Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Way We Live Now cover art

The Way We Live Now

By: Anthony Trollope
Narrated by: Timothy West
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £23.99

Buy Now for £23.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Can You Forgive Her? cover art
The Kellys and the O'Kellys cover art
The Warden cover art
Middlemarch cover art
Is He Popenjoy? cover art
He Knew He Was Right cover art
The Complete Barchester Chronicles cover art
The Three Clerks cover art
Dr Wortle's School cover art
The American Senator cover art
The Claverings cover art
Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite cover art
Buddenbrooks cover art
A Town Like Alice cover art
The Barchester Chronicles cover art
Don Quixote cover art

Summary

Exclusively from Audible

In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.

Trollope's highly regarded satire is about the dishonest and villainous financier, Augustus Melmotte, who captivates and buys his way into the corrupt aristocratic society of London, throwing it into turmoil.

Described by The Guardian as 'the darkest of Trollope's 47 novels' it is also the longest with gloriously rich subplots. Inspired by the financial scandals of the 1870s, the novel is a dramatization of how greed and dishonesty permeated life during that era.

The Way We Live Now has become recognised as Trollope's masterpiece and was featured at Number 22 in The Guardian's 100 best novels.

Narrator Biography

Timothy West is prolific in film, television, theatre, and audiobooks. He has narrated a number of Anthony Trollope's classic audiobooks, including the six Chronicles of Barsetshire and The Pallisers series. He has also narrated volumes of Simon Schama's A History of Britain and John Mortimer's Rumpole on Trial.

Timothy West's theatrical credits include King Lear, The Vote, Uncle Vanya, A Number, Quarter, and Coriolanus and his films include Ever After, Joan Of Arc, Endgame, Iris, and The Day of the Jackal. On television, Timothy has appeared in Broken Biscuits (BBC), Great Canal Journeys (across 3 Series), and the regular role of Stan Carter on EastEnders (BBC).

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A tale of financial skulduggery reminiscent of recent city scandals." ( Daily Telegraph)

What listeners say about The Way We Live Now

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,016
  • 4 Stars
    253
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,013
  • 4 Stars
    98
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    784
  • 4 Stars
    255
  • 3 Stars
    62
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    8

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic! Fantastic!

Timothy West and Trollope is the best combination I know of, I was dismissive of audiobooks until the delight of hearing unabridged Trollope read by this most intelligent of interpreters came my way - all of his readings of Trollope are utterly exquisite and the clever perceptions of the author are conveyed to the listener with exactly the right nuances. Please Mr West, if you ever read this review, have my thanks and pleas to continue your sensitive portrayals of the entire Trollope novels. You are a national treasure - just as these undervalued books are.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

97 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A book for the 21st Century

I am very fond of Trollope's works but hadn't read "The Way We Live Now" before purchasing this audiobook. It has been so difficult to switch it off and I have been held captive throughout. I know the book has its detractors but I found it full of wisdom and compassion. It is not just of historical interest but says a lot about how we live now in the 21st century. The mistakes in the original text have been retained but it's quite fun to spot them as the reading goes on. Timothy West is masterful as always and does full justice to a wonderful novel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Timothy West Is Just Fantastic

I would never have read a hard copy of this book. I chose it because of the reviews on Audible. They were not wrong. Great story of genteel 'ruthless people' brought alive by brilliant narration. Funny and touching. The best I have downloaded so far.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A dark but absorbing novel

Although I have read a good deal of Trollope's work this novel was unfamiliar to me, but has proved to be a compelling and thoroughly enjoyable read.The author unsparingly depicts a dark social scene with many deeply flawed characters caught up in their various pursuits of wealth.The reader becomes anxious to discover how the inevitable downfall of Melmotte and his cronys will come. The characterisation here is wonderful and I have particularly enjoyed Trollope's portrayal of the female characters Mrs Hurtle and Marie Melmotte as well as the heroine Hetta Carbury.Once again Timothy West gives a superlative reading. I cannot recommend this too highly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Nothing changes!

This book was recommended to me as an interesting reflection of the current financial situation, despite being set in 1873. And it certainly is, showing the power that society gives to those who are thought to be wealthy, without troubling to look too deeply behind the scenes. Beautifully read by Timothy West, the story is easy to follow despite the length of the book and of the cast list! Recommended if you enjoy Victorian literature and even more so if you have a rather dry sense of humour.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

My First Trollope Novel but Not My Last

This was quite simply brilliant in every possible way and a fantastic introduction to Trollope's writings for a 'first-timer' like me. Timothy West does the most superlative job as the narrator and I can't imagine anyone else who could do such justice to this wonderfully rich and colourful novel. I now have my eye firmly set on more of Anthony Trollope's novels and fortunately there are loads of them, but I can't imagine any of them being more engaging or thoroughly entertaining than this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Better than TV

Trollope has not been translated to my native tongua (Finnish) so I got to know this great novel through the BBC TV adaptation with David Suchet as the star. The adaptation took rather many liberties in polarising the issues and drama. The novel is superior to the screenplay, more nuances and verisimilitude.



Timothy West is even to me well-known actor with genuine wit. He omits the often annoying strong impersonations ie he does not try to speak high for females or anything like that. Still, he paces the characters very well and lives out their psychology engagingly. He has a most plesant voice and diction.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

it was great

I really enjoyed this book. Because of its lenght, I did fear that it would be just a very long drawn out, and perhaps rather dull 19th century novel, but not at all. Its still fresh. So well paced that each hour is enjoyable with no need to rush onward. Beautiful writing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Indeed

Indeed, yes it is the way we live now, the way we lived when Trollope wrote it and the way we lived before that point. A wonderfully absorbing novel populated by vivid characterisation brought to life by West's masterful reading. Even when he takes the role of young women the listener is convinced he hears the girl and not West. Utterly splendid.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining

Timothy West reads this extremely well, as I would have expected. The various voices are well-characterised and clear.

It's a very long novel but Trollope's writing is so entertaining that it doesn't drag. It could have done because he was, to my mind, spinning it out just a bit but my interest never flagged. Trollope does tend to deal in this book with one story line for long stretches and then retrace his steps to go back to what was happening a few weeks before to other characters so he has to do a bit of a recap every now and then.

It's very witty in places and West brings out Trollope's wry humour at the expense of some of his characters well. Very few escape his wit.

There are some splendidly vile characters here notably Melmotte (who only just stays the right side of pantomime villain) and Sir Felix Carbury who is a hopeless case. There only seem to be three really good people amongst the main characters, Hetta Carbury, Roger Carbury and Marie Melmotte and I must admit Marie is for me the real heroine of the piece. I was cheering for her from quite early on. I also have a soft spot for Mrs Hurtle who is a rather modern American lady with a surprising moral code.

It's a good listen.



Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful