The Way We Live Now

By: Anthony Trollope

Narrated by: Timothy West

Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

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 tale of financial skulduggery reminiscent of recent city scandals." ( Daily Telegraph)

Timothy West is outstanding!

I could listen to this man read a grocery list and find interest! Absolutely brilliant! Fun book, lots of interesting characters and West’s narration brings them to life in the mind’s eye.

What a wonderful soap opera

The reader Timothy West is amazing. I don't know his work but he made listening to this story for three weeks in the car on the way to and from work so pleasant. The story is definitely captivating and makes one laugh and be thankful that social mores have changed. People should know it's a period piece like Mark Twain and they will find a few unpleasant terms (that was OK at the time) that might be shocking. However, the story is immediately engaging and will bring smiles and some laughter to the ups and downs of the characters lives. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to listening to another one later in the year.

A classic

A real tour de force. Trollope at his very best. And very well read and performed.

A masterpiece

I loved listening to this book. The way I see it, the story, really is made up of 4 separate stories, connected to each other in the way families are connected by marriage between their different members. Tension, between the various members, reaches peaks, that hold the attention of the reader, so much that he can hardly put the book down for a moment. All this is couched in brilliant language that never misses the finest nuance of feeling.

Wonderful narration

I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book. I love all of Trollope’s work. This is a really long read but very engaging. It’s amazing how easy it was to keep track of the multiple storylines, sub plots and characters because of the skillful way the author presents them. The narrator is too good. I will listen to more books in his voice. A five star book, and a five star narrator!

Long, but well worth it.

I have to admit to buying this audiobook solely for the reason that I wanted an author I'd never read before, and a story that would last a while. At 32 hours it did that, BUT, I really enjoyed it. It took a few chapters to get into the scenery as there was a plethora of character's names to remember, but Timothy West convinced me that there was treasure to come. He does an awesome job with the accents and different voices for each character. It really seemed like a a full cast performing a perfectly timed dialogue. As for the storyline, I'll leave that to the publisher's description because my review would go way over the 2000 letters allowed. Put it this way, - hearing this book made me look up and watch the entire new BBC film version on youTube at 10 min intervals because the DVD was unavailable in my area. I look forward to more Anthony Trollope, and definately more Timothy West.

Entertaining Story, Long Winded Writing

My second