Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Julian Fellowes's Belgravia cover art

Julian Fellowes's Belgravia

By: Julian Fellowes
Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Murder of Harriet Monckton cover art
Lord Reginald cover art
The Love Knot cover art
The Black Madonna cover art
The Matrimonial Advertisement cover art
Confirmed Bachelors: Books 1-3 cover art
Into the Wilderness cover art
The Work of Art cover art
The Song of the Skylark cover art
An Unexpected Turn of Events cover art
Amy cover art
Dynasty 1: The Founding cover art
Mr. Darcy's Daughters cover art
The Land of Summer cover art
Behind the Shattered Glass cover art
The Daughters of Allamont Hall Collection cover art

Summary

The creator of the hit show Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes weaves a tale filled with dark secrets and scandal amongst the privileged set in the upper classes of London society. Wonderful and witty, it perfectly captures a bygone era with a colourful cast of characters and an intriguing story.

Julian Fellowes's Belgravia is the story of a secret. A secret that unravels behind the porticoed doors of London's grandest postcode.

Set in the 1840s, when the upper echelons of society began to rub shoulders with the emerging industrial nouveau riche, Belgravia is peopled by a rich cast of characters. But the story begins on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. At the Duchess of Richmond's now legendary ball, one family's life will change forever....

©2016 Orion Publishing Group (P)2016 Orion Publishing Group

More from the same

What listeners say about Julian Fellowes's Belgravia

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,356
  • 4 Stars
    546
  • 3 Stars
    167
  • 2 Stars
    46
  • 1 Stars
    25
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,536
  • 4 Stars
    335
  • 3 Stars
    64
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    13
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,134
  • 4 Stars
    536
  • 3 Stars
    202
  • 2 Stars
    60
  • 1 Stars
    28

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A superb multi-layered piece of historical fiction

This is a really enjoyable story with a very strong sense of place and time that takes a good look at the English class system in the Victorian era. It's beautifully written and developed and it’s full of acute social observation and comment delivered in a classically understated, English manner.

The story opens on the eve of Waterloo at the now infamous Duchess of Richmond's Ball. Sophia Trenchard, the daughter of the man known as "Wellington's Vittler", James Trenchard, is in love with Edmund, Viscount Bellasis, heir to the Earl of Brockenhurst. But there is no future for a viscount and a tradesman's daughter, and Sophia's mother, Anne, is very sensible of that and tries to caution her daughter.

Some months later, following Edmund's death in battle, Sophia realises she is pregnant and reveals to her mother that she had gone through a wedding ceremony with Edmund that she later discovered to be false. When Sophia dies in childbirth, Anne and James reluctantly decide to send him away to be brought up by a clergyman in order to protect Sophia's reputation.

The bulk of the story takes place some twenty-five years later as the two families from very different social classes, and who, but for that one twist of fate would almost certainly never have come into each others' orbits, discover that they are inextricably linked, in a way that sees petty jealousies explode into something far more dangerous.

The story is very well told and suits the episodic format employed. It's fairly slow paced, but that means there is ample time for character exploration and development, and the descriptions of the fashions and customs of the era are detailed and all contribute to that very strong sense of time and place I mentioned at the beginning.

Juliet Stevenson's performance is simply outstanding. Her vocal characterisations are many and varied and there is never any confusion as to who is speaking.

All in all, this is a thoroughly enjoyable listen and one I'd definitely recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

48 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely story

Really looked forward to this and I wasn't disappointed.

Juliet Stevenson read so well using different voices for each character. It felt like a dramatisation instead of a narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

48 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Reminiscent of Georgette Heyer

And none the worse for that. Full of typical Fellowes anachronisms, but a jolly romp through middle and upper class London, with satisfyingly unpleasant villains, enough nuanced characters to keep the listener's interest, and a limited number of wholly 'good' saps. Beautifully read by Juliet Stevenson.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

43 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

A first class novel From Julian Fellowes with superb narration from Juliet Stevenson. Highly recommended!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What a treat!

Perhaps a little predictable but an excellent read nonetheless. Wonderfully read by Juliet Stevenson who brought all the characters to life and who is so easy to listen to. A must for lovers of Julian Fellowes and period drama. I hope there is more to come about all these characters in a second book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

typical fellows

beautifully told story showing the prejudices of the class system in the early 19th century.
you get lost in the story. characters become real and you will be sorry to leave at the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Did not disappoint!

Julian Fellowes tells such a good yarn. Really enjoyed it, not least of all because s happy ending was assured!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Comforting and clever

Enjoyed every minute of this wonderful story. It painted a wonderful picture of 19th century society.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect escapism

Soap disguised as historical novel. Addictive. I even enjoyed the slightly annoying didactic elements, v interesting insight into society, the arts, politics, architecture and social mores.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining family melodrama

After a brief introduction, where many of the characters meet at a grand ball given on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, the narrative moves on to the 1840s where the consequences of a relationship between Sophia Trenchard and Edmund, Viscount Bellasis, heir to the Earl of Brockenhurst, leads to a rollickingly good story of class snobbery and skulduggery. I won’t elaborate further and recommend the excellent review below by Caz who sets out the book’s merits in illuminating detail.

Suffice to say I very much enjoyed this engrossing melodrama that is greatly enhanced by Juliet Stevenson’s superb dramatization.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful