Audiobooks by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Titans of History: The Giants Who Made Our World

In this inspiring, horrifying, and accessible collection of short, entertaining, and vivid life stories, Simon Sebag Montefiore-one of our pre-eminent historians and a prizewinning writer-presents the giant characters who have changed the course of world history. These titans of history-encompassing queens, empresses, and actresses, kings, sultans, and conquerors, as well as prophets, artists, courtesans, psychopaths, and explorers-lived lives of astonishing drama, courage and adventure, debauchery and slaughter, virtue and crime. The subjects range widely throughout time and geography from Buddha and Genghis Khan to Nero and Churchill; from Catherine the Great and Anne Frank to Toussaint l'Ouverture and Martin Luther King; from Mozart to Mao; from Jesus Christ and Shakespeare to Einstein and Elvis. Through these lives, Montefiore recounts the most momentous world events-from ancient times to the Crusades, the Holocaust, and the Gulf Wars. These are the historical figures that everyone should know and the stories we should never forget.

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Steve West (Narrator)

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Die Königlichen Kaninchen - Flucht aus dem Turm

Ein neues Abenteuer der Königlichen Kaninchen von London. Shylo und die Königlichen Kaninchen von London sind zurück und sie hüpfen direkt ins nächste Abenteuer! Die gemeinen Ratzis wollen den Staatsbesuch des Präsidenten der USA vereiteln, indem sie ihn live im Fernsehen lächerlich machen. Die Königlichen Kaninchen brauchen also wieder ganz viel Einfallsreichtum, um die Ratzis von ihrem Plan abzuhalten. Und Shylo muss beweisen, dass er zurecht in den Geheimbund aufgenommen wurde.

Santa Montefiore, Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Peter Lohmeyer (Narrator)

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Red Sky at Noon

The stunning new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanovs and Jerusalem, set during an epic cavalry ride across the hot grasslands outside Stalingrad during the darkest times of World War II "The black earth was already baking and the sun was just rising when they mounted their horses and rode across the grasslands towards the horizon on fire ..."Imprisoned in the Gulags for a crime he did not commit, Benya Golden joins a penal battalion made up of Cossacks and convicts to fight the Nazis. He enrolls in the Russian cavalry, and on a hot summer day in July 1942, he and his band of brothers are sent on a suicide mission behind enemy lines?but is there a traitor among them? The only thing Benya can truly trust is his horse, Silver Socks, and that he will find no mercy in the onslaught of Hitler's troops as they push east. Spanning ten epic days, between Benya's war on the grasslands of southern Russia and Stalin's intrigues in the Kremlin, between Benya's intense affair with an Italian nurse and a romance between Stalin's daughter and a war correspondent, this is a sweeping story of passion, bravery, and survival?where betrayal is a constant companion, death just a heartbeat away, and love, however fleeting, offers a glimmer of redemption. A London Times Pick of the month. "Montefiore is a natural storyteller who brings his encyclopedic knowledge of Russian history to life in language that glitters."-Washington Post

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Simon Bubb (Narrator)

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Sashenka

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Sashenka by Simon Sebag Montefiore, read by Tuppence Middleton. Winter, 1916: In St Petersburg, Russia on the brink of revolution. Outside the Smolny Institute for Noble Young Ladies, an English governess is waiting for her young charge to be released from school. But so are the Tsar's secret police... Beautiful and headstrong, Sashenka Zeitlin is just sixteen. As her mother parties with Rasputin and her dissolute friends, Sashenka slips into the frozen night to play her part in a dangerous game of conspiracy and seduction. Twenty years on, Sashenka has a powerful husband with whom she has two children. Around her people are disappearing, but her own family is safe. But she's about to embark on a forbidden love affair which will have devastating consequences. Sashenka's story lies hidden for half a century, until a young historian goes deep into Stalin's private archives and uncovers a heart-breaking tale of passion and betrayal, savage cruelty and unexpected heroism - and one woman forced to make an unbearable choice.

