The Iron Duke

He’s a lady’s man, a man’s man—and a wanted man, on the run in 1930s Europe….

Meet Blacky Lee, ruggedly handsome with a quick wit and a roguish charm.  Think Clark Gable—with larceny in his heart and a price on his head.  A price put there by the German Gestapo.  But Blacky’s always got an angle, and this time it’s as audacious as they come.  He’ll hide in plain sight, impersonating the crowned head of a Balkan kingdom.  He’ll become The Iron Duke.

Can he pull it off?  Win the love of a country…and of a beautiful woman?  All Blacky has to do is risk everything—and, for once in his life, find a way to do the right thing.

Hubbard and Gable were fast friends and fellow adventurers.  While Hubbard was writing for Columbia Pictures in 1937, the studio often called upon him to doctor scripts for Gable—giving him a unique knowledge of the man and inspiration for characters like Blacky Lee.

Get in on the deception as the audio version of The Iron Duke puts you in the middle of the royal con game.  “Filled with realistic sound effects…and a classic film noir atmosphere, this inspired and well-polished entertainment will immerse listeners.” — Publishers Weekly

*An AudioFile Award Winner

American arms merchant Blacky Lee is wanted by nearly every government in 1930s Europe— especially the Nazis. They want Blacky's head for selling them dud weapons, prompting his rapid (and illegal) escape across the Balkans to the kingdom of Aldoria with his business partner in tow.

Aldoria is well chosen. Years before, Blacky discovered he was the spitting image of the country's Prince Philip, learned the archduke's speaking voice and memorized the royal family tree just in case. When Blacky brazenly impersonates the leader, things go surprisingly well . . . that is, until he finds himself caught in the middle of a Communist plot to rig elections and take over.

Publishers Weekly

The latest addition to the fantastic Stories from the Golden Age series of vintage L. Ron Hubbard pulp tales, this full-cast recording takes listeners to 1930s Europe. A man who is the spitting image of the Prince of Aldoria finds himself in over his head with Nazis and Communists. Read by a small cast, most notably Michal Yurchak, the story leaps off the page. Filled with realistic sound effects, comical and over-the-top characters and a classic film noir atmosphere, this inspired and well-polished entertainment will immerse listeners. A Galaxy paperback. (Dec.)

With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 230 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and ’40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginative tales who has not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard.