The Way We Live Now
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Narrated by:
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Timothy West
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By:
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Anthony Trollope
About this listen
Exclusively from Audible
In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.
Trollope's highly regarded satire is about the dishonest and villainous financier, Augustus Melmotte, who captivates and buys his way into the corrupt aristocratic society of London, throwing it into turmoil.
Described by The Guardian as 'the darkest of Trollope's 47 novels' it is also the longest with gloriously rich subplots. Inspired by the financial scandals of the 1870s, the novel is a dramatization of how greed and dishonesty permeated life during that era.
The Way We Live Now has become recognised as Trollope's masterpiece and was featured at Number 22 in The Guardian's 100 best novels.
Narrator Biography
Timothy West is prolific in film, television, theatre, and audiobooks. He has narrated a number of Anthony Trollope's classic audiobooks, including the six Chronicles of Barsetshire and The Pallisers series. He has also narrated volumes of Simon Schama's A History of Britain and John Mortimer's Rumpole on Trial.
Timothy West's theatrical credits include King Lear, The Vote, Uncle Vanya, A Number, Quarter, and Coriolanus and his films include Ever After, Joan Of Arc, Endgame, Iris, and The Day of the Jackal. On television, Timothy has appeared in Broken Biscuits (BBC), Great Canal Journeys (across 3 Series), and the regular role of Stan Carter on EastEnders (BBC).
Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.Critic reviews
A book for the 21st Century
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It's a very long novel but Trollope's writing is so entertaining that it doesn't drag. It could have done because he was, to my mind, spinning it out just a bit but my interest never flagged. Trollope does tend to deal in this book with one story line for long stretches and then retrace his steps to go back to what was happening a few weeks before to other characters so he has to do a bit of a recap every now and then.
It's very witty in places and West brings out Trollope's wry humour at the expense of some of his characters well. Very few escape his wit.
There are some splendidly vile characters here notably Melmotte (who only just stays the right side of pantomime villain) and Sir Felix Carbury who is a hopeless case. There only seem to be three really good people amongst the main characters, Hetta Carbury, Roger Carbury and Marie Melmotte and I must admit Marie is for me the real heroine of the piece. I was cheering for her from quite early on. I also have a soft spot for Mrs Hurtle who is a rather modern American lady with a surprising moral code.
It's a good listen.
Entertaining
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I particually loved his Lord Nidderdale- but it's just as well Marie Melmotte never meets Mme Max Goesler from the Pallisers as it seems they have to share, more or less, the same 'female of indeterminate European origin' voice between them.
Marie was rather the weak spot in the story for me- I thought Trollope treated her rather harshly in the end and should have picked out a better husband for her.
Not Palliser, nor in Barsetshire but still perfect
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Beautiful, made me smile & chuckle throughout. And the different voices of the narrator were equally well done.
Delicious phrases in descriptions and conversation!
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Brilliant
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