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Blindspot: By a Gentleman in Exile and a Lady in Disguise Audiobook
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(3.04) - 590 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Set in boisterous Boston on the eve of the American Revolution, Blindspot is at once fiction and history, mystery and love story, tragedy and farce. Peopled not only with the celebrated Sons of Liberty but also with revolutionary Boston’s unsung inhabitants, it tells the story of Scottish painter Stewart Jameson and his spirited apprentice, Fanny Easton, a fallen woman who has disguised herself as a boy, Francis Weston.
When Boston’s revolutionary leader, Samuel Bradstreet, dies suddenly on the day Jameson was to paint his portrait, Bradstreet’s slaves are accused of murder. Jameson, Weston, and the brilliant doctor Ignatius Alexander set out to determine the truth. What they discover turns topsy-turvy everything you thought you knew about the Founding Fathers.
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"A truly one-of-a-kind historical fiction piece set in Boston not long before the Revolution; this is a book to be savoured for its play with and use of the English language - it may not be 100% genuine 18th century prose, but reads so near to it as to make no difference. The story itself is enthralling and well-told. Read it. Really."
— Colin (5 out of 5 stars)
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“An erudite and entertaining recreation of colonial America on the brink of theRevolution.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“A lusty romance, a murder mystery, and a bit of Americana, all rolled into one big, fat historical romp. Lepore and Kamensky have recreated a fascinating world and brought history hotly alive.”
— San Francisco Chronicle -
“Thrilling, salty, swashbuckling...this inspired page-turner will have readers pondering who will play the leads in the movie.”
— Star-Ledger -
“John Lee and Cassandra Campbell are delightful in this witty historical novel, chock full of well-researched and amusing tidbits of life in eighteenth-century Boston…Lee has Jamie’s raffish attitude and moral dilemma down pat, and Campbell nicely captures Fanny’s predicament as she struggles to remember that she’s a boy. Authors Kamensky and Lepore, both historians, offer clever conversations and situations involving politics, growing unrest in the Colonies, slavery, women’s rights, romance, and even murder. Lee and Campbell keep things light and entertaining.”
— AudioFile -
“If you ever thought of the eighteenth century as stuffy, you were wrong. Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore have brought the era to life with their first collaborative novel, Blindspot. Through their engaging tale, we’re treated to a brand-new vision of life and literature in the years leading up to the American Revolution…The book is a combination picaresque and early American novel that’s original but historically credible, complete with real news postings and letters, and even characters that are tracings of historical figures. The result is so authentic the book seems to breathe. Blindspot is full of beautiful narrative and wonderfully quotable lines…But make no mistake: it also has plenty of, er, action.”
— Bookpage
Awards
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Selected for the December 2008 Indie Next List
Blindspot Listener Reviews
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" I enjoyed this historical fiction about pre-Revolutionary War America. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, and I enjoyed the unraveling of the mystery. I only wish there hadn't been such a preponderance of unnecessary sex. For that reason, I'm not sure I can recommend it. "
— Michelle, 2/13/2014 -
" seems to be an enjoyable historical novel set in colonial Boston with colonists caught up in becoming free while ignoring enslaved among them "
— Rose, 2/4/2014 -
" I started reading this when I was in Boston, and even though it's set in Boston, I never cared about the characters. I gave it about 50 pages and stopped. Instead I read Shakespeare by Bill Bryson and really enjoyed it. "
— Joette, 2/1/2014 -
" A birthday gift...ugh. "
— Kristin, 2/1/2014 -
" I really wanted to like this book. I had hopes it would combine two subgenres I am in favour of - historical fiction written by people who really know their history and historical fiction full of bodice ripping and hand-wringing. While I have no major complaints about the history or the sex in the book, the fiction was a real problem. The plots were poorly paced, characters felt made up as they went along, with no motivation, and terrible dialog. The book's epistolary style was awkward; the long letters the heroine wrote were too long to be believable. The ending was flat as a pancake. I would give these author's another read - perhaps with one book under their belts and a more diligent editor their next book will be better fiction. "
— Autumn, 1/29/2014 -
" Taking place in pre-revolutionary war Boston, this very readable tale involves a young woman who has to disguise the fact she is a she in order to work as an apprentice to a Scotsman painter in Boston. There is romance, intrigue, and war in the air. It's a great read. "
— Joe, 1/25/2014 -
" A historical bodice-ripper written by a literary critic and a historian. I found this book engaging and liked the historical (including art historical) detail. Its contrivances were very much in the tenor of the era it invokes, so were more charming than annoying. Still, it fails to transcend the limits of this genre for me--and not being authentically of the era, doesn't illuminate my understanding of what it meant to be actually living and writing in colonial Boston. "
— Sharon, 1/20/2014 -
" Finished this delightful tome last night! I loved it,and was quite sad to have finished it, good books are never long enough! "
— Goodie, 1/20/2014 -
" I loved, loved, loved this book. Reminded me of Slammerkin and a bit of Crimson Petal and the White. Very bawdy and laugh-out-loud funny. Who knew the 1700's were a hoot?! Highly recommend it. A fast read with great characters. "
— Jennifer, 12/30/2013 -
" I read this book a while ago, and I only read it because I got it for free. Not that it was a bad book, because I really enjoyed it, it just isn't something I would have picked out for myself. Regardless, I was pleasantly surprised by it and actually enjoyed it more than I anticipated. "
— Stephanie, 12/26/2013 -
" One of the most ROMANTIC books I've read. Beautiful, sensual, and fun! "
— Maggie, 12/19/2013 -
" Slow start, but got much better. Interesting if you're into Boston history at all. "
— Wendy, 12/8/2013 -
" This book was OKAY. I couldn't really get into it. I may try and read it again. "
— Adrienne, 9/11/2013 -
" If you enjoy history, and don't mind a fictional story thrown into the mix, this is a great one. It all seems to be written with tongue firmly in cheek! The actual premise is far-fetched (I hope) but it is so well-written that I had no problem forgiving that. I got totally lost in the story. "
— Barb, 12/18/2012 -
" I couldn't put this book down. It is a great read for lovers of historical fiction of the 1700's. it is a surprisingly different kind of story. "
— Cathy, 10/17/2012 -
" fascinating - prerevolutionary times in Boston with exiled Scottish painter and his intern (unusual twist) "
— Carolynmihalko, 9/26/2012 -
" The guy at McIntyre's Books says this was one of his favorite books of 2008. He's never steered me wrong. "
— Terri, 9/13/2012 -
" Good audiobook!Read by John Lee and Cassandra Campbell--transitions between Jameson and Fanny excellent with great accents. "
— Jill, 5/12/2012 -
" purchased at a school booksale for two bucks. started it when i discovered at 11pm one night that i was out of unread books. Pretty ok historical fiction; all the sex scenes were diverting but a little silly. "
— Wendyb, 4/13/2012 -
" I enjoyed this book immensely, but did feel that it was too over-sexualized at times - I enjoyed it more before Fanny revealed herself as it seemed to lose it's original identity as a story from whence it came. It was still a very well-written book, and I loved the format it was presented in. "
— Eliza, 2/1/2012 -
" Although it is a painless way to learn a lot about the American Revolution, I had trouble with the fictional characters seeming just fictional. They don't really come to life as much as you would like. "
— Jenny, 10/23/2011 -
" Good God what a lovely romp! "
— Julie, 3/17/2011 -
" Enjoyed immensely, while learning American (circa 1764)history! "
— Karla, 2/12/2011 -
" This was an amazing audiobook!!! I know I never would have read it...too much Old English and historical references but to listen to it was great! "
— Rebecca, 2/7/2011 -
" Great historical fiction. Boston in the mid-1700s. Funny and interesting. "
— Rebecca, 2/5/2011 -
" One of the most ROMANTIC books I've read. Beautiful, sensual, and fun! "
— Maggie, 7/4/2010 -
" Slow start, but got much better. Interesting if you're into Boston history at all. "
— Wendy, 6/4/2010
About the Authors
Jane Kamensky is a professor of American history and chair of the History Department at Brandeis University. She is the author of The Exchange Artist and Governing the Tongue, among other books. Her scholarship has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She is currently writing a biography of the eighteenth-century American portrait painter, Gilbert Stuart. She lives in Cambridge,Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons.
Jill Lepore, a New York Times bestselling author, is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at the New Yorker. Her many books include New York Burning, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; The Name of War, winner of the Bancroft Prize; The Mansion of Happiness, short-listed for the 2013 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction; and Book of Ages, a finalist for the National Book Award.
About the Narrators
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.