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The Asylum
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
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Summary
A brilliant new Gothic thriller from the acclaimed author of The Ghost Writer and The Séance.
Confused and disoriented, Georgina Ferrars awakens in a small room in Tregannon House, a private asylum in a remote corner of England. She has no memory of the past few weeks. The doctor Maynard Straker tells her that she admitted herself under the name Lucy Ashton the day before and then suffered a seizure. When she insists he has mistaken her for someone else, Dr. Straker sends a telegram to her uncle, who replies that Georgina Ferrars is at home with him in London: "Your patient must be an imposter."
Suddenly her voluntary confinement becomes involuntary. Who is the woman in her uncle’s house? And what has become of her two most precious possessions: a dragonfly pin left to her by her mother and a journal that contains the only record of those missing weeks? Georgina’s perilous quest to free herself takes her from a cliffside cottage on the Isle of Wight to the secret passages of Tregannon House and into a web of hidden family ties on which her survival depends.
Here is another delicious read from the author praised by Ruth Rendell as having "a gift for creating suspense, apparently effortlessly, as if it belongs in the nature of fiction."
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- barjil
- 27-05-13
A cracking Gothic yarn!
I have raced through this book and am now sorry I've finished it. It has overtones of Wilkie Collins but maybe that's because it's set in the 19th century and the asylum reminded me of 'The Woman in White' - this is far more exciting, though.
The reader has a very refined voice which may irritate some people but it goes very well with the story and she's able to use it to voice the different characters. I looked for other books by John Harwood but this seems to be the only one.
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18 people found this helpful
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- Macwoman
- 07-07-13
Victorian Gothic thriller
What did you like most about The Asylum?
Nicely judged and imagined Victorian tale of fear of madness, repressed sexuality, and greed.I did not think initially that I would follow this through to the end, but I did - the story got hold of me in a way that I often think marks a good writer. The author does not overdo the Gothic atmosphere, but all the ingredients are there: a remote asylum for the insane on Dartmoor, an aloof and questionable doctor with a strange laboratory in the grounds, a woman who suffers from amnesia so badly that she can remember nothing about how she came to be there. Who is doing what to whom? We do not find out till the very end, and in between there is a feast of those long newsy Victorian letters between friends, lost wills, tyrannical fathers and unfaithful lovers. Anyone who has enjoyed a good 19th century novel will enjoy this, and find it more accessible.
I don't usually go in for complaining about endings, as it seems to me that that is the author's choice, and their right. I can have an opinion, however, and that's fair enough. Some readers will find the ending unconvincing, but I thought it just about stood the reality test.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I liked the heroine for her doughty determination not to be put down by this crowd of Victorian men who truly felt their superiority to be so obvious as not to need any evidence to support it!
What about Rosalyn Landor’s performance did you like?
The reader does a good job of sustaining the atmosphere and maintaining the style of a carefully articulating, educated woman of the period, and I think she manages the frail male asylum heir particularly well.
Any additional comments?
Good listen for a boring trip home, or a rainy Saturday when you don't want anything that will stretch you too far.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Louisa
- 07-07-13
A real treat
It's a real treat to find John Harwood in audio. His last book, The Seance appeared on audible for a nanosecond and then was withdrawn. Harwood tells deliberately gothic tales - but they are always very gripping and a very good read or listen. Rosalyn Landor's reading is good and she manages to give the characters the right personalities from the start. There is not much more to say about the story than you'll find in the blurb and one doesn't want to give any of the plot away so suffice it to say that it's an excellent summer listen or a good one for a cosy bedtime. Enjoy!
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8 people found this helpful
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- Sharon
- 15-07-13
Darkly Menacing.
Never having had the pleasure of John Harwoods works before I didn't know what to expect. Dark and brooding you are immediately drawn in to a this mystery being drip fed clues along the way while Georgina Ferris tries to solve the puzzle of how she ended up in an asylum in Cornwall. She soon realises that the answers lie in her families past.
The pace was perfect and as the drama unfolded I was almost climbing into my ipod.
But damn it the ending was anti climatic, Dr Strakers part really confused me, but hey horses for courses, it still does not detract from the very excellent writing, even though the ending wasn't to my taste will still look for more by JH.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Beccameriel
- 26-06-13
Gripping Victorian Gothic
Clearly inspired by The Woman in White, this is a good stab at a Victorian gothic novel. Shades of Sarah Waters and Michel Faber (but with less sex!). I could pick holes in the fact the the device of the letters is not very convincing - no one would report conversation like that in a letter - but it's so enjoyable overall that can forgive that. The story is, perhaps, a bit rushed at the end but it's jolly entertaining.
Rosalyn Landor has just the right voice for a genteel 19th century lady.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Dr Stephen J. Welch
- 03-06-13
Much more compelling that the synopsis suggests
Very much enjoyed this book: an excellent story, with more complexity and a slowly revealed back story. This makes the narrative canvas much wider than might appear from the synopsis, and though the comparison with Wilkie Collins might be going a bit far (* fewer words than he would use I feel sure!), it is an excellent read.
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6 people found this helpful
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- fiona
- 14-08-13
great twists and turns
An evocative period tale. Appealing heroine, great cast. The story is spooky and atmospheric. I would recommend this to fans of the seance.
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5 people found this helpful
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- mollyeyre
- 28-07-14
Kept my interest
Overall this novel did keep my interest, as some other reviewers have mentioned, there is a strong 'Woman in White' feeling running through. As this (Woman in W) is one of my all time favourite books the Asylum left me a bit unsure.
The characters were well drawn, but as ever I get very irritated by the actions of the daft heroin as she misses the obvious!!
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book, there were a couple of twists that were quite good and it held my interest throughout.
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3 people found this helpful
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- S. Beaton
- 14-07-14
Loved It
Would you listen to The Asylum again? Why?
Yes, I twas a very interesting and mind gripping story, which kept you in suspense.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Catwoman
- 31-03-22
A long story but very engaging
This book was recommended to me, as it sounded just like the kind of book I would love. A creepy Victorian atmosphere, an asylum etc..
The book was quite long and very descriptive, but I persevered and was delighted that I did.
It tells a very engaging story, and holds you right until the end.
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2 people found this helpful