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The Merry Go Round
- Narrated by: Eve Karpf
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 115
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
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- Narrated by: Lucy Scott
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Julia Lambert is in her prime, the greatest actress in England. Off stage, however, she is bored by her handsome husband, coquettish, and undisciplined. She is at first flattered and amused by the attentions of a shy and eager young fan, but before long Julia is amazed to find herself falling wildly, dangerously, in love.
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- Narrated by: Beth Chalmers
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 12
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Story4 out of 5 stars 12
Bertha Ley comes of age, inherits her father's money, and promptly marries a handsome, calm, and unimaginative man. Bertha is wildly in love with Edward and believes she can be happy playing the role of a dutiful wife in their country home. But, intelligent and sensual, she quickly becomes bored by her oppressively conventional life, and finds her love for her husband slipping away. Originally rejected by publishers, Mrs. Craddock was first published only on condition that certain "shocking" passages were removed. It was 30 years before the full text could be published.
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4 out of 5 stars
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- By Youngenough on 13-12-13
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- Narrated by: James Saxon
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4 out of 5 stars 53
When Cakes and Ale was first published in 1930 it roused a storm of controversy, since many people imagined they recognised portraits of literary figures now no more. It is the novel for which Maugham wished to be remembered.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not one to fall asleep to.
- By Shaun on 09-07-13
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The Narrow Corner
- By: W. Somerset Maugham
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 14
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Summary
Looking out upon the backstreets, the suburbs and the high society haunts of Edwardian London, the delightfully witty and independent spinster Miss Ley surveys a tangled web of lives; she sympathetically observes the struggle under the pressures of convention, and the complex interplay between love and reason. Through Miss Ley's eyes we witness the brief but happy marriage of a dying poet; a woman's adulterous passion for a young rascal; and finally, an honourable man's decision to take virtue to extremes.
William Somerset Maugham (25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author of the 1930s. Maugham was orphaned by the age of ten, but after an unhappy childhood, he flourished when he moved to London to study medicine as a young man, giving him plenty of inspiration for his literary ambitions. His first novel, Liza of Lambeth, sold out in a matter of weeks, prompting Maugham to leave medicine and embark on a 65-year career as a man of letters. By 1914 he was famous, with ten successful plays produced and ten novels published. In 1917, he was asked by the British Secret Intelligence Service (now MI6) to undertake a special mission in Russia; an experience which would go on to inspire Ashenden, a collection of short stories about a gentlemanly spy that influenced Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. Maugham’s most famous works include Of Human Bondage, a semiautobiographical novel, The Moon and Sixpence, Cakes and Ales and The Razor's Edge. His writing has inspired a string of over 35 film adaptations and has influenced many notable authors, including Anthony Burgess, George Orwell and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
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What listeners say about The Merry Go Round
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alison
- 24-02-14
Listen to it, but be mindful of its context
I love WSM and read all his books, plays and short stories in my teens and 20s. Now and again, I am reliving these by re-reading (or listening to) some of the books. Ideally I'd be able to listen to an unabridged version of 'Of Human Bondage' but cannot find one, at least not on audible.
I had just finished (and loved) The Goldfinch, so I needed a change of pace. I certainly got that!
The Merry Go Round is a series of overlapping and extended short stories. The central character doesn't really have a big part to play, but she is the focus for the other players as she is involved with, or knows, them all. So we go off for while and get engrossed in the story of two or three characters; then this story is 'parked' and we set off with another set of people before coming back to the old story line. This worked very well for me.
The thing with WSM is the clearly defined sense of time and place. This book is of its era, its class and its social standards. So you do have to be in the mood for a time-piece, and get yourself in the mindset of the author and the characters you will meet. It's snobbish, even prudish, perhaps, by today's standards. But the charm lies in the way he evokes that era.
The narration is good. Some of the voices assumed are a bit annoying - but then, this seemed to go with annoying characters of which there are several...!
Very much enjoyed my fairly short excursion into Edwardian London society.
2 people found this helpful