-
The Europeans
- Narrated by: Dianne Burroughs
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Europeans
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The American
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Self-made American millionaire Christopher Newman arrives in Paris brimming with hope and optimism, excited to experience the culture and, hopefully, find the perfect woman to become his wife. After a chance encounter with American expatriate friends, his attention is drawn to Madame de Cintré, 25-year-old widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Having fallen on hard times, the centuries-old aristocratic family permits Newman's courtship to proceed; however, they later persuade the widow to break off her engagement to the nouveau-riche businessman.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
excellent reading
- By Andorboth on 12-03-22
By: Henry James
-
The Tragic Muse
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 20 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
Pressured into a political career by his traditional, establishmentarian family, Nick Dormer longs to be a painter. Eventually, encouraged by the carefree aesthete Gabriel Nash, reminiscent of Oscar Wilde, he resigns from Parliament and follows his artistic dream. His journey is counterpointed with that of budding young actress Miriam Rooth, the subject of Nick's most successful paintings, and the "tragic muse" of the title, who too sacrifices an affluent life (marriage with Nick's cousin Peter) for her art.
By: Henry James
-
Roderick Hudson
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
Roderick Hudson and Rowland Mallet are like two sides of the same coin: while the whimsical and egotistical Roderick recklessly follows his passions in the name of art, altruistic Rowland lives with restraint and measure. The two are bound together almost immediately when Rowland is shown a striking bronze statuette in his cousin's garden, which moves him to meet and support its creator, Roderick. They abandon their provincial New England lives for Rome, where the young sculptor perfects his craft and flourishes among Italy's great masters.
By: Henry James
-
The Bostonians
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
Taking place in Boston, Massachusetts, a decade after the Civil War, The Bostonians tells the story of two cousins who battle for the affections of and control over an enchanting prophetess. While visiting his cousin Olive Chancellor, a fierce feminist deeply involved in the Suffragette movement, Basil Ransom, a Confederate Civil War veteran turned lawyer, attends a speech by the talented young orator Verena Tarrant. Basil quickly falls in love with Verena, although he disagrees with her politics; Olive, however, sees her as the future of the women's rights movement.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A satire that turns tragic
- By Tad Davis on 08-23-20
By: Henry James
-
The Spoils of Poynton
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17
Published in 1897, The Spoils of Poynton is one of the quintessential works of James's middle period. The "spoils" of the book's title refer to furniture and other objets d'art that the widow Adela Gereth moves to her cottage so that they are kept away from the clutches of her coarse future daughter-in-law, Mona Brigstock. However, events take an unexpected turn when her married son Owen is attracted to her friend, Fleda Vetch.
By: Henry James
-
The Portrait of a Lady
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: John Wood
- Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 677
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 566
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 567
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Highly recommended
- By David on 06-26-10
By: Henry James
-
The American
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Self-made American millionaire Christopher Newman arrives in Paris brimming with hope and optimism, excited to experience the culture and, hopefully, find the perfect woman to become his wife. After a chance encounter with American expatriate friends, his attention is drawn to Madame de Cintré, 25-year-old widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Having fallen on hard times, the centuries-old aristocratic family permits Newman's courtship to proceed; however, they later persuade the widow to break off her engagement to the nouveau-riche businessman.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
excellent reading
- By Andorboth on 12-03-22
By: Henry James
-
The Tragic Muse
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 20 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8
Pressured into a political career by his traditional, establishmentarian family, Nick Dormer longs to be a painter. Eventually, encouraged by the carefree aesthete Gabriel Nash, reminiscent of Oscar Wilde, he resigns from Parliament and follows his artistic dream. His journey is counterpointed with that of budding young actress Miriam Rooth, the subject of Nick's most successful paintings, and the "tragic muse" of the title, who too sacrifices an affluent life (marriage with Nick's cousin Peter) for her art.
By: Henry James
-
Roderick Hudson
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
Roderick Hudson and Rowland Mallet are like two sides of the same coin: while the whimsical and egotistical Roderick recklessly follows his passions in the name of art, altruistic Rowland lives with restraint and measure. The two are bound together almost immediately when Rowland is shown a striking bronze statuette in his cousin's garden, which moves him to meet and support its creator, Roderick. They abandon their provincial New England lives for Rome, where the young sculptor perfects his craft and flourishes among Italy's great masters.
By: Henry James
-
The Bostonians
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
Taking place in Boston, Massachusetts, a decade after the Civil War, The Bostonians tells the story of two cousins who battle for the affections of and control over an enchanting prophetess. While visiting his cousin Olive Chancellor, a fierce feminist deeply involved in the Suffragette movement, Basil Ransom, a Confederate Civil War veteran turned lawyer, attends a speech by the talented young orator Verena Tarrant. Basil quickly falls in love with Verena, although he disagrees with her politics; Olive, however, sees her as the future of the women's rights movement.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A satire that turns tragic
- By Tad Davis on 08-23-20
By: Henry James
-
The Spoils of Poynton
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17
Published in 1897, The Spoils of Poynton is one of the quintessential works of James's middle period. The "spoils" of the book's title refer to furniture and other objets d'art that the widow Adela Gereth moves to her cottage so that they are kept away from the clutches of her coarse future daughter-in-law, Mona Brigstock. However, events take an unexpected turn when her married son Owen is attracted to her friend, Fleda Vetch.
By: Henry James
-
The Portrait of a Lady
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: John Wood
- Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 677
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 566
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 567
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Highly recommended
- By David on 06-26-10
By: Henry James
-
The Princess Casamassima
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 20
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 12
Hyacinth Robinson, drawn into the London underworld of revolutionary politics, vows to assassinate an enemy of the people. His exposure to the Princess Casamassima's world of art, nobility, and beauty leads him to lose faith in his cause.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Empathy Armed?
- By C. Bailey on 03-26-08
By: Henry James
-
What Maisie Knew
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 26
Following a violent and messy divorce, young Maisie Farange floats back and forth between her parents, Beale and Ida, who use her as a weapon to torment each other in their ongoing, internecine war. Eventually the parents both remarry, and it becomes clear that the new spouses care more for Maisie than her own parents. Beale and Ida soon embark on a series of extramarital affairs, leaving Maisie in the care of the new step-parents, who begin their own affair with each other.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not a book for Audible
- By Mitzi on 06-22-20
By: Henry James
-
The Golden Bowl
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 25 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 84
Wealthy Maggie Verver has everything she could ever ask for - except a husband and a title. While in Italy, acquiring art for his museum back in the States, Maggie’s millionaire father, Adam, decides to remedy this and acquire a husband for Maggie. Enter Prince Amerigo, of a titled but now poor aristocratic Florentine family. Amerigo is the perfect candidate.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
If you don't love this book, it's your fault
- By Viewer on 09-14-18
By: Henry James
-
The Wings of the Dove
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 141
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 125
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 125
Milly Theale is a young, beautiful, and fabulously wealthy American. When she arrives in London and meets the equally beautiful but impoverished Kate Croy, they form an intimate friendship. But nothing is as it seems: materialism, romance, self-delusion, and ultimately fatal illness insidiously contaminate the glamorous social whirl.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not an easy read but SO worth it!
- By Julie Gray on 10-31-17
By: Henry James
-
Daisy Miller
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Ellie Kendrick
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
Travelling in Europe with her family, Daisy Miller, an exquisitely beautiful young American woman, presents her fellow countryman Winterbourne with a dilemma he cannot resolve. Is she deliberately flouting social convention in the outspoken way she talks and acts, or is she simply ignorant of those conventions? When she strikes up an intimate friendship with an urbane young Italian, her flat refusal to observe the codes of respectable behaviour leave her perilously exposed.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
loved the story
- By Dominick Garcez on 02-18-23
By: Henry James
-
The Real Thing and Other Stories
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Jeremy Northam
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19
Illusion and love - two of James' favourite things - grin thorough this collection of funny and wicked tales. The illusion of social class, a favourite stamping ground for James, is explored in the glittering social comedy "The Real Thing", first published in 1892, in which an artist attempts vainly to capture the nature of aristocracy via painting what he takes to be 'real' members of that social group.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Jeremy Northam's perfection
- By Ann on 07-06-19
By: Henry James
-
Washington Square
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ehle
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
The battle between a father and a daughter is usually portrayed in literature as a struggle between a headstrong but feisty girl and a tradition-bound lead weight of a father. Henry James, of course, had to do it somewhat differently. He tells a story of an intelligent man riding the turn of the tide in mid-19th-century New York and watching what he sees as his numbingly dull and conventional daughter making the mistake of her life in her choice of husband.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A fine narrator, wasted
- By Tad Davis on 05-05-16
By: Henry James
-
The Aspern Papers
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Jeremy Northam
- Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 74
One of the wittiest and most scathing of Henry James' novellas, The Aspern Papers chronicles the attempt to extract the valuable letters of the famous and recently deceased poet Jeffrey Aspern from the hands of his past lover and formidable adversary in the battle Juliana Bordereau. The plot was reputedly suggested to James by a story he heard of an illicit attempt to get hold of several of Lord Byron's letters.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Cat and mouse
- By Beyler Francois on 01-07-18
By: Henry James
-
The Sun Also Rises
- By: Ernest Hemingway, Colm Toibin
- Narrated by: William Hurt
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,929
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,043
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 5,036
A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, The Sun Also Rises introduces two of Hemingway’s most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. In his first great literary masterpiece, Hemingway portrays an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Great actor, terrible reader, kills classic
- By Kerry on 09-14-14
By: Ernest Hemingway, and others
-
Buddenbrooks
- The Decline of a Family
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 26 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 664
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 599
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 597
First published in 1900, when Thomas Mann was 25, Buddenbrooks is a minutely imagined chronicle of four generations of a North German mercantile family - a work so true to life that it scandalized the author’s former neighbours in his native Lübeck.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Where Have You Been All My Life, Thomas Mann?
