The Tontine (1955) - Thomas B. Costain torrent

Category: Adults, Classic, Historical Fiction
Language: EnglishKeywords: 19th Century Great Britain Social Life And Customs
Written by Thomas B. Costain
Read by David Case
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 32 Kbps
Unabridged
Length: 41 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 08-24-10, original on tape 1993
Publisher: Random House Audio
Tontine is a form of gambling - part lottery, part insurance. A lottery is set up for people who want to enter their children. When the children become older, the money (which has been invested for decades) begins to pay out, paying more each year, as there are fewer surviving members of the Tontine. Love, revenge and wonderful greed ensue!
Winner/survivor take all. Tontines were made illegal because of the gambling laws.
This fictional Waterloo Tontine, set up after the Battle of Waterloo, caught the public fancy and attracted millions in investment. The book follows the lives of 4 children, 3 of whom become the last 3 survivors. That sweep of 70 years or so covers Napoleon II’s empire, the industrial revolution, the introduction of railways, suffragettes - the decades that changed Britain forever from a virtual farm economy to an industrial empire. It’s a vast book, and a living historical tapestry of England and her empire.
The drama touches royalty and millionaires, actresses and sailors, planters and portrait painters. It ranges from London to the Caribbean, driven by a world in high gear, a world powered by greed.
But time flies by. Three survivors wait each other out. Then two, and at last, only one . . .a winner with everything but a future.
A note—I was surprised at the number of people writing in Goodread who read his book when they were teenagers in the 1950’s and loved it. How many teens in 2019 would opt to read a book with over 800 pages, or 41 hrs of audio?
This is the only audio recording ever made of this book I used an Audible download (not mine) but the original book was from 28 tapes (56 sides) so there are length pauses throughout the book. The Tontine has 6 books, each book has chapters, each chapter has parts. I did books and chapters.
Length: 41 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 08-24-10, original on tape 1993
Publisher: Random House Audio

Tontine is a form of gambling - part lottery, part insurance. A lottery is set up for people who want to enter their children. When the children become older, the money (which has been invested for decades) begins to pay out, paying more each year, as there are fewer surviving members of the Tontine. Love, revenge and wonderful greed ensue!

Winner/survivor take all. Tontines were made illegal because of the gambling laws.

This fictional Waterloo Tontine, set up after the Battle of Waterloo, caught the public fancy and attracted millions in investment. The book follows the lives of 4 children, 3 of whom become the last 3 survivors. That sweep of 70 years or so covers Napoleon II’s empire, the industrial revolution, the introduction of railways, suffragettes - the decades that changed Britain forever from a virtual farm economy to an industrial empire. It’s a vast book, and a living historical tapestry of England and her empire.

The drama touches royalty and millionaires, actresses and sailors, planters and portrait painters. It ranges from London to the Caribbean, driven by a world in high gear, a world powered by greed.

But time flies by. Three survivors wait each other out. Then two, and at last, only one . . .a winner with everything but a future.

A note—I was surprised at the number of people writing in Goodread who read his book when they were teenagers in the 1950’s and loved it. How many teens in 2019 would opt to read a book with over 800 pages, or 41 hrs of audio?

This is the only audio recording ever made of this book I used an Audible download (not mine) but the original book was from 28 tapes (56 sides) so there are length pauses throughout the book. The Tontine has 6 books, each book has chapters, each chapter has parts. I did books and chapters.