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The Professor
- Narrated by: James Wilby
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
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The Professor
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Summary
Exclusively from Audible
The Professor is Charlotte Brontë's first novel albeit the last to have been published. Edited and distributed by Arthur Bell Nicholls, two years after Brontë's death, it is based on her experiences of living as a language student in Brussels.
The only male narrator and protagonist in her stories, The Professor follows the career and love affairs of William Crimsworth, a reserved but compassionate aristocrat who has been ostracised by his family and left penniless.
Well educated and eager to enthuse others, William becomes a teacher and leaves his scornful family behind to work at a boy's boarding school in Brussels. Unimpeded by his gender, unlike the female characters in her stories, Charlotte takes advantage of William's freedom to travel and delight in the pleasures of the opposite sex. Her hero becomes enamoured with the headmistress of a neighbouring girl's school and this tempestuous relationship is mirrored with the sweet and gentle bond he forges with pupil, Frances Henri.
Described by Brontë herself as possessing more 'pith, more substance' and 'more reality' than Jane Eyre, this audiobook provides greater insight into the short life of the beloved author and reaffirms that her reputation as one of the greats of English Literature, is well deserved.
Narrator Biography
James Wilby trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and later became an associate member of the institution.
He is an English actor, celebrated for appearing in films such as Maurice, Gosford Park, Howard's End and A Room with a View.
James' breakthrough performance was in the production of Privileged, in which he starred alongside Hugh Grant. This led to his being cast in the critically acclaimed Maurice, for which he won the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor award.
His stage performances include Helping Harry, Don Juan, Less Than Kind, On Emotion and The Consultant. He starred in the Royal Shakespeare Company's revival of John Osborne's A Patriot for Me, which was met with very favourable reviews.
James has also worked on the making of various audiobooks and is widely considered to be one of the greatest voices of the British drama. His audio work includes Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind, Graham Greene's It's a Battlefield, Ian McEwan's Saturday and The Girl at the Lion D'Or by Sebastian Faulks.
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What listeners say about The Professor
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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
- Alice Perkins, London
- 16-03-24
Well worth listening to. Not the Charlotte Brontë I expected!
So well read and far more interesting than anticipated. It helps to speak French as those parts in French are not translated.
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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
- Dianne E.
- 27-07-23
I really enjoyed listening to this again
I read this years ago and have really enjoyed listening to it again I might get more Brontë books to explore all over again.
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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
- West End Girl
- 10-04-21
Loved this book so much I didn’t want it to end.
I loved the characters, the story, the impeccable French accent and the ending. A must for Brontë fans. One to listen to again.
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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
- ET
- 17-05-22
Performance
This performance was good. But again the volume isn’t constant. It fades in and out.
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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
- Angela
- 02-07-21
Helps if You understand a bit of French
If you like historical novels, this is definitely worth a listen.
The narrator does a good job, especially considering that a fair chunk of the dialogue is in French.
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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
- Myopic
- 17-12-21
Wonderful read.
Excellent narrator and a fascinating novel. A great way to escape into a different era.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mrs R Samways
- 09-08-21
A Compelling Story
I found this book hard to put down. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly are all found interwoven into the story.
However the narrator, ie the Professor, is rather twee, almost too good to be true. It is a quieter story than some of the Bronte novels, but the passion and romance are there and it is a good "listen".
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 26-04-22
Beautifully read, almost performed
Amazingly well read by James Wilby, who brought the story alive and did a remarkable job of using his voice to distinguish between characters.
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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
- Rebecca
- 30-12-21
Great if you speak French
I love the Brontes but I’m sad to say that I gave up on this book in the end. I found the characters unlikable but that usually isn’t a reason for me to quit a book. However, the sections in French were so frequent that I felt I was missing whole conversations and I felt like I was wasting my time listening to a book I didn’t understand whole chunks of. Such a shame for me but I’m sure it’s great if you do speak French!
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2 people found this helpful
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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
- Parissa
- 06-04-22
So-so book made interesting by amazing reader
I now understand why Charlotte Brontë’s best known book is Jane Eyre. The Professor is moderately interesting. It’s important to bear the historical context in mind when listening to this book. Still, the author’s prejudiced references to the Flemish made me wince…
The whole thing is made interesting by James Wilby’s amazing reading. I cannot say enough good things about James Wilby as a narrator. Could he please narrate many many more books? He could make tax manuals fascinating…
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