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Rogue Male

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About this listen

Rogue Male is one of the classic thrillers of the 20th century. It's a gripping adventure on the themes of liberty, tyranny, and the ethics of political violence.

An Englishman plans to assassinate the dictator of a European country. But he is foiled at the last moment and falls into the hands of ruthless and inventive torturers. They devise for him an ingenious and diplomatic death but, for once, they bungle the job and he escapes. But England provides no safety from his pursuers - and the Rogue Male must strip away all the trappings of status and civilization as the hunter becomes a hunted animal.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

©1939 Geoffrey Household (P)2010 RNIB Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting

Critic reviews

100 Must-Read Thrillers (International Thriller Writers)
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The release of this book in audio is long overdue. Its clear to see the influence on modern thrillers as the action and themes are as relevant today as on first publication. The suspense and tension flow and grow to a crescendo and Robin Browne's excellent narration bring the very human feelings of the hero to life. Adventure thrillers don't come much better than this!

A Classic that never gets old

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To be honest, I didn't expect much from Rogue Male as it was quite cheap and I just bought it on impulse to while away a few commutes.
I'm so glad I did because this is a wonderful thriller. Although decades old now, the writing is still fresh and exciting, with unpredictable twists and a style that many contemporary authors should envy!
The story is well-paced with an intriguing and inventive central character, perfectly narrated by Robin Browne whose voice matched exactly how I felt the fugitive should sound.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the RNIB for producing such a great audiobook.

An unexpected treat

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This is a golden, analogue recording of Geoffrey Household's 1939 thriller release of Rogue Male complete with background hiss, the sounds of pages turning and even brief stitches of silence holding the sections together that make you wonder if playback has stopped. That hopefully shouldn't put too many off, Robin Browne's warmly elucidated tones are always clear and fitting to the text.

It's a story written in and of a bygone age, it's now 80 years since Household's unnamed protaganist set out to get an evil dictator in his rifle sights only to be caught, escape and then try to flee. The book follows him after his captors have tortured him and thrown him off a cliff leaving him for dead but then pursuing him after his body could not be found.

It's actually a quite bizarre tale and sometimes omits obvious olfactory implications of the situations his man finds himself in. However, it's like looking back in history to that bygone age and as you hear the lead complain about his appearance having "the added villainy of whiskers" it brings that earlier gentrified world fully into your ears.

As a change of pace from rather more sophisticated modern thrillers I really enjoyed it but if you are are put off by a lower audio quality it's worth listening to the sample before you buy. And the story is 80 years old . . .

The Added Villainy of Whiskers

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Wonderfully nuanced reading by Robin Browne brings this remarkable story to life. Not my usual fare but I was completely involved from first to last.

Superb narrator

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Brilliantly performed, full of suspense and twists and turns really looking forward to listening to the second part which was written 43 years later.

A brilliant story

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