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Cranford cover art

Cranford

By: Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrated by: Prunella Scales
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Summary

Exclusively from Audible

A vivid and affectionate portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid-19th century, Cranford describes a community dominated by its independent and refined women, relating the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two middle-aged spinster sisters striving to live with dignity in reduced circumstances.

Through a series of satirical vignettes, Gaskell sympathetically portrays changing small town customs and values in mid-Victorian England, in a community governed by old-fashioned habits and dominated by friendships between women. Her wry account of rural life is undercut, however, by tragedy: with such troubling events as Matty's bankruptcy, the death of Captain Brown and the unwitting cruelty of Peter Jenkyns.

Gaskell was an accomplished writer who had many of her stories published in Charles Dickens' magazine Household Words. She was also friends with Charlotte Brontë and after her death, her father, Patrick Brontë, chose Gaskell to write The Life of Charlotte Brontë.

Narrator Biography

Prunella Scales is a classically trained stage actress but is best known for her role as Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers (1975-1979) and for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution (1991), for which she was nominated for a BAFTA.

Her film appearances have included Stiff Upper Lips (1997), Howards End (1992) and Wolf (1994). She was awarded the CBE for her services to drama in 1992 and the Patricia Rothermere Award for her contributions to British Theatre in 2001. More recent appearances have included the mini-series The Shell Seekers (2006), a production of Carrie's War at the Apollo Theatre (2009) and Horrid Henry: The Movie (2013).

Julian Barnes’ The Lemon Table and Anne Fine’s Charm School are among the many audiobooks Prunella Scales has narrated.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Cranford

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Best Cranford Reading!

Prunella Scales is an excellent intrepreter of Mrs Gaskell, I loved her characterization and reading of 'Wives and Daughters', and this first and lighter work by EG is just as fabulous.

This actress shows respect for the book, the emotions of the plot are accurately voiced and I really have her work as one of the reasons I love audio books. Forget the dreadful abridged or US readings, (sorry, I'd say the same if an English reader was doing an American work) and listen to this one, the only and best in my opinion.

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50 people found this helpful

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

Delightful

Prunella Scales is a wonderful reader, sensitive to the nuances of Gaskell's writing and able to bring out all the comedy and pathos of this underrated book. Delightful!

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly read

This is beautifully read by Prunella Scales.

You don't get much definition of voice between different characters, but it could be said that the same is true of the original book, as one person relays everything that happens to the reader. You're drawn into the lives and gossip of the women of Cranford, giving a social history of the time, but in a very minute way.

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15 people found this helpful

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

Cranford

A real delight and completely unexpected. Although I knew the story from the television adaptation I was quite unprepared for the wit and humanity of the writing. It made me laugh and cry and who better to read it to you than Prunella Scales.

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13 people found this helpful

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

Great narration of a classic

This was a good production of a book I struggled with as a teenager many years ago. Prunella Scales is the perfect narrator, and brings the little vllage with all of its eccentricities to life vividly. I enjoyed it very much!

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7 people found this helpful

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

Wonderful storytelling

Absolutely loved it. The story is so uplifting and Prunella Scales is a perfect narrator.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fine audiobook

A much loved nineteenth century classic in which not very much happens yet there is so much to hear about - much like real life. Prunella Scales reading is full of affection, with some good northern accents. She makes it easy to understand this delightful period piece. Will listen again for the pure pleasure.

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6 people found this helpful

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

Beautifully read - great story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is very gentle and whilst it won't have you on the edge of your seat it is soothingly addictive

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6 people found this helpful

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

Cranford

The descriptions of small town life in the 19th century are beautifully done. There is not much story as such and in this way it differs from the other books of Mrs Gaskell.

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4 people found this helpful

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

May Be Disappointed

You may, like me, be disappointed with the book if you loved the TV series. The book doesn't seem to have much content, I don't know where all the story came from on television, it certainly is not in the original book.

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4 people found this helpful