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The Elephant Man

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About this listen

Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet, GCVO, CH, CB (1853-1923) was a prominent British surgeon of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, best known for his friendship with Joseph Merrick, 'the Elephant Man'.

The Elephant Man is Treves' own firsthand account of how he met and befriended Joseph Merrick (whom he mistakenly calls John Merrick), a young man with very severe physical deformities, who was being exhibited as a sideshow freak, as half man, half elephant. Treves initially invited Merrick to his rooms in the London Hospital so as to examine him, and to ensure Merrick's admittance he gave him his card. Two years later, when Merrick arrived back in London, abandoned by his freak-show handler and chased by a mob, he showed the police who rescued him Treves' card. Through this fortuitous chance, Merrick came to live at the London Hospital under the care and guardianship of Treves. The two men developed a great friendship, and Treves was astonished to discover that Merrick was not only a highly intelligent man but also a hopeless romantic.

Public Domain (P)2016 Red Door Audiobooks Medical Professionals & Academics England Friendship Elephant
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Sad and moving tale of an intelligent man. Demonstrates prejudice and misunderstanding at the time.

Fascinating

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a sad story , rather short book . ythe narrator was extremley disappointingly boring and monosyl

disappointing

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The story itself is a classic, recounting the first-had experience of growing to know and befriend Joseph Merrick, one of the most tragic, unique and moving of stories from our semi-recent history.

Unfortunately, it's been made completely unlistenable due to the narrator's incredibly bizarre and distracting way of reading. Give the sample a good listen, imagine that for an hour, and you'll see what I mean.

Fascinating story made unlistenable by narrator

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Loved the reader. The story was a telling of Dr Treves experience of meeting Joseph Merrick.

Great narration

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Great story but not to impressed with the narrator, the female narrator sounds like she's trying to do a dracula impression with an English accent, really ruined it

disappointing

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