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Tuppence Middleton (Narrator)

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Die königlichen Kaninchen von London

Das ängstliche Kaninchen Shylo rettet die Queen. Eigentlich ist Shylo das kleinste und ängstlichste Kaninchen weit und breit. Doch dann gerät ausgerechnet er in ein riesengroßes Abenteuer! Eine Bande von Ratten will die Königin von England im Nachthemd fotografieren und sie so vor der ganzen Welt lächerlich machen. Um den gemeinen Plan der Ratten zu verhindern, muss Shylo all seinen Mut zusammennehmen. Und er braucht die Hilfe der königlichen Kaninchen von London.

Santa Montefiore, Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Peter Lohmeyer (Narrator)

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Red Sky at Noon

Random House presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Red Sky at Noon by Simon Sebag Montefiore, read by Simon Bubb. 'The black earth was already baking and the sun was just rising when they mounted their horses and rode across the grasslands towards the horizon on fire ...' Imprisoned in the Gulags for a crime he did not commit, Benya Golden joins a penal battalion made up of Cossacks and convicts to fight the Nazis. He joins the Russian cavalry, and on a hot summer day in July 1942, he and his band of brothers are sent on a desperate mission behind enemy lines. Switching between Benya's war in the grasslands of Southern Russia, and Stalin's plans in the Kremlin, between Benya's intense affair with an Italian nurse and a romance between Stalin's daughter and a journalist also on the Eastern Front, this is a sweeping story of passion, bravery and human survival where personal betrayal is a constant companion, and death just a hearbeat away. 'A master storyteller - his fiction is compelling' GQ 'A natural storyteller who brings his encycolopedic knowledge of Russian history to life in language that glittlers like the ice of St Petersburg.' Washington Post

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Simon Bubb (Narrator)

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The Royal Rabbits of London

Life is an adventure. Anything in the world is possible - by will and by luck, with a moist carrot, a wet nose and a slice of mad courage! Shylo has always been the runt of the litter, the weakest and quietest of all of his family, his siblings spend their days making fun of him for not being like the rest of them. But when Shylo stumbles across a band of ratzis and overhears their evil plan to take a photo of the Queen in her nightie, it's up to this unlikely hero to travel to London and inform the Royal Rabbits of London about the diabolical plot! The Royal Rabbits of London have a proud history of protecting the royal family and now the secret society need to leap into action to stop the ratzis... But can a rabbit as feeble and shy as Shylo convince them that Queen is in danger? The Hobbit meets Fantastic Mr Fox meets Watership Down in this charming novel from bestselling authors Santa and Sebag Montefiore, which proves even the smallest rabbit can be the biggest hero.

Santa Montefiore, Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Mike Grady (Narrator)

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The Royal Rabbits of London

Shylo has always been the weakest and quietest of all of his family; his siblings spend their days making fun of him for not being like the rest of them. But when Shylo stumbles across a band of ratzis and overhears their evil plan to take a photo of the Queen in her nightie, it's up to this unlikely hero to inform the Royal Rabbits of London about the diabolical plot! But can a rabbit as timid as Shylo convince them that Queen is in danger?

Santa Montefiore, Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Mike Grady (Narrator)

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The Romanovs

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface for three centuries. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, with a global cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy and Pushkin, to Bismarck, Lincoln, Queen Victoria and Lenin. To rule Russia was both imperial-sacred mission and poisoned chalice: six of the last twelve tsars were murdered. Peter the Great tortured his own son to death while making Russia an empire, and dominated his court with a dining club notable for compulsory drunkenness, naked dwarfs and fancy dress. Catherine the Great overthrew her own husband (who was murdered soon afterward), enjoyed affairs with a series of young male favorites, conquered Ukraine and fascinated Europe. Paul I was strangled by courtiers backed by his own son, Alexander I, who in turn faced Napoleon's invasion and the burning of Moscow, then went on to take Paris. Alexander II liberated the serfs, survived five assassination attempts and wrote perhaps the most explicit love letters ever composed by a ruler. The Romanovs climaxes with a fresh, unforgettable portrayal of Nicholas II and Alexandra, the rise and murder of Rasputin, war and revolution-and the harrowing massacre of the entire family.