- By Virginia Waldron on 03-30-17
By: Thomas Mann
-
Tender Is the Night
- By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,032
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 913
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 906
Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character - lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Subtle yet grand
- By jb on 10-12-15
-
The Custom of the Country
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 354
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 315
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 310
Edith Wharton stands among the finest writers of early 20th-century America. In The Custom of the Country, Wharton’s scathing social commentary is on full display through the beautiful and manipulative Undine Spragg. When Undine convinces her nouveau riche parents to move to New York, she quickly injects herself into high society. But even a well-to-do husband isn’t enough for Undine, whose overwhelming lust for wealth proves to be her undoing.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Cannot recommend a better narrator!
- By Esther on 07-29-12
By: Edith Wharton
Editorial reviews
Dianne Burroughs’ airy, contemporary-sounding performance of Henry James’ The Europeans makes this tale of Old and New Worlds colliding feel fresh.
James’ novel concerns two siblings, Felix and Eugenia, who arrive in Boston from Europe to meet their American relatives. Eugenia, in the middle of an unhappy relationship, flirts with a wealthy Harvard graduate. Meanwhile, Felix, an artist, is drawn to straitlaced Gertrude. Gertrude’s father, however, wants her to marry Mr. Brand, a minister.
Burroughs offers a lively rendition of James’ ornate prose and energetic and modulated takes on the different character’s voices.
Publisher's summary
In The Europeans, Eugenia, Baroness Munster, is about to be repudiated by her husband, a German prince. With her artist brother, she travels to Boston to visit relatives that she has never met in the hope of finding a wealthy new husband. Their uncle, Mr. Wentworth, sets them up in a nearby house, and his children, Gertrude, Charlotte, and Clifford, soon become friends with their newly found cousins. Felix, who is old-world charming, amuses himself by painting flattering portraits of the Bostonians and numerous amorous intrigues develop between the European visitors and their new American friends.
Critic reviews
"The Europeans presents a quick summation of why Henry James is among the most illustrious and celebrated American authors. His writing in this book surveys the interaction of European society with early, austere, and moralistic American culture. For historians and sociologists alike, as well as avid fans of lit., James illuminates interactions of the respective characters with poised rhetorical grace, and his sketches are highly readable, understandable, and enjoyable." (The Literature Network)
Related to this topic
-
The American
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Self-made American millionaire Christopher Newman arrives in Paris brimming with hope and optimism, excited to experience the culture and, hopefully, find the perfect woman to become his wife. After a chance encounter with American expatriate friends, his attention is drawn to Madame de Cintré, 25-year-old widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Having fallen on hard times, the centuries-old aristocratic family permits Newman's courtship to proceed; however, they later persuade the widow to break off her engagement to the nouveau-riche businessman.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
excellent reading
- By Andorboth on 12-03-22
By: Henry James
-
The Bostonians
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 55
From Boston's social underworld emerges Verena Tarrant, a girl with extraordinary oratorical gifts, which she deploys in tawdry meeting-houses on behalf of "the sisterhood of women." She acquires two admirers of a very different stamp: Olive Chancellor, devotee of radical causes and marked out for tragedy; and Basil Ransom, a veteran of the Civil War who holds rigid views concerning society and women's place therein. Is the lovely, lighthearted Verena made for public movements or private passions?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic reading!
