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Chatterton

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Chatterton

By: Peter Ackroyd
Narrated by: James Wilby
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About this listen

Poet, forger, and genius, Thomas Chatterton died in 1770, aged 18. His death was thought to be suicide: But what really happened?

Two hundred years later, Charles Wychwood and Harriet Scrope become obsessed with decoding the clues in an 18th-century manuscript. Their investigation raises some intriguing questions....

A century before, as 19th-century artist Henry Wallis paints his celebrated portrait of Chatterton lying dead in an attic room, he, too, becomes fascinated by the mystery. Then Chatterton himself steps forward, with his own story....

©1887 Peter Ackroyd (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction

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All stars
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I usually enjoy Ackroyd’s work but this one did not hold my interest I’m sorry to say. The characters were good as was the performance of the reader.

A long slog.

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Peter Ackroyd's writing is marvellous, as always. He manages to give the story of Chatterton an interesting twist, while also giving us interesting insights.

James Wilby is an excellent narrator, who gives the story life without being intrusive. Just what I want from an audiobook.

Wonderful!

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I loved everything about this book. A clever plot with extraordinary characters, brought to life by the best narrator I have come across in my Audible journey.

Wonderful story, beautifully told

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This is not my first Peter Ackroyd novel, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as his previous story, Hawksmoor, which I read a long time ago. It was pretty decent, as read by James Wilby, for whom character delineation was never a problem. He used spoken mannerisms, which were as good as accents can be from others. The back and forth through history to Chatterton himself was fine, but I was a bit confused by what the point of the modern part of the tale was showing us. I’m not going to give spoilers, but it does make discussion about the plot tricky. I’m guessing that not much is known about the young poet, so the modern aspects allowed some debate about what might have occurred to him in his short life; if, indeed, it was short. It may have meant more to those who know something about the lad from Bristol, however little. I know nothing, having managed to live in Bristol for many years without so much as standing outside St Mary Redcliffe church. I’d hoped that the novel might have pushed me into seeking out what little is known, but I feel not one jot the wiser, sadly.
The story is perfectly fine, except it didn’t grab me or pull me back to it constantly. For other listeners it may be pretty good and keep them hooked, but not me. It hasn’t put me off Peter Ackroyd or James Wilby as a reader. I’d happily try either again.

A perfectly good tale from Peter Ackroyd.

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A smart, playful — and very funny — book about art imitating life, and artists (of all kinds) imitating one another. What makes it dazzle is James Wilby’s narration and his ear for character. (If I didn’t know better, I’d swear one of the main characters was voiced by Maggie Smith; more immitation!). A great audiobook.

Outstanding narration by James Wilby

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