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The Historian cover art

The Historian

Written by: Elizabeth Kostova
Narrated by: Justine Eyre, Paul Michael
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Publisher's Summary

Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor", and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of: a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.

The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known, and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself, to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive.

What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed, and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler's dark reign, and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.

©2005 Elizabeth Kostova. All Rights Reserved. (P)2005 Books on Tape

What the critics say

  • 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year, Adult Fiction

"A bloodthirsty delight....Both literary and scary, this one is guaranteed to keep one reading into the wee hours." (Booklist)
"Along with all the fascinating historical information, there's also a mounting casualty count, and the big showdown amps up the drama by pulling at the heartstrings at the same time it revels in the gruesome. Exotic locales, tantalizing history, a family legacy and a love of the bloodthirsty: it's hard to imagine that readers won't be bitten, too." (Publishers Weekly)
"The Historian is artfully constructed and atmospheric." (Washington Post Book World)

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What listeners say about The Historian

Average Customer Ratings
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not as amazing as advertised

In reading the reviews, I was expecting more. I laboured through the beginning chapters telling myself it would get my attention at some point. But it took a good long while. And then there were long letter or document passages that left me bored and wanting some kind of movement or action. By the time it happened…the book was over!
The performances are great! Well done and engaging. Story was just ok…

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  • PK
  • 2023-03-18

A richly detailed story

My hopes were not high, but I was curious. I half expected a boring derivative neo-gothic horror, with too much romanticising of vampires. This is NOT that.
This is a story which takes a certain inspiration, and even some of the narrative structure, from Stoker's seminal novel, but the similarities end there. I'm certain that Stoker would have loved to write something so richly detailed, with so many apparently disparate threads traced through history and masterfully disentangled to reveal a touching and beautiful, sometimes tragic tale.
In a way, I wish it had been more than one book, so that more attention could have been lavished on the beautiful settings and the stories contained within them.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this, and I really hope to have the chance to watch this story one day as a feature film or three, perhaps a mini - series (HBO - Starz, are you listening?)
As to the performance, it was good. Very, very good. It sounds as though the performers went to great lengths to develop the sound of each character they voiced, and to pronounce the difficult names and words of Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.
Love this.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazingly visual!

I had read the book and now listening to the characters I've come away with a more complete understanding. It is a hauntingly beautiful story.

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  • TC
  • 2022-11-05

Fabulous historical novel

This reads like a believable historical novel, despite the fantastical Dracula aspects at its heart. I don’t like fantasy as a rule but I do love history and every second of this felt like a historian’s perfectly constructed work. Beautifully crafted and read by two amazingly talented narrators - I loved their voices and their range of accents was impressive and entrancing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

WOW, JUST....WOW

Justine Eyre and Paul Michael presented Elizabeth Kostova's book THE HISTORIAN
perfectly. Their calm narration of a family of
academic historians trying to solve a mystry both ancient and yet recent concerning family. Their quest just pulls the reader along, a faint trail of clues leads one all over
Europe to ancient monasteries or reverd bastions of learning, such as Oxford.
You can just smell the musty leather bound books. Feel the hard oak study carrols darkened with age. Like a maze this quest,
with many a dead end. A quest seeking answers and the remedy for a broken heart.
This is a very well told new take of a familar
scary piece of Europe's history....Oh make sure you a flashlight handy incase the lights go out..

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I wanted to believe it was not fiction.

This novel engaged me from the very first words. It's one of those books where one wishes it were true, rather than a masterful blend of history and fiction. And masterful truly sums it up for me. As I read elsewhere online, this book is DaVinci Code meets Bram Stoker. I highly recommend it to Vampire fans who also love history.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

long but a good read and listen

it's very long but it's really one of those long " romantic' stories which by it's length submerses you. Some might see that as a lackluster plot or an unsatisfying ending but it never broke tone and remained true to it's own elemental feel and richness of writing.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

interesting research but...

the lack of continuity in the story itself makes it a very amateurish read

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good book to keep you company during a commute

I enjoyed this! The story of Dracula is an interesting one. There were some slow bits but overall it was pretty good!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This will sit with me for a long time

Wonderfully intelligent, feels like real scholarship. Accents are intoxicating. I wish I could meet all the characters. Helen is my favourite.

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