- By FranceyO on 07-15-11
By: Henry James
-
The Age of Innocence
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,207
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,950
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,944
Countess Ellen Olenska, separated from her European husband, returns to old New York society. She bears with her an independence and an awareness of life which stirs the educated sensitivity of the charming Newland Archer, engaged to be married to her cousin, May Welland. Though he accepts the society's standards and rules he is acutely aware of their limitations. He knows May will assure him a conventional future but Ellen, scandalously separated from her husband, forces Archer to question his values and beliefs.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Narrated to Perfection
- By Ilana on 09-18-12
By: Edith Wharton
-
Swann's Way
- By: Marcel Proust
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 677
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 599
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 594
Swann’s Way is the first of seven volumes in Remembrance of Things Past. It sets the scene with the narrator’s memories being famously provoked by the taste of that little cake, the madeleine, accompanied by a cup of lime-flowered tea. It is an unmatched portrait of fin-de-siècle France.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not a book one reads but inhabits & floats through
- By Darwin8u on 02-24-13
By: Marcel Proust
-
The Mill on the Floss
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Laura Paton
- Length: 20 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 343
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 313
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 313
Maggie Tulliver has two lovers: Philip Wakem, son of her father’s enemy, and Stephen Guest, already promised to her cousin. But the love she wants most in the world is that of her brother Tom. Maggie’s struggle against her passionate and sensual nature leads her to a deeper understanding and to eventual tragedy
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great compassion
- By nina lalumia on 12-26-16
By: George Eliot
-
Night and Day
- By: Virginia Woolf
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
Written before she began her experiments in the writing of fiction, Virginia Woolf's second novel, Night and Day, is a story about a group of young people trying to discover what it means to fall in love. It asks all the big questions: What does it mean to fall in love? Does marriage grant happiness? What is happiness? Night and Day is a conventional novel; however, it maps out for us the world of Virginia Woolf in its wondrous prose: For her it was the beginning, leading on to a prolonged engagement with her search for the means to express the "inner life".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
"After all, what is love?"
- By Eman Abd Allah on 12-13-16
By: Virginia Woolf
-
The American
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Self-made American millionaire Christopher Newman arrives in Paris brimming with hope and optimism, excited to experience the culture and, hopefully, find the perfect woman to become his wife. After a chance encounter with American expatriate friends, his attention is drawn to Madame de Cintré, 25-year-old widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Having fallen on hard times, the centuries-old aristocratic family permits Newman's courtship to proceed; however, they later persuade the widow to break off her engagement to the nouveau-riche businessman.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
excellent reading
- By Andorboth on 12-03-22
By: Henry James
-
The Bostonians
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 55
From Boston's social underworld emerges Verena Tarrant, a girl with extraordinary oratorical gifts, which she deploys in tawdry meeting-houses on behalf of "the sisterhood of women." She acquires two admirers of a very different stamp: Olive Chancellor, devotee of radical causes and marked out for tragedy; and Basil Ransom, a veteran of the Civil War who holds rigid views concerning society and women's place therein. Is the lovely, lighthearted Verena made for public movements or private passions?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic reading!
- By FranceyO on 07-15-11
By: Henry James
-
The Age of Innocence
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,207
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,950
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,944
Countess Ellen Olenska, separated from her European husband, returns to old New York society. She bears with her an independence and an awareness of life which stirs the educated sensitivity of the charming Newland Archer, engaged to be married to her cousin, May Welland. Though he accepts the society's standards and rules he is acutely aware of their limitations. He knows May will assure him a conventional future but Ellen, scandalously separated from her husband, forces Archer to question his values and beliefs.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Narrated to Perfection
- By Ilana on 09-18-12
By: Edith Wharton
-
Swann's Way
- By: Marcel Proust
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 677
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 599
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 594
Swann’s Way is the first of seven volumes in Remembrance of Things Past. It sets the scene with the narrator’s memories being famously provoked by the taste of that little cake, the madeleine, accompanied by a cup of lime-flowered tea. It is an unmatched portrait of fin-de-siècle France.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Not a book one reads but inhabits & floats through
- By Darwin8u on 02-24-13
By: Marcel Proust
-
The Mill on the Floss
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Laura Paton
- Length: 20 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 343
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 313
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 313
Maggie Tulliver has two lovers: Philip Wakem, son of her father’s enemy, and Stephen Guest, already promised to her cousin. But the love she wants most in the world is that of her brother Tom. Maggie’s struggle against her passionate and sensual nature leads her to a deeper understanding and to eventual tragedy
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great compassion
- By nina lalumia on 12-26-16
By: George Eliot
-
Night and Day
- By: Virginia Woolf
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
Written before she began her experiments in the writing of fiction, Virginia Woolf's second novel, Night and Day, is a story about a group of young people trying to discover what it means to fall in love. It asks all the big questions: What does it mean to fall in love? Does marriage grant happiness? What is happiness? Night and Day is a conventional novel; however, it maps out for us the world of Virginia Woolf in its wondrous prose: For her it was the beginning, leading on to a prolonged engagement with her search for the means to express the "inner life".
