Listen free for 30 days

  • The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor

  • Elizabeth I, Thomas Seymour, and the Making of a Virgin Queen
  • Written by: Elizabeth Norton
  • Narrated by: Sarah Nichols
  • Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (26 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor cover art

The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor

Written by: Elizabeth Norton
Narrated by: Sarah Nichols
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $31.27

Buy Now for $31.27

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

A power-hungry courtier and an impressionable young princess: The Tudor court had never been more perilous for the young Elizabeth, where rumors had the power to determine her fate.

England, late 1547. King Henry VIII is dead. His 14-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, is living with the king's widow, Catherine Parr, and her new husband, Thomas Seymour. Seymour is the brother of Henry VIII's third wife, the late Jane Seymour, who was the mother to the now-ailing boy king.

Ambitious and dangerous, Seymour begins an overt flirtation with Elizabeth that ends with Catherine sending her away. When Catherine dies a year later and Seymour is arrested for treason soon after, a scandal explodes. Alone and in dreadful danger, Elizabeth is threatened by supporters of her half-sister, Mary, who wishes to see England return to Catholicism. She is also closely questioned by the king's regency council due to her place in the line of succession. Was she still a virgin? Was there a child? Had she promised to marry Seymour?

Under pressure, Elizabeth shows the shrewdness and spirit she would later be famous for. She survives the scandal. Thomas Seymour is not so lucky. The "Seymour Scandal" led to the creation of the persona of the Virgin Queen. On hearing of Seymour's beheading, Elizabeth observed, "This day died a man of much wit, and very little judgment." She would never allow her heart to rule her head again.

©2016 Elizabeth Norton (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Temptation of Elizabeth Tudor

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Dull book that can be summed up in 5 words

Thomas Seymour was an idiot.

There you go, 5 words that negate needing to listen to this dull, droning book.

I've read and listened to a lot on the Tudors and can say without exaggeration that this is the dullest of the lot. You don't expect anything too exciting in a historical text but this is ridiculous. All it does is list facts and judge Thomas Seymour for his undeniably poor behaviour. Add that to the flat narration and this is a book to skip.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I couldn’t get through it

This historical account is like sitting in a history class while a professor drones on and on and on with nothing at all to engage the listener. The reader has little expression. The account is challenging to follow and simply boring. I tried 2X to finish this book and just can’t get through it. Worst thing I’ve had from audible in over a year of subscription

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved it!! great story. just awesome to hear.

i will without a doubt listen to this again. i don't know if it's truly authentic, still nonetheless a great story. so sad Edward passed at 15. i loved how it ended though, talking about Thomas Seymour, and then finally with the title of the book. Truly, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Hard to keep your attention

I couldn’t even get through the first chapter.
The narrator is so monotone that I found I hadn’t even been listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

GLAD IT WAS FREE

The title belies what lay between the pages of this book. VERY VERY little in this book about Elizabeth Tudor. LOTS AND LOTS about Thomas Boleyn and everybody associated with him so if that’s what you’re interested in… go for it. I found it incredibly long, boring and just not at all what I was looking for. Had I purchased it, definitely would’ve returned early. I didn’t even finish the book because I just couldn’t. Just called what it is so people know what they’re getting into. My time is precious and I’m very very sorry I wasted so many hours on this book despite the fact that it is full of a historical point in time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!