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Vanity Fair
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an interesting novel made special by the reading
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Amazing, loved now and no longer hated ☺
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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.
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Fantastic! Fantastic!
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North and South
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion that poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature. When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire....
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an interesting novel made special by the reading
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Middlemarch
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- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
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-
Overall
-
Performance
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Story
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
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All consuming
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The Moonstone
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Considered the first full-length detective novel in the English language, T.S. Eliot described The Moonstone as 'the first and greatest English detective novel'. The stone of the title is an enormous yellow diamond plundered from an Indian shrine after the Siege of Seringapatam. Given to Miss Verinder on her 18th birthday, it mysteriously disappears that very night. Suspicion falls on three Indian jugglers who have been seen in the neighbourhood. Sergeant Cuff is assigned to the case....
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An absolute gem
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-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Late one moonlit night, Walter Hartright encounters a solitary and terrified woman dressed all in white. He saves her from capture by her pursuers and determines to solve the mystery of her distress and terror. Inspired by an actual criminal case, this gripping tale of murder, intrigue, madness and mistaken identity has never been out of print since its publication and brought Collins great fame and success.
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-
Fantastic
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Tess of the D'Urbervilles
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Peter Firth
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When John Durbeyfield discovers a family connection to the ancient Norman family, the D'Urbervilles, the fate of daughter Tess is transformed. Sent by her ambitious parents to visit her wealthy D'Urberville cousins, Tess attracts the attention of the unscrupulous Alec. Seduced and discarded by him and alone in the world, she finds work as a milkmaid and the love of Angel Clare. Yet his love cannot accept the truth about Tess's past.
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Amazing, loved now and no longer hated ☺
- By Dawn on 13-03-15
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The Way We Live Now
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
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Fantastic! Fantastic!
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The Pickwick Papers
- The Dickens Collection: An Audible Exclusive Series
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- Unabridged
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When Samuel Pickwick decides to establish and preside over a travelling society, he unknowingly brings together three of the oddest men in all of London: Tracy Tupman, the loveless self-professed ladies’ man, Augustus Snodgrass, the poet who’s never put pen to paper, and Nathaniel Winkle, the endlessly clumsy sportsman. The ‘Pickwickians’ set off in search of new adventures outside of the confines of the city. Along with a host of other colourful Dickensian characters such as Mr Pickwick’s love-struck landlady, Mrs Bardell, and his trusty sidekick, Sam Weller.
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Perfect
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First class performance
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Hardy's first major literary success, here brought to life by narrator Nathaniel Parker, is the story of the independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene, who inherits her uncle's farm, the largest estate in the area. She surprises the villagers of Weatherbury by deciding to run it herself. Attracted to this bold young woman are three suitors all vying for her affections. They include the lonely gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the young and handsome but inconsiderate Sergeant Troy and the faithful shepherd Gabriel Oak.
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Far From The Madding Crowd
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Beautifully read
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It's the late 1960s, and homosexuality has only just been legalised, and Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party, has a secret he's desperate to hide. As long as Norman Scott, his beautiful, unstable lover is around, Thorpe's brilliant career is at risk. With the help of his fellow politicians, Thorpe schemes, deceives and embezzles - until he can see only one way to silence Scott for good. The trial of Jeremy Thorpe changed our society forever: it was the moment the British public discovered the truth about its political class.
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Excellent
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The Portrait of a Lady
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- Unabridged
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When Isabel Archer, a beautiful, spirited American, is brought to Europe by her wealthy aunt Touchett, it is expected that she will soon marry. But Isabel, resolved to enjoy the freedom that her fortune has opened up and to determine her own fate, does not hesitate to turn down two eligible suitors, declaring that she will never marry. It is only when she finds herself irresistibly drawn to the cultivated but worthless Gilbert Osmond that she discovers that wealth is a two-edged sword.
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James's writing is sublime
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Rebecca
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- Unabridged
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Daphne du Maurier's young heroine meets the charming Maxim de Winter and despite her youth, they marry and go to Manderley, his home in Cornwall. There, the sinister housekeeper Mrs Danvers and the mystery she keeps alive of his first wife Rebecca - said to have drowned at sea - threatens to overwhelm the marriage.
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A classic story of love and life.
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Pride and Prejudice [Audible Studios]
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Lindsay Duncan
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Pride and Prejudice has delighted generations of readers with its unforgettable cast of characters, carefully choreographed plot, and a hugely entertaining view of the world and its absurdities. With the arrival of eligible young men in their neighbourhood, the lives of Mr and Mrs Bennet and their five daughters are turned inside out and upside down.
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First of many
- By DooeyDuck on 19-08-08
Editor reviews
Vanity Fair is a sprawling, tongue-in-cheek comment on the questionable mores of British society and remains one of the defining satirical works of the 19th Century.
An exquisite farce and lengthy dig at the stodgy, The Pilgrim’s Progress, the story primarily follows the travails of Amelia Sedley and Rebecca Sharp, as they leave their button-up girls academy and enter the strangely revered town of Vanity and it’s endless fair, where desires of the heart reign.
Jane Lapotaire narrates this rich, character driven-narrative with grace and restraint, sounding a bit like the grand Dame Judi Dench in the process.
Summary
Vanity Fair, with its rich cast of characters, takes place on the snakes-and-ladders board of life. Amelia Sedley, daughter of a wealthy merchant, has a loving mother to supervise her courtship. Becky Sharp, an orphan, has to use her wit, charm, and resourcefulness to escape from her destiny as a governess. This she does ruthlessly, musing: "I think I could become a good woman, if I had 5000 pounds a year." Thackeray's story is set at the time of the battle of Waterloo, in which the Sedley fortune is lost - and Amelia is back to square one - while Becky rises with contemptuous ease.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Eleanor
- 17-05-18
This is abridged!
The narrator was brilliant and the story entertaining - but this is an abridged version!
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- Joy
- 02-02-12
I know the problem
I was listening to the abridged version with out realizing it until the end. Never again will I make that mistake. Loved this Narrator.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall

- ronwyn
- 09-02-11
Wonderful experience
The reader has an excellent accent and tone, which made for a very enjoyable listen.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Parisparis
- 13-04-15
Fantastic
I finally understand all the references to Becky Sharp!
Excellent reading, excellent story. Leaves one with many things to think about, like all good literature.