The Diamond
About this audiobook
This dazzling historical novel tells the story of the famous Régent diamond that links together the fates of some of the most powerful figures of European history. The exiled Napoleon and his biographer, the Count Las Cases, narrate the saga of the diamond as it is brought to the decadent courts of eighteenth-century France and passed through the hands of a glittering cast of characters. The diamond bestows an incredible power for good or evil upon its transient masters, a power that inspires passion, obsession, and lethal greed. Napoleon both loves and hates the gem, which represents his greatest success yet carries a dark shadow of murder and downfall.
Ambitiously conceived, rich with historical detail and nonstop drama, The Diamond is a towering work of imagination all the more fascinating for being based in fact.
About the author
Julie Baumgold is the author of Creatures of Habit. She is a former contributing editor of New York magazine, Esquire, and Vogue. She has been an essayist (Best American Essays 1996), poet (Mademoiselle Poetry Prize), and the columnist “Mr. Peepers” for New York magazine and Esquire. She lives on Amelia Island in New York.
Simon Vance is the critically acclaimed narrator of approximately 400 audiobooks, winner of 27 AudioFile Earphones Awards, and a 12-time Audie Award-winner. He won an Audie in 2006 in the category of Science Fiction and was named the 2011 Best Voice in Biography and History and in 2010 Best Voice in Fiction by AudioFile magazine. Vance has been a narrator for the past 25 years, and also worked for many years as a BBC Radio presenter and newsreader in London. Some of his best-selling and most praised audiobook performances include Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies (an Audie award-winner), Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander series (all 21 titles), the new productions of Frank Herbert’s original Dune series, and Rob Gifford’s China Road (an AudioFile 2007 Book of the Year). Vance lives near San Francisco with his wife and two sons.
