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The Ambassadors
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An epic reading
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Roderick Hudson
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- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Hudson is a young law student in Northampton, Massachusetts, who shows such surprising ability as a sculptor that the rich Rowland Mallett, visiting a cousin in Northampton, decides to stake him to several years of study in Rome, then a center of expatriate American society. The story has to do not only with Roderick's growth as an artist and the problems it brings, but also as a man susceptible to his new environment, and indeed his occasional rivalries with his American friend and patron.
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The Portrait of a Lady
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When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy the freedom that her fortune has opened up and to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors, declaring that she will never marry. It is only when she finds herself irresistibly drawn to the cultivated but worthless Gilbert Osmond that she discovers that wealth is a two-edged sword.
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James's writing is sublime
- By Mrs on 10-03-13
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The Bostonians
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Boston's social underworld emerges Verena Tarrant, a girl with extraordinary oratorical gifts, which she deploys in tawdry meeting-houses on behalf of "the sisterhood of women". She acquires two admirers of a very different stamp: Olive Chancellor, devotee of radical causes, and marked out for tragedy; and Basil Ransom, veteran of the Civil War, with rigid views concerning society and women's place therein. Is the lovely, lighthearted Verena made for public movements or private passions?
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Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh
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- Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
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Story
A Signature Performance: Kenneth Branagh plays this like a campfire ghost story, told by a haunted, slightly insane Marlow.
-
-
Haunting and beautiful
- By S. Goodyear on 13-04-16
-
The Custom of the Country
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edith Wharton stands among the finest writers of early 20th-century America. In The Custom of the Country, Wharton’s scathing social commentary is on full display through the beautiful and manipulative Undine Spragg. When Undine convinces her nouveau riche parents to move to New York, she quickly injects herself into high society. But even a well-to-do husband isn’t enough for Undine, whose overwhelming lust for wealth proves to be her undoing.
-
-
Thick and absorbing
- By Philip on 26-06-13
-
War and Peace, Volume 1
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 30 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
War and Peace is one of the greatest monuments in world literature. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, it examines the relationship between the individual and the relentless march of history. Here are the universal themes of love and hate, ambition and despair, youth and age, expressed with a swirling vitality which makes the book as accessible today as it was when it was first published in 1869.
-
-
An epic reading
- By Francis on 01-05-07
-
Roderick Hudson
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Nicholas Clifford
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hudson is a young law student in Northampton, Massachusetts, who shows such surprising ability as a sculptor that the rich Rowland Mallett, visiting a cousin in Northampton, decides to stake him to several years of study in Rome, then a center of expatriate American society. The story has to do not only with Roderick's growth as an artist and the problems it brings, but also as a man susceptible to his new environment, and indeed his occasional rivalries with his American friend and patron.
-
The Portrait of a Lady
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: John Wood
- Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy the freedom that her fortune has opened up and to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors, declaring that she will never marry. It is only when she finds herself irresistibly drawn to the cultivated but worthless Gilbert Osmond that she discovers that wealth is a two-edged sword.
-
-
James's writing is sublime
- By Mrs on 10-03-13
Summary
Lambert Strether, a mild, middle-aged American of no particular achievements, is dispatched to Paris from the manufacturing empire of Woollett, Massachusetts. The mission conferred on him by his august patron, Mrs. Newsome, is to discover what, or who, is keeping her son Chad in the notorious city of pleasure and to bring him home. But Strether finds Chad transformed by the influence of a remarkable woman. And as the Parisian spring advances, he himself succumbs to the allure of the "vast bright Babylon" and to the mysterious charm of Madame de Vionnet.
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- nicolette king
- 02-08-15
Much impressed with first audio book
Henry James is difficult to read for oneself but Stephen Hoye does an excellent job in exactly the right accent. The reading is clear, expressive, and steady. The plot is good and is unfolding in an unhurried Jamesian fashion.Haven't finished it yet but want to do so soon. A very good first impression of what Audible has to offer.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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- Patricia
- 29-01-13
Henry James can be hard to follow but worth it
With Henry James things move at a glacial pace. I happen to be a very fast reader and would be tempted to gobble up the plot and try to skip the delays, so having this read to me is much better as I get the full effect. For example, two people meet in a room and you are dying to know what they will say to each other, but James is slow to tell you - he meticulously describes the surroundings, the atmosphere, what the characters are thinking, etc. letting the tension build almost unbearably - and then they say almost nothing! The writing is exquisite - if painfully slow - and eventually I was just dying to know where this was going so I had to keep extending my walks so I could listen to more!
The plot involves a main character (the "ambassador") who has been sent from New England to London to bring back the family's son and heir to take up the family business back home. He slowly - and I mean slowly - discovers what the young man is up to. There are many other fascinating characters involved. A great deal of the action takes place in Paris. I won't give away any more. If you like Henry James or period pieces and have the patience to wait out a good story, you will enjoy it.
The reader does a beautiful job - no excessive acting, just beautiful reading with meaning. Perfect for this text. I'll look for more by Stephen Hoye.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
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- marian
- 28-04-13
Almost Unlistenable
Would you try another book from Henry James and/or Stephen Hoye?
Stephen Hoye is not cut out to read James' sentences. His delivery of each sentence is identical, in spite of distinct meanings. It feels as if Hoye experiences James' prose as a chore. I'm very disappointed, and will avoid this narrator.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
Classic Jamesian intrigue and deft manipulation.
How could the performance have been better?
If Simon Prebble had read it, or someone who could contend with James' extraordinary syntax.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
The reading sparked utter annoyance - pure exasperation. How is it that, hearing the first few chapters, the producers did not hire a different reader?
Any additional comments?
Take care when assigning a reader to James. His writing is rich but demanding.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
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- Edwina Burke
- 13-04-18
A Masterpiece
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This book is a treasure for anyone who loves the English language.
What did you like best about this story?
Given the deep, patient attention that James' prose demands, this recording is sublime. In perfectly constructed sentences delivered with Shakespearean cadence, James' insights into human nature unfold like hothouse flowers. But don't look for resolution--as in life, there are none in The Ambassadors.
Have you listened to any of Stephen Hoye’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Hoye is new to me, but I'll look for his work in the future.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
An American in Paris Gets Lost in Translation
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Stephen
- 07-06-17
The Ambassadors - Classic Henry James
Performance: Very good, no issues.
Content: Classic Henry James. Slow action, detailed interior discussion and a low about of dialogue compare to internal reflections. Iffy, if I would read it again.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Erin Sjostrom
- 10-02-14
Hoo boy, that's a lotta work
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
An editor. Fewer run-on sentences. Being able to tell when the sentence is finally, dear god, over.
Has The Ambassadors turned you off from other books in this genre?
I didn't know excruciating was a genre.
What didn’t you like about Stephen Hoye’s performance?
I only speak ill of the dead.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Ambassadors?
Any sentence that uses the word "serenest" and the like. Any sentence ending in a preposition. Applying these two rules would turn this into a servicable short story.
Any additional comments?
I chose this book after finishing All the Great Prizes, the biography of John Hay. Hay was one of Lincoln's two secretaries and lived an astounding life. Henry James was one of his friends and Hay loved this book -- or claimed he did. If sincere, Hay gives bad literary advice.
4 of 9 people found this review helpful