Can You Forgive Her?  By  cover art

Can You Forgive Her?

By: Anthony Trollope
Narrated by: Timothy West

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six in the Palliser series.

Trollope inextricably binds together the issues of parliamentary election and marriage, of politics and privacy. The values and aspirations of the governing stratum of Victorian society are ruthlessly examined, and none remains unscathed.

But above all Trollope focuses on the predicament of women. 'What should a woman do with her life?' asks Alice Vavasor of herself, and this theme is echoed by every other woman, from her friend, the uncomfortably married Lady Glencora, to her aunt, the coquettish Mrs. Greenow, as well as her clear-headed cousin, Kate.

Alice is torn between marrying her ambitious but violent cousin George or the bland but gentlemanly John Grey, ending up both accepting and rejecting each of them in turn and thus transgressing from the Victorian moral code.

In contrast, her friend Lady Glencora is forced to marry the rising politician Plantagenet Palliser to prevent the worthless Burgo Fitzgerald from wasting her vast fortune.

Trollope was considered one of the most successful and respected English writers of the Victorian era. With more than 40 published novels, they are regarded by some as among the greatest of 19th-century fiction. Many of his works covered political, social and gender issues. Fans of his work have included former British Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major.

Narrator Biography

Timothy West is prolific in film, television, theatre and audiobooks. He has narrated a number of Anthony Trollope’s classics, 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 theatre roles include King Lear, The Vote, Uncle Vanya, A Number, Quarter, and Coriolanus. His films include Ever After, Joan Of Arc, Endgame, Iris, The Day of the Jackal. On television, Timothy has appeared in Great Canal Journeys, Last Tango in Halifax and Bleak House.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Can You Forgive Her?

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Great reading

I really enjoyed this story. A bit longer than maybe necessary but it kept my interest on long rides. The narrator was wonderful. He made the characters come alive. Especially Lady Glencora.

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The perfect narrator.

Timothy West is great. Perfection of dialect, accent, and pacing.
Trollope is brilliant and funny and I love every second of his books.
They are much better as audio books, because of the brilliance of the readers.

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Jane Austin meets Gone With The Wind

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book has the Victorian aspects and humor of a book like Emma, with the history of that era and characters being revealed similar to Gone With The Wind, sans the war...

What did you like best about this story?

It is very funny and I especially enjoyed how the author speaks directly to the reader from time to time.

What about Timothy West’s performance did you like?

What's not to like? The variation in voices allows for one's imagination to fully form the characters in their mind.

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Wonderfull characters!

The reader was excellent, story enjoyable.
Trollope is a witty fellow too,
I'm eager to continue this monumental saga.

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Wonderful read\listen

An interesting and very humorous story. The narrator was excellent. Timothy West give an authentic voice to each and every character.

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Love the language of Trollope

Trollope obviously learned a lot from Jane Austen, and he uses that knowledge to sweet effect. Excellent reading, very listenable.

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Great Trollope

Eighty chapters leave you wanting more. So many unforgettable characters. Many fascinating females and a few men. Cheers to you

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Oh my! Can We Forgive Her?

This is a lovely story about love in the days when love's expression was circumscribed by the traditions and social customs of England's country villages in the mid-1800s. As usual, Trollope's characters are superbly described and each has a role to play in this tale of provincial life. Lovely story, well told. I think you can assume that you will forgive his heroine her desire for emotional fulfillment. But it's good read and another wonderful Trollope story.

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I LOVE Trollope, but not this one

The first and only Trollope I've been unable to finish. Got 3/4 of the way through, but this book is TOOOO much about the same things--marriage, marriage, marriage--with too little of anything else, such as character development. Too bad!

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amazing performance

What did you love best about Can You Forgive Her??

Just a quick appreciation for the reading by Timothy West: a wonderful job, including convincing regional accents and, perhaps even more impressive, subtle but effective response to the narrative.

I loved the Barchester Novels years ago but could never make much progress with the Palliser series; this reading has changed my mind; I find the reading, and the novel itself, rivetting. The kind of thing that gets you to clean up the garage just to have an excuse to keep listening.

What other book might you compare Can You Forgive Her? to and why?

As another reviewer suggested, I think, a newcomer to Trollope might be better off with Barchester Towers, but I liked Can You Forgive Her very much; a little like Mrs. Gaskell's North and South, without the social commentary. I'm no critic, but I think the exploration of female independence / willfulness has an interesting feminist dimension.

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