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  • Alias Grace

  • TV Tie-In Edition
  • By: Margaret Atwood
  • Narrated by: Sarah Gadon
  • Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (261 ratings)
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Alias Grace cover art

Alias Grace

By: Margaret Atwood
Narrated by: Sarah Gadon
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Summary

Now a major Netflix series - Atwood's most captivating, disturbing and satisfying work since The Handmaid's Tale.

'Sometimes I whisper it over to myself: Murderess. Murderess. It rustles, like a taffeta skirt along the floor.' (Grace Marks)

Female fiend? Femme fatale? Or weak and unwilling victim? Around the true story of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the 1840s, Margaret Atwood has created an extraordinarily potent tale of sexuality, cruelty and mystery.

Sixteen years have passed since teenaged Grace was locked up for the cold-blooded murder of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his lover, Nancy Montgomery. Saved from the gallows where her alleged accomplice was hanged, Grace claims to have no memory of the events which changed her life forever.

Dr Simon Jordan is an expert in the field of amnesia. His objective is to unlock the dormant part of Grace's mind and discover the truth behind one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of all time. Was Grace an unwitting accessory or a cold-blooded killer?

©1996 O.W. Toad Ltd (P)2017 Audible Inc.

What listeners say about Alias Grace

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

True-life case explored from multiple perspectives

Would you consider the audio edition of Alias Grace to be better than the print version?

I have read Atwood before on paper, and usually with detailed and complex stories, paper works best for me. But with only a few lead characters and a fairly straightforward story, audiobook works well for this particular listener.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the psychological aspects of Grace's character, everyone was trying to determine her guilt, her state of mind - and it all came together at the end nicely.

Which character – as performed by Sarah Gadon – was your favourite?

Grace - well-acted and voiced.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not at 16 hours in length! I was happy to listen in chunks as I knew it was the sort of story that would unfold slowly with lots of backstory to cover.

Any additional comments?

Reminiscent for me of Emma Donoghue's historical work, this caught my attention after Atwood's recent TV adaptations. I've been a fan of hers for years, loving The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake and The Blind Assassin, so it felt strange but refreshing to try a 'true story' by the dystopic writer.

A convicted murderer, Grace Marks, is visited by a new doctor, keen to dig deeper into the psyche of the young woman who in 1843 was involved with a double killing. Is she guilty? Was she a willing participant? Mentally unwell? She insists she cannot remember the events of the murders...

Over time, Dr Jordan meets with Grace and she tells him her story, about her life. It's a rather fascinating look at a time of class distinction and builds nicely from childhood to the day of the killings.

You're never quite sure what to think of Grace - innocent or conniving murderess? The doctor has his own life and story away from his patient, though I wasn't too interested in this.

The voices are all provided by one female, and I forgot all about this, even though the narrator voices Dr Jordan as well as Grace - he did a great job of bringing them both to life. Grace is a meeker prospect, a lower class young girl who speaks at length to her doctor. It was an easy listen, it kept my attention and the style of the book worked well as an audiobook.

I was glad that we got a proper conclusion, even if, as the author herself speaks in an afterword, it is gathered from evidence. Quite a fascinating story.

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10 people found this helpful

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

Love this: highly recommended fantastic audio book

Brilliantly read by Sarah Gadon & great to hear Margaret Atwood read the afterword. This has always been one of my favourite books of hers.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Great book and great performance

Well worth listening. It is a great story, told wonderfully by a great writer. To make it even better it is a great performance.

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1 person found this helpful

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

...psychodrama in slow motion

Far be it from me to comment on Margaret Atwood .... imaginative content in a storyline of historical fiction based upon a notorious Canadian murder told in local vernacular with expert indigenous references. Women are central, in themes of sex, oppression and class and it’s a sociological commentary of the time. No doubt it’s at least partially necessary for setting the scene but there are long tracts of rather dry prosaic biography. Nevertheless, characterisations are credible and sustained and it’s all a bit of a psychodrama in slow motion with a more mundane denouement than I would have preferred

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1 person found this helpful

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

Amazing Grace!

Marvellously told story with both shocking and sensitive aspects, beautifully described by an author at the height of her powers, all of the confidence of Handmaids Tale with the impressive, compelling narration.

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

More Alas than Alias Grace!

Recommended to the works of Margaret Attwood by a Canadian friend, vaguely recall reading Alias Grace, based on a real life historic murder & finding it interesting, an okay read, but now struggling to keep listening; not sure if it's the soporific narration or the slow, drip, drip feed in the telling of the tale.
After three failed attempts, over several months, to get back into the story, shelving it again, would return audio-book for a refund but sadly it's not eligible.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • RZ
  • 17-04-23

Excellent

Needs commitment as long. Has a beautiful development of characters, time and place with story.

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

Mysterious true crime

I read this book many years ago and it’s been a pleasure to revisit via audio. It was just as good as I remembered and very well read, if slightly soporific in tone.

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

Alias Grace

loved it, I had already watched the series so always expectations were high, excellent naration did not disapoint.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Rarely say this but: needlessly long

I struggled with this one. Atwood is a wonderful story teller. The b9ok is very quotable. Grace is compelling as the unreliable narrator. The devil is in the detail in Alias Grace, yet there was still a lot of needless information and points that were laboured over and over. The slow pace was a frustrating drip feed rather than a slow burn.

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