Audiobooks by Deborah Cadbury

Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages that Shaped Europe

A captivating exploration of the role in which Queen Victoria exerted the most international power and influence: as a matchmaking grandmother. As her reign approached its sixth decade, Queen Victoria's grandchildren numbered over thirty, and to maintain and increase British royal power, she was determined to maneuver them into a series of dynastic marriages with the royal houses of Europe. Yet for all their apparent obedience, her grandchildren often had plans of their own, fueled by strong wills and romantic hearts. Victoria's matchmaking plans were further complicated by the tumultuous international upheavals of the time: revolution and war were in the air, and kings and queens, princes and princesses were vulnerable targets. Queen Victoria's Matchmaking travels through the glittering, decadent palaces of Europe from London to Saint Petersburg, weaving in scandals, political machinations and family tensions to enthralling effect. It is at once an intimate portrait of a royal family and an examination of the conflict caused by the marriages the Queen arranged. At the heart of it all is Victoria herself: doting grandmother one moment, determined Queen Empress the next.

Deborah Cadbury (Author), Charlotte Strevens (Narrator)

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Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages That Shaped Europe

Queen Victoria had over thirty surviving grandchildren, and to maintain and increase power in Europe, she hoped to manoeuvre them into dynastic marriages. Yet they often had plans of their own, and her matchmaking was further complicated by tumultuous international upheavals. Queen Victoria's Matchmaking travels through the glittering, decadent palaces of Russia and Europe, weaving in scandals, political machinations and family tensions. It is both an intimate portrait of the royal family and an examination of the conflict caused by the power, love and duty that shaped these arranged marriages. At its heart is Queen Victoria herself: doting grandmother one moment, determined manipulator the next.

Deborah Cadbury (Author), Charlotte Strevens (Narrator)

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Princes at War: The Bitter Battle Inside Britain's Royal Family in the Darkest Days of WWII

The personal lives of the British Royals were successfully kept out of the public eye by mutual agreement of the press and royal family, but this all changed in 1936 when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne and spurned his responsibility for the sake of the glamorous American socialite and divorcee, Wallis Simpson. In Princes at War, Deborah Cadbury reveals evidence that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor colluded with Hitler to take back the British throne from Edward's younger brother, King George VI, should Germany prevail in the War. Drawing on new research and recently released files, Deborah Cadbury shows that not only did George VI have to battle to lead his country but battle constantly to keep his brothers, and especially his older brother, in check.

Deborah Cadbury (Author), Veida Dehmlow (Narrator)

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Chocolate Wars

READ BY FINTY WILLIAMS. The delicious true story of the early chocolate pioneers by the award-winning writer, and direct descendant of the famous chocolate dynasty, Deborah CadburyIn 'Chocolate Wars' bestselling historian and award-winning documentary maker Deborah Cadbury takes a journey into her own family history to uncover the rivalries that have driven 250 years of chocolate empire-building.Beginning with an account of John Cadbury, who founded the first Cadbury's coffee and chocolate shop in Birmingham in 1824, 'Chocolate Wars' goes on to chart the astonishing transformation of the company's fortunes under his grandson George. But while the Cadbury dynasty is the fulcrum of the narrative, this is also the story of their Quaker rivals, the Frys and Rowntrees, and their European competitors, the Nestles, Suchards and Lindts. These rivalries drove the formation of the huge chocolate conglomorates that still straddle the corporate world today, and have first call on our collective sweet tooth.This is narrative history at its most absorbing, peopled by wonderfully colourful characters - the true story of the chocolate pioneers, the visions and ideals that inspired them and the mouth-watering concoctions they created.

Deborah Cadbury (Author), Finty Williams (Narrator)

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The Dinosaur Hunters

The story of two nineteenth-century scientists who revealed one of the most significant events in the natural history of this planet: the existence of dinosaurs.In 'The Dinosaur Hunters' Deborah Cadbury brilliantly recreates the remarkable story of the bitter rivalry between two men: Gideon Mantell uncovered giant bones in a Sussex quarry, became obsessed with the lost world of the reptiles and was driven to despair. Richard Owen, a brilliant anatomist, gave the extinct creatures their name and secured for himself unrivalled international acclaim.

Deborah Cadbury (Author), Andrew Sachs (Narrator)

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The Lost King Of France: Revolution, Revenge and the Search for Louis XVII

'This is history as it should be. It is stunningly written, I could not put it down. This is the best account of the French Revolution I have ever read.' Alison Weir, author of 'Henry VIII, King and Court' The fascinating, moving story of the brief life and many possible deaths of Louis XVII, son of Marie-Antoinette. Louis-Charles Bourbon enjoyed a charmed early childhood in the gilded palace of Versailles. At the age of four, he became the Dauphin, heir to the most powerful throne in Europe. Yet within five years, he was to lose everything. Drawn into the horror of the French Revolution, his family was incarcerated. Two years later, following the brutal execution of both his parents, the Revolutionary leaders declared Louis XVII was dead. No grave was dug, no monument built to mark his passing. Immediately, rumours spread that the Prince had, in fact, escaped from prison and was still alive. Others believed that he had been murdered, his heart cut out and preserved as a relic. In time, his older sister, Marie-Therese, who survived the Revolution, was approached by countless 'brothers' who claimed not only his name, but also his inheritance. Several 'Princes' were plausible, but which, if any, was the real Louis-Charles? Deborah Cadbury's 'The Lost King of France' is a moving and dramatic story which conclusively reveals the identity of the young prince who was lost in the tower.

Deborah Cadbury (Author), Hannah Gordon (Narrator)

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