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Mrs. Ames cover art

Mrs. Ames

By: E. F. Benson
Narrated by: Nathalie Boltt
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Summary

E. F. Benson, best known for his irresistible Mapp and Lucia novels set in the fictional town of Tilling, England, was a prolific and beloved novelist. Though the Mapp and Lucia books remain popular to this day, this kindred book will be back in print for the first time since its initial publication.

The son of E. W. Benson, archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 to 1896, the young E. F. Benson was educated at Marlborough School and at King's College, Cambridge. After graduation he worked in Athens for the British School of Archaeology from 1892 to 1895, and later in Egypt for the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. In 1893 he published Dodo, a novel that attracted wide attention. It was followed by a number of other successful novels, including his hugely popular Mapp and Lucia series. In 1938 he was made an honorary fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge. He died in February 1940.

Public Domain (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"An extraordinary study in comedy and quite the best thing artistically that Mr. Benson has done." ( New York Times)

What listeners say about Mrs. Ames

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

Almost Unlistenable

A truly abysmal narration. Is the narrator American, trying to sound British, or British, trying to sound American? Either way, it's like nails on a blackboard. Add to that some dreadful mispronunciations - coti-yon instead of cotillion, clar-ay instead of claret - and the book is ruined.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Love EF Benson but not the performance

I had not come across this particular EF Benson previously so was really looking forwards to it as a special treat, it feels slightly as though it was the blue print for Dodo and Mapp & Lucia, but I was happy to accept that and go with it. However I found the narrators telling quite odd, with awful voices for characters, quite often using the same voice for different characters so I did end up getting a bit muddled at times, quite distracting and disappointing.

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13 people found this helpful

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

Curious narration

Thoroughly enjoyed this story. The eponymous heroine has slightly more depth, I thought, than Mapp or Lucia, probably because her concerns are the more mundane concerns of an ordinary mortal of a certain age. Only slightly spoiled by some very curious pronunciation of some very common words - claret pronounced “clarr-ay” for example. Also the early chapters give me the impression that the narrator didn’t read the book before she started. It certainly improves though, and was an enjoyable listen.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Death by narrator

Audible, please re-record this using a narrator who doesn't mangle the English language, and who brings the characters to life!
(I recommend Nadia May, narrator of other free E.F. Benson novels)
This is almost unlistenable

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

Awful narration couldn’t finish

Why would the producers not correct the endless mispronunciations in this awful narration? Claret, lobelia, defect and delirium tremens all pronounced incorrectly in first chapter, plus nonsensical phrasing. I had to choose stars for the story which I confess I couldn’t finish but giving this good author the benefit of the doubt.

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

It was difficult to get interested in the story.

I didn’t always understand the use of the vocabulary and although the story was pleasant, it wasn’t interesting enough for me.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Ok for an “included” book

Well observed comedy of manners. The narration was disappointing - stilted and peppered with distracting and unaccountable mispronunciations.
One short spell of making a mispronunciation list produced
Inclement, lumbago, Mayor!, inexorable, placarded, irrevocable……

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

A build up to Lucia

I felt the story was a bit too meandering and not as pithy as the Mapp and Lucia books. The narration was a bit grating after a while although the character performances were good. I had to relisten to certain chapters as I just zoned out a few times. Ok for a freebie.

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

Pleased to have access to this early novel

The mispronunciation of common words was very annoying. How is it possible to not know how to say Lumbago correctly, for example?

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

Completely mangled by narrator

Had to give up on a very fine writer because the narrator couldn’t pronounce the simplest of words correctly. Wrong intonation. Appears to not even understand or have previously read the work at all?? Where do they find such dreadful narrators?!

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