Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
Ruth
- Narrated by: Eve Matheson
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
Ruth
Buy Now for £18.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
Exclusively from Audible
The orphaned heroine Ruth, apprenticed to a dressmaker, is seduced by wealthy Henry Bellingham who is captivated by her simplicity and beauty. Their affair causes her to lose her home and job to which he offers her shelter, only to cruelly abandon her soon after. She is offered a chance of a new life though shamed in the eyes of society by her illegitimate son. When Henry reappears offering marriage she must choose between social acceptance and her own pride. Ruth ultimately finds a path that affirms we are not bound to repeat our mistakes.
A social audiobook of love, family and hypocrisy, it examines the Victorian views about sin and the social stigma of illegitimacy. Gaskell is compassionate in her portrayal of Ruth who would normally be outcast from respectable society.
Ruth was the first mainstream novel to cast a 'fallen woman' in the role of heroine and inevitably caused controversy when published. It predates Hardy's own such heroine in Tess of the d'Urbervilles by nearly 40 years.
Gaskell was an accomplished writer and had much of her work published in Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words. She was also friends with Charlotte Brontë and after her death, her father, Patrick Brontë, chose Gaskell to write The Life of Charlotte Brontë.
Narrator Biography
As well as a substantial portfolio of voiceover work, Eve Matheson's career spans audiobooks, theatre, television, film and radio. She has narrated several audiobooks, including Tracy Chevalier's Falling Angels and Erica James' Act of Faith, and documentaries including Fermat's Last Theorem (1996) which won several awards including a BAFTA. On screen, she is best known for her roles as Becky Sharp in the 1987 BBC adaptation of the novel Vanity Fair and as Zoe Angell in May to December (1989-1990). She has frequently appeared at the Royal National Theatre and in the West End, playing roles such as Cordelia in King Lear, Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream and as Lady Anne in Richard III. From 2005-2006, she appeared as Mrs. Milcote in the original Royal National Theatre production of Helen Edmundson's Coram Boy. Her recent television appearances have included roles in Silent Witness (2015) and Call the Midwife (2014).
More from the same
What listeners say about Ruth
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cecil Browne
- 02-10-23
Great performance
A good book beautifully read. a wonderful writer who should be more widely known
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Louise S.
- 03-12-23
Ruth
The narrator was perfect. The story line involved and relying on too many coincidences but far less than Dickens used.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- AMum
- 05-12-21
Beautiful angel meets immature selfish cad
Beautiful angel meets immature selfish cad. You know this is going to end badly without even considering the added constraints of Victoria morals and hypocrisy. Yes this story is predictable, but how I laughed out loud and how I cried. Gaskell's portrayal of the supporting characters is what makes this novel so worth listening to. At times wickedly sharp and others joyfully celebratory of the diversity of human foibles.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. E.
- 08-05-19
Gaskell's brave depiction of a "fallen woman"
A thought-provoking tale on social and personal morality told through the life of a vulnerable working-class woman.
Gaskell daringly presents a strong case for the plight of an unmarried mother in the mid-19th century to a middle-class readership - "Ruth" caused a storm of reaction, many copies being publicly condemned and burnt even by members of her husband's church congregation after its publication.
A narrator always gives a tale its peculiar colouring and Eve Matheson captured the different personalities so distinctly through their voices - I owe my liking of Ruth Hilton largely to the plain and gentle voice Matheson created for her, while Sally's hearty and witty personality was itself so realistic (and humourous)!
All in all a book worth reading at least once and likely to leave a lasting impression.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- 4 Stanton Court
- 01-03-21
Beautiful
How wonderful that something written so long ago can make me laugh and cry. In a time of materialism, and lockdown it was good to be reminded that years ago people took joy in a walk, flowers, the sky.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Miss Je Cooke
- 02-11-20
An Underrated Classic
This is a wonderfully narrated story of Ruth and the consequences of her association with a certain 'gentleman' when she is only 16. A great cast of characters and the narrator really brought all the different accents to life.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 21-06-20
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell
Thoroughly enjoyable version of a Gaskell classic. Listened to while carrying on with tedious tasks during Covid lockdown, made a highly enjoyable time of it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 14-10-22
fabulous book
so enjoyable, a marvellous account of life for that period , so we'll written and descriptive, she was such a brilliant writer. the narrator was excellent!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Katharine Kirby
- 30-03-24
Hard times for a young woman indeed
Calm well spoken narration all done with great tenderness and respect. A true parable of very different days.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 19-05-16
superb characterisation
I loved Gaskell's Mary Barton but the story in this one is rather long winded and very predictable. Fortunately the quality of the performance carries you through. Not sure I'll bother with the author again but will look for Eve Matheson for sure, she was brilliant.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful