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The Poor Clare

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The Poor Clare

By: Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
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Originally written for Charles Dickens’ Household Words magazine, The Poor Clare is a dark, gothic short novel of thwarted love and a family curse that vividly illustrates the social tensions of Victorian England.

The intentional killing of a woman’s dog unleashes a torrent of rage. In her desire for revenge, the woman curses the dog’s killer: All that the murderer loves most, he will lose.

This haunting tale brilliantly demonstrates Elizabeth Gaskell’s understanding of the tensions between Catholics and Protestants and the harsh realities of class society.

(P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Classics Linguistics Social Sciences
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Critic reviews

“Gaskell’s supernatural tale depicts the haunting of young Lucy Gisborne by an evil double. After a supposed witch indirectly curses Lucy for her father’s crime, she finds herself abandoned by all close to her except for one friend and her admirer, a lawyer who also serves as the novel’s narrator. Derek Perkins’s narration embodies the narrator’s balance of reserve and passion. He often reveals the young man’s emotions through a quickening of pace. Although much of story is retold in a secondhand account, Perkins re-creates the characters faithfully when they do speak. He is particularly forceful in the few lines spoken by the mysterious Bridget, in which he uses a sharp Irish brogue. While this is a relatively short audiobook, Perkins is engaging throughout.”

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a really good, atmospheric, gloomy gothic short story. I'm familiar with Elizabeth Haskell's longer novels but I has never heard this story before. I would definitely recommend a listen. thanks audible

brilliant

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Another great Free listen to from Audible.
I enjoyed the story but would have liked more about the Life of the Poor Clares.
It was too short a story I wished it was a longer.

The performance was brilliant, but think a Female Narrator would be a good idea.

Almost to Short..

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Brilliant book,excellent period drama with hints of Religious conflicts and describes how suspicions of witchcraft were more rationally dealt with.

A period drama incorporating religious conflict

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this was such easy listening,l was pleasantly surprised by this audio. it's worth a listen

easy listening

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A strange tale powerfully told. I have only read Elizabeth Gaskell’s novels before, but this short story demonstrates her skill as a storyteller brilliantly. Excellent narration.

Eerie and powerful

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