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
"After all, what is love?"
- By Eman Abd Allah on 12-13-16
By: Virginia Woolf
-
Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 36 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
In this carefully crafted novel, Dickens reveals the complexity of London society in the enterprising 1840s as he takes the listener into the business firm and home of one of its most representative patriarchs, Paul Dombey.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfect pair
- By Philip on 03-25-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
Shirley
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 431
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 361
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 359
Set in the industrialising England of the Napoleonic wars, a period of bad harvests, Luddite riots, and economic unrest, Shirley is the story of two contrasting heroines and the men they love. One is the shy Caroline Helstone, trapped in the oppressive atmosphere of a Yorkshire rectory, whose life represents the plight of single women in the 19th century. The other is the vivacious Shirley Keeldar, who inherits a local estate and whose wealth liberates her from convention.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
"As Romantic As Monday Morning"
- By Joseph R on 09-15-09
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Mary Sarah Agliotta
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 535
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 476
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 471
Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant and phenomenal success and is widely considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. A mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Helen and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A good story ruined by the narrator
- By i. Ski on 04-17-14
By: Anne Brontë
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Bronte
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 113
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 113
Written when women---and workers generally---had few rights in England, Agnes Grey exposes the brutal inequities of the rigid class system in mid-19th-century Britain. Agnes comes from a respectable middle-class family, but their financial reverses have forced her to seek work as a governess.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Make.it.stop.
- By Wayne on 03-18-22
By: Anne Bronte
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 717
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 622
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 616
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it
- By Kerry on 05-22-10
By: Anne Brontë
-
The Belton Estate
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Flo Gibson
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 57
Charming, loving Clara Amedroz is involved with two suitors. How she deals with this dilemma is full of humor and very moving.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Claire's Two Lovers
- By Joseph R on 08-27-09
By: Anthony Trollope
-
The Custom of the Country
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Barbara Caruso
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 354
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 315
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 310
Edith Wharton stands among the finest writers of early 20th-century America. In The Custom of the Country, Wharton’s scathing social commentary is on full display through the beautiful and manipulative Undine Spragg. When Undine convinces her nouveau riche parents to move to New York, she quickly injects herself into high society. But even a well-to-do husband isn’t enough for Undine, whose overwhelming lust for wealth proves to be her undoing.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Cannot recommend a better narrator!
- By Esther on 07-29-12
By: Edith Wharton
-
Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 39 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 600
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 554
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 550
Dombey and Son is vintage Dickens and explores the classic themes of betrayal, cruelty and deceit. Dombey's dysfunctional relationships are painted against a backdrop of social unrest in industrialized London, which is populated by a host of fascinating and memorable secondary characters. The complete and unabridged novel is brought spectacularly to life by veteran reader David Timson.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Utterly incredible!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-12-12
By: Charles Dickens
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,077
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,605
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,568
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
-
Wives and Daughters
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 635
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 487
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 483
Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centers on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister enters Molly's quiet life, the loveable, but worldly and troubling, Cynthia. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It's not about the ending!
- By Sandra on 07-25-05
-
Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Length: 35 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,412
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,272
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,201
Leo Tolstoy's classic story of doomed love is one of the most admired novels in world literature. Generations of readers have been enthralled by his magnificent heroine, the unhappily married Anna Karenina, and her tragic affair with dashing Count Vronsky.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Need to Disclose and Highlight Name of Translator
- By Charles B on 08-27-18
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
The Rise of Silas Lapham
- By: William Dean Howells
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 49
Howells’ best-known work and a subtle classic of its time, The Rise of Silas Lapham is an elegant tale of Boston society and manners. After garnering a fortune in the paint business, Silas Lapham moves his family from their Vermont farm to the city of Boston in order to improve his social position. The consequences of this endeavor are both humorous and tragic as the greedy Silas brings his company to the brink of bankruptcy.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Important for the Era
- By Brent on 03-19-23