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Old Filth

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About this listen

Long ago, Old Filth was a Raj orphan - one of the many young children sent 'home' from the East to be fostered and educated in England.

Jane Gardam's novel tells his story, from his birth in what was then Malaya to the extremities of his old age. In so doing, she not only encapsulates a whole period from the glory days of British Empire, through the Second World War, to the present and beyond, but also illuminates the complexities of the character known variously as Eddie, the Judge, Fevvers, Filth, Master of the Inner Temple, Teddy and Sir Edward Feathers.

©2004 Jane Gardam (P)2015 Hachette Audio Classics Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Fiction Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Tear-jerking Inspiring

Critic reviews

"A magnificent, deeply moving and compassionate portrait of an era and a sentimental education. Please read it." ( Daily Mail)
"Beautiful, vivid and defiantly funny." ( The Times)
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Very interesting, especially if you like Passage to India. Supplements one's understanding of the Raj well. The boy's childhood makes one's heart ache.

Interesting read

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Bill Wallace does an excellent job of portraying Old Filth and revealing his past life. A story gently told despite the terrible events of Feathers' young life. Events unravel in a subtle, gradual way and you can feel desperately sorry for the young boy while at the same time understanding Old Filth's lack of emotion in the living of his later life, and the telling of it. I felt quite close to Teddy in the end.

Very enjoyable reminiscences and life story

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Really interesting era set during the end of empire before the second world war. Very well read and very well told.

Brilliantly told story of the Raj orphans

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A wonderful, subtle, sensitive book, uplifting and sad all at once, beautifully narrated, one of the best I’ve read.

Life affirming

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A friend recommended this book to me and I was unsure whether to get the audio version, but I'm glad I did.

Engaging novel, brilliantly read.

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