frances must decide whether she can walk away before it's too late.

Lynn Cullen (Author), Eliza Foss (Narrator)

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Reign of Madness

Juana of Castile, third child of the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Fernando, grows up with no hope of inheriting her parents' crowns, but as a princess knows her duty: to further her family's ambitions through marriage. Yet stories of courtly love, and of her parents' own legendary romance, surround her. When she weds the Duke of Burgundy, a young man so beautiful that he is known as Philippe the Handsome, she dares to hope that she might have both love and crowns. He is caring, charming, and attracted to her-seemingly a perfect husband. But what begins like a fairy tale ends quite differently. When Queen Isabel dies, the crowns of Spain unexpectedly pass down to Juana, leaving her husband and her father hungering for the throne. Rumors fly that the young Queen has gone mad, driven insane by ossessiveness. Who is to be believed? The King, beloved by his subjects? Or the Queen, unseen and unknown by her people? One of the greatest cautionary tales in Spanish history comes to life as Lynn Cullen explores the controversial reign of Juana of Castile-also known as Juana the Mad. Sweeping, page-turning, and wholly entertaining, Reign of Madness is historical fiction at its richly satisfying best.

Lynn Cullen (Author), Susan Lyons (Narrator)

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The Creation of Eve

From acclaimed historical novelist Lynn Cullen comes a lush and compelling tale of intrigue and longing, set in the 16th-century Spanish court. After a scandal ends her apprenticeship with Michelangelo in 1559, artist Sofonisba Anguissola accepts an invitation from King Felipe II to become lady-in-waiting and painting teacher to his teenage bride Elisabeth. And though Sofi's developing affair may be risky, Elisabeth's dalliance with the king's brother Don Juan could be deadly.

Lynn Cullen (Author), Virginia Leisham (Narrator)

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