Rustication cover art

Rustication

A Novel

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Rustication

By: Charles Palliser
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

A vertiginous gothic masterpiece from the best-selling author of The Quincunx. Charles Palliser's work has been hailed as "so compulsively absorbing that reality disappears" (New York Times). Since his extraordinary debut, The Quincunx, his works have sold over one million copies worldwide. With his new novel, Rustication, he returns to the town of Thurchester, which he evoked so hauntingly in The Unburied.

It is winter 1863, and Richard Shenstone, aged 17, has been sent down - "rusticated" - from Cambridge under a cloud of suspicion. Addicted to opium and tormented by sexual desire, he finds temporary refuge in a dilapidated old mansion on the southern English coast inhabited by his newly impoverished mother and his sister, Effie. Soon, graphic and threatening letters begin to circulate among his neighbors, and Richard finds himself the leading suspect in a series of crimes and misdemeanors ranging from vivisection to murder.

Atmospheric, lurid, and brilliantly executed, Rustication confirms Palliser's reputation as "our leading contemporary Victorian novelist" (Guardian).

©2013 Charles Palliser (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Genre Fiction Gothic Historical Horror Literary Fiction Mystery Scary Fiction Crime Suspense

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All stars
Most relevant
Palliser is once again on top of his game here: atmospheric, intricately plotted, and a wholly convincing narrator-protagonist. John Lee is an experienced reader, but not ideal casting for a novel whose narrator-protagonist is a boy of seventeen. I would have preferred a younger and somewhat colder voice.

Brilliant novel slightly let down by performer

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Where does Rustication rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top ten.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Rustication?

The twists and turns of the plot.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He brought a tone of authority to the reading.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I would like to hear Charles Pallisers masterpiece The Quincunx on Audible.

Excellent stuff

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Excellent rendition and story. A semi- gothic rural Victorian mystery full of riddles, clues and grotesque characters. As is usual, all is not what it seems.

Superior fuction

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I’m A masterclass in neo gothic sensation writing. Excellent narration, totally absorbing I enjoyed this novel from the beginning thoroughly recommended

Intriguing clever well written

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Beautifully constructed and the reader does a wonderful job too.

Unforeseen twists and turns throughout and yet each seems inevitable after the fact.

an excellent read!

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