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Simon Russell Beale (Narrator)

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One Night in Winter: A Novel

The acclaimed novelist and prizewinning historian Simon Sebag Montefiore explores the consequences of forbidden love in this heartbreaking epic, inspired by a true story that unfolds in Stalin's Russia during the bleak days after World War II. A jubilant Moscow is celebrating the Soviet Union's victory over Hitler when gunshots ring out though the city's crowded streets. In the shadow of the Kremlin, a teenage boy and girl are found dead. But this is no ordinary tragedy, because these are no ordinary teenagers. As the children of high-ranking Soviet officials, they inhabit a rarefied world that revolves around the exclusive Josef Stalin Commune School 801. The school, which Stalin's own children attended, is an enclave of privilege, but, as the deaths reveal, one that hides a wealth of secrets. Were these deaths an accident, a suicide pact . . . or murder? Certain that a deeper conspiracy is afoot, Stalin launches a ruthless investigation. In what comes to be known as the Children's Case, youths from all over Moscow are arrested by state security services and brought to the infamous interrogation rooms of the Lubyanka, where they are forced to testify against their friends and their families. Among the casualties of these betrayals are two pairs of illicit lovers, who find themselves trapped at the center of Stalin's witch hunt. As the Children's Case follows its increasingly terrifying course, these couples discover that the decision to follow one's heart comes at a terrible price. A haunting evocation of a time and place in which the state colluded to corrupt and destroy every dream, One Night in Winter is infused with the desperate intrigue of a political thriller. The eminent historian Simon Sebag Montefiore weaves fact and fiction into a richly compelling saga of sacrifice and survival, populated by real figures from the past. But within the darkness shines a deeply human love story, one that transcends its moment as it masterfully explores our capacity for loyalty and forgiveness.

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Simon Prebble (Narrator)

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One Night in Winter

If your children were forced to testify against you, what terrible secrets would they reveal? Moscow 1945. As Stalin and his courtiers celebrate victory over Hitler, shots ring out. On a nearby bridge, a teenage boy and girl lie dead. But this is no ordinary tragedy and these are no ordinary teenagers, but the children of Russia's most important leaders who attend the most exclusive school in Moscow. Is it murder? A suicide pact? Or a conspiracy against the state? Directed by Stalin himself, an investigation begins as children are arrested and forced to testify against their friends - and their parents. This terrifying witch-hunt soon unveils illicit love affairs and family secrets in a hidden world where the smallest mistakes will be punished with death.

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), Simon Slater (Narrator)

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Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today's clash of civilizations. From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is the epic history of three thousand years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and coexistence. How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the center of the world and now the key to peace in the Middle East? In a gripping narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city in its many incarnations, bringing every epoch and character blazingly to life. Jerusalem's biography is told through the wars, love affairs and revelations of the men and women kings, empresses, prophets, poets, saints, conquerors and whores who created, destroyed, chronicled and believed in Jerusalem. As well as the many ordinary Jerusalemites who have left their mark on the city, its cast varies from Solomon, Saladin and Suleiman the Magnificent to Cleopatra, Caligula and Churchill; from Abraham to Jesus and Muhammad; from the ancient world of Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod and Nero to the modern times of the Kaiser, Disraeli, Mark Twain, Lincoln, Rasputin, Lawrence of Arabia and Moshe Dayan. Drawing on new archives, current scholarship, his own family papers and a lifetime's study, Montefiore illuminates the essence of sanctity and mysticism, identity and empire in a unique chronicle of the city that many believe will be the setting for the Apocalypse. This is how Jerusalem became Jerusalem, and the only city that exists twice in heaven and on earth.From the Hardcover edition.

Simon Sebag Montefiore (Author), John Lee (Narrator)

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