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A Simple Story

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About this listen

Published in 1791, A Simple Story concerns Miss Milner, who announces her passion for her guardian, a Catholic priest, thereby breaking through the barriers of his religious vocation and society’s standards for proper female behaviour.

Central themes of the novel include the importance of proper education for women. Elizabeth Inchbald was a dramatist and actress and this can be detected in her narrative, particularly her lively dialogue. The novel was well received on its publication, with one reviewer writing that "Mrs Inchbald has discovered the true path which she ought to pursue".

In several respects A Simple Story anticipates the writing of Jane Austen, especially in Inchbald’s concise and ironic style. Here it is given a delightful reading by the acclaimed actress Juliet Stevenson.

Public Domain (P)2022 Naxos AudioBooks UK Ltd. Classics Witty Celebrity
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Well narrated. It is a simple story but a pleasant enough listen. Mores pretty quickly.

Pleasant enough

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Juliet Stevenson is a great actress but she reads this novel like a robot. She never enters into the spirit of the story, and destroys its drama and humour. She made everything sound miserable. I tried increasing the narration speed to 1.1 or 1.2 which helped a little. The story is interesting but it would be better to read the book rather than listen to this. I returned this audiobook to Audible.

Poor narration kills this story

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