The Master cover art

The Master

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize

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The Master

By: Colm Tóibín
Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
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About this listen

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize

'A triumph' – The Observer
'A masterly achievement' – The Independent

In January 1895 Henry James anticipates the opening of his first play, Guy Domville, in London. The production fails, and he returns, chastened and humiliated, to his writing desk. The result is a string of masterpieces, but they are produced at a high personal cost.

In The Master Colm Tóibín, author of Brooklyn and Long Island, captures the exquisite anguish of a man who circulated in the grand parlours and palazzos of Europe, who was astonishingly vibrant and alive in his art, and yet whose attempts at intimacy inevitably failed him and those he tried to love. It is a powerful account of the hazards of putting the life of the mind before affairs of the heart.

Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.

 Art & Literature Authors Biographical Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt

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Critic reviews

An audacious, profound, and wonderfully intelligent book. (Hermione Lee)
A marvel of lightly worn research and modulated tone. (John Updike)
A must read. Colm Tóibín has not only written a spectacular novel he has found a way to pay tribute to Henry James. We should all be so gifted and so lucky. (Alice Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky)
All stars
Most relevant
Beautifully written, fascinating in details of encounters, observations of countries, landscape’s architecture and interiors.
Historical attitudes l, politics and hidden passions .
This is a humane, nuanced and elegant book that invites us into the world and life of Henry James and the gifted and fascinating people he knew.
High quality performance
to match.
Julie Hewson

Utterly captivating

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