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  • Persuasion

  • By: Jane Austen
  • Narrated by: Mary Sarah
  • Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (236 ratings)
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Persuasion

By: Jane Austen
Narrated by: Mary Sarah
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Summary

A moving love story displaying all of Austen's signature wit and ironic narrative style. Persuasion is Jane Austen's last completed novel. She began it soon after she had finished Emma, completing it in August 1816.

Public Domain (P)2013 Trout Lake Media

What listeners say about Persuasion

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

Why not use an English voice artist?

...and if you insist on a North American voice, they should be able to pronounce words like "obliged" properly! I can assure you that it is not "uh-blarged".

The first warning sign was that "shewn" was pronounced "shoon", when any Janeite could tell you that's an old-fashioned spelling of "shown". It also took me a while to realise that the voice artist was attempting to do general English and Somerset accents at some points. If you can't do impressions, it's safest to stick to your own accent.

I'm available to read any American classics you might have in my really poor attempt at an LA accent, if you want me to return the favour.

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20 people found this helpful

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

Persuasion is a good story but I had to uninstall

The narrator was unable to grasp the emphasis in long sentences to the degree that they failed to make sense. I'm getting a better version.

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13 people found this helpful

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

My favourite Jane Austen-but very poorly read

Would you try another book written by Jane Austen or narrated by Mary Sarah?

I would never choose a book read by Mary Sarah. There are so many wonderful readers I can't understand how anyone could allow her to read a classic, did no one listen to it before it was sold?

Who was your favorite character and why?

Anne, of course, is the heroine and you feel her pains and pleasures but all Jane Austen's characters are skillfully drawn.

What didn’t you like about Mary Sarah’s performance?

She is a poor reader and pronounced names incorrectly.

Was Persuasion worth the listening time?

Not with this reader.

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12 people found this helpful

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

The reading of the story is very bad

I love this story but found it very hard to listen to due to the way it was read. Very clipped, really disappointing

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8 people found this helpful

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

Great story not sure about narration.

I was not convinced by the narrator and wish I had chosen an English as opposed to North American version. My fault. How does one pronounce obliged? Oblarged?

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5 people found this helpful

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

Let down. Horrific. Awful.

Brilliant British novel - read by an American lady who clearly had been given no education in how to read a book from the English past
- nor any reading at all. The emotions, inclinations and timing are all over the place. She obviously has no idea what this book is about.
Awful. A complete butchering of a classic.

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5 people found this helpful

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

Lesser-read Jane Austen novel well worth a listen

It took me a while to get used to the narrator's Irish accent - perhaps incongruous to the telling of a quintessentially English novel - but she really brought the story to life.

The style of 19th century literature can make even the most wonderful stories difficult to read in their original version, requiring persistence and determination. I strongly recommend audiobooks for making the literary classics of old accessible to impatient readers.

I had had the book by my bedside for several months but found it hard to penetrate before purchasing the audio book.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Great value for money

Thoroughly enjoyed Persuasion! Great value for money at .52p, although the narrator's pronunciation of "obliged" was grating!

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3 people found this helpful

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

Disappointed

One of my favourite Jane Austen stories but I just can't get on with this narration. The emphasis and intonation isn't quite right somehow - the voice sounds almost computerised so I stopped listening quickly before the whole book is spoiled for me.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Dreadful interpreystiom

Book is great. I shouldn't really enjoy getting involved in the endless romantic affairs of the mostly idle rich but Jane Austen's use of character and language never fails to draw me in, but the reading of this version was dreadful almost to the point of hilarity.
I do appreciate that the reader was from the USA, but did nobody at Audible listen to this and notice the reader so often slipping into the Dick van Dyke cockney, or seek to correct the misplaced emphases? I'd be "oblarged" if someone could "shew" me any evidence that they did!
Suggest any other Austen fan try a different version.

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1 person found this helpful