A twisted tale of love lost, alluring demons, idiotic servants, beautiful ladies, magicians, spells, pirates, and duels, Stolen from Gypsies has been called a comedic tour de force comparable to Shakespeare. The unusual hero is British nobleman Ambrogio Smythe, a rich but comical hypochondriac. Obsessed by childhood memories of Gypsies, the frail but determined Ambrogio leaves his ancestral estate in Warwickshire and makes his way to Italy during the Napoleonic Wars. Happily marooned in Tuscany, Ambrogio meets a wandering storyteller who spins him a magical yarn about a Gypsy babe kidnapped by a demon. Ambrogio buys a shred of parchment as evidence and begins to write his own florid version of the saga, vowing one day to publish it in high style.
Skillfully weaving back and forth between Ambrogio’s Italian sojourn and “The Gypsy’s Tale,” this rousing adventure is full of action and insight.
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"silly adventure that is not unlike *the princess bride* only with more colorful language. fun glossary in the back to explain terms and provide historical narrative. a book to read if you enjoy elizabethan swear words (google it if you are clueless). "
— Amy (4 out of 5 stars)
“Funny and charming…While Gypsies has echoes of Shakespeare [and] Cyrano…[it] lies in some mad classification all its own.”
— Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction“Full of bawdy humor and slapstick comedy…a parody of medieval romance literature. Smith’s novel will delight and entertain.”
— Booklist (featured review)“So witty and funny that I found myself laughing out loud. Smith delivers on every page.”
— Alfred Uhry, author of Driving Miss Daisy“This book is a pure delight.”
— Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn" silly adventure that is not unlike *the princess bride* only with more colorful language. fun glossary in the back to explain terms and provide historical narrative. a book to read if you enjoy elizabethan swear words (google it if you are clueless). "
— Amy, 5/4/2013" I read this in a day, seriously, I couldn't stop laughing. It was like Mel Brooks got on cahoots with Eric Idle. Ridiculously silly, bawdy, entertaining to the last. "
— Sydney, 4/5/2013" Thoroughly enjoyable, lighthearted, endlessly witty entertainment, sharp as the sword of the podesta's pasty and villainous son. "
— Linda, 2/20/2012" Vocabulary great and story very humorous. A little hard to keep track of the characters in the story and the characters in the story within the story, but maybe it's just me. Highly recommend. "
— Rainbow, 7/30/2011" This was eh. Most of the time it reminded me of he hunchback of notre dame. Ending was predictable too. "
— Kristie, 7/27/2011" Vocabulary great and story very humorous. A little hard to keep track of the characters in the story and the characters in the story within the story. "
— Rainbow, 3/5/2011" Thoroughly enjoyable, lighthearted, endlessly witty entertainment, sharp as the sword of the podesta's pasty and villainous son. "
— Linda, 8/12/2008Noble Smith is the Franchise Narrative Director of Microsoft’s legendary video game series Age of Empires from Xbox Game Studios. He is an award-winning playwright, documentary film executive producer, and author of The Wisdom of the Shire—a book about the philosophy of Tolkien’s Hobbits (translated into eight languages). And the epic historical fiction trilogy Nikias of Plataea (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press) set in ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War.
Frederick Davidson (1932–2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile’s Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings.