Princess Ben: Being a Wholly Truthful Account of Her Various Discoveries and Misadventures, Recounted to the Best of Her Recollection, in Four Parts [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Catherine Gilbert Murdock (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 20, 2008

“My gown suited me as well as I could ever hope, though I could not but envy the young ladies who would attract the honest compliments of the night. My bodice did not plunge as dramatically as some, and no man — no man I would ever want to meet, surely — could fit his hands round my waist. What I lacked in beauty I would simply have to earn with charm...” With her parents lost to assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia. Starved and miserable, locked in the castle’s highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire... But Ben’s private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat to her kingdom. Can Ben save the country and herself from foul tyranny?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Catherine Murdock is the author of Dairy Queen, its sequel The Off Season, and the forthcoming Front and Center. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband, two children, and several cats, and regrets to report that she has never flown a broom, though not for lack of effort. Princess Ben is her first fairy tale.

From AudioFile

What's even better than a young wizard surprised by his magical abilities? How about a PRINCESS surprised by hers? The orphaned Princess Benevolence of Montagne is a plump teen royal cruelly caught up in the designs of her aunt, Queen Sophia. The story starts slowly, but builds steadily with the help of a warm, precise reading by author-narrator Murdock. Ben begins as a sulky 15-year-old who uses the book of spells she discovers in a tower room to rescue herself from her aunt's strict diet. She soon learns that rescuing her kingdom is more important than filching dessert. Murdock pours engaging inflections and heartfelt emotion into her reading as she introduces armies, a dragon, and a handsome prince. M.C. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged Lib Ed; Library edition (November 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423373197
• ISBN-13: 978-1423373193
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,185,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GreenBeanTeenQueen Reviews, July 20, 2009

By 

GreenBeanTeenQueen (MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Princess Ben: Being a Wholly Truthful Account of Her Various Discoveries and Misadventures, Recounted to the Best of Her Recollection, in Four Parts (Audio CD)

I love fairy tale-ish stories and Princess Ben was the perfect combination of magic, fantasy, and romance. Ben is a fun and spunky character and it was easy to like her.

I listened to this one on audio and was a little nervous when I saw it was narrated by the author-I wasn't sure if the author could do a good job. I was wrong-Catherine Gilbert Murdock did an excellent job! She had voices for all the characters, different accents, and her narration kept me interested and engaged in the story. I was really impressed!

I also really liked the fact that this fairy tale went beyond the typical fairy tale. The author added things from other fairy tales to the story, so it was fun to discover those hidden throughout the story. My only complaint was that at times the story didn't seem to flow, but that could have been the audio format. Overall, this is a fun fairy tale and I hope Catherine Gilbert Murdock writes another fantasy soon!