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Wives and Daughters
- Narrated by: Patience Tomlinson
- Length: 27 hrs and 32 mins
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Wives and Daughters
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Editor reviews
The eternal theme of thwarted love and scheming ambition is set in the microcosm of a provincial British village. Narrator Patience Tomlinson possesses an astonishing vocal range - from the high pitches of youth to the gruff basses of elderly gentlemen. Her portrayals of the novel's many characters and dialects are distinctive, making all the characters identifiable in terms of their age, gender, and station. Replete with nineteenth-century social values and hierarchies, Gaskell's important work follows the life of Molly Gibson. Tomlinson's expressiveness keeps the listener spellbound.
Summary
When her father remarries, the honest, innocent Molly Gibson suddenly finds herself with a new stepsister, Cynthia, who is beautiful, worldly and impetuous. This would be more than enough to deal with, but the new wife is the deeply snobbish (and darkly secretive) Hyacinth. Thwarted love, scheming ambition and small-town gossip underlie the warmth, irony and brilliant social observation which link the relationships and the inevitable conflicts as profound change comes to rural England.
The most mature and rewarding of her novels, Wives and Daughters places Elizabeth Gaskell in the first rank of English authors.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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What listeners say about Wives and Daughters
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs Mayer
- 27-09-16
Good story, less than great narration
I enjoyed this audiobook despite the narration which irritated me from time to time; I prefer narrators that read the book with subtle interpretation and this one, unfortunately, tried way too much (in my opinion) to 'act' the book, going as far as to add sobbing and whistling, which I found grating. I got through it however so it could've been worse.
I was a little startled to find the final chapter was actually written as a summary on the notes left by Ms Gaskell as she passed away just before the book's completion. It was all nearly wrapped up though so I didn't feel cheated as much as surprised. Thought I ought to mention it here to hopefully save others from this feeling, but as I say, I wouldn't let this deter you from reading the book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Emily
- 20-09-18
comfort for the soul
I love this book and return to it in all its forms often and always will
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