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Smut: Two Unseemly Stories: The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes
- Narrated by: Alan Bennett
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
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Smut: Two Unseemly Stories: The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes
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Summary
Two unexpected tales written and read by the best-selling author of The Uncommon Reader, Untold Stories and The History Boys.
"The Greening of Mrs Donaldson" - Mrs Donaldson is a conventional middle-class woman beached on the shores of widowhood after a marriage that had been much like many others: happy to begin with, then satisfactory and finally dull. But when she decides to take in two lodgers, her mundane life becomes much more stimulating…
"The Shielding of Mrs Forbes" - Graham Forbes is a disappointment to his mother, who thinks that if he must have a wife, he should have done better. True, her own husband isn’t all that satisfactory either. Still, this is Alan Bennett, so what is happening in the bedroom (and in lots of other places too) is altogether more startling, perhaps shocking, and ultimately more true to people’s predilections.
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What listeners say about Smut: Two Unseemly Stories: The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Lesley Sherborne
- 13-04-13
Bennett delights as always.
Surprising stuff from Mr Bennett. Risqué and funny. Wonderful to hear Alan Bennett reading his own material.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 13-04-13
Excellent
Two more great stories from the master of 'people watchers'. Once again, Bennett's characters are on the fringes of their communities, looking for ways to 'fit in', although not quite managing it. Doesn't disappoint - Bennett fans will be delighted.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Count Doodivonlinski
- 18-12-20
Bennett at his best !
If you love Alan Bennett you'll love this. Two glorious stories to keep you tickled pink.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jane Showering
- 08-05-14
anything by alan bennett is spell binding!
What made the experience of listening to Smut: Two Unseemly Stories: The Greening of Mrs Donaldson & The Shielding of Mrs Forbes the most enjoyable?
the unexpected oddness of the tales told in such a matter of fact way
Who was your favorite character and why?
graham, i loved his sanguine take on life
Which character – as performed by Alan Bennett – was your favourite?
they are all so beautifully rounded and intimately described, i can't choose!
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
i don't know!
Any additional comments?
alan bennett is not only a magical writer but is the best reader ever, what a combination!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Simon Evers
- 17-01-12
Enormous fun
While listening to 'The Greening of Mrs Donaldson' walking down the road, I almost fell off the pavement I was laughing so much - and I certainly got some strange looks.
Such good entertainment - a lovely pair of unlikely stories, superb narration (as one always expects from Mr Bennett), great characters. My only regret is that there were only two of them!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Grammath
- 23-11-11
Alan Bennett by numbers.
Although subtitled Two Unseemly Stories, perhaps only Bennett's most prudish fans would find either The Greening of Mrs Donaldson or The Shielding of Mrs Forbes offensive. Perhaps more accurately, what the two stories share is that in neither case are surface appearances, in fact, what they seem.
Whilst enjoyable, I couldn't help the feeling that Smut was Alan Bennett by numbers: middle aged repressed ladies and their frightfully British take on propriety and marital relations being challenged. Its saving grace is, of course, that Bennett relates these stories himself, and surely there is noone better at reading his own work.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Carôle
- 18-08-23
My First Foray Into Alan Bennett
I thought the first story over long and the 2nd a comedy of errors! I didn’t like or dislike either tale - stories of ‘repressed Victorian’ women.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ditto do
- 24-04-15
Strangely familiar but unknown
Sir Alan' cosy tea cake voice delivering exactly what it says ion the tin, Smut. A bit rude, very funny and a mix of Bennett's bittersweet humour and a touch of the risqué make this an enjoyable listen. Perhaps not one for the car while travelling with my Thirteen year old Bennett fan!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Alison
- 24-09-11
Good value smut
If these 2 stories had been read by anyone other than Alan Bennett, they might just have been vulgar. But because he reads them, they manage to be both vulgar and funny. Very sly, too. I love everything he's ever written and narrated, and I did enjoy these stories though not quite as much as the genius of older (and longer) works. They aren't shocking, but they do venture into territory that I'd prefer not to listen to with my 14 year old in the room with me! A lovely treat listen, and I will listen again because as always, it's the details that make his work so enjoyable.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- M Croft
- 13-07-11
Amusing
Very light, enjoyable and amusing stories. Excellently read by the author, whose observations are as sharp as ever.
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2 people found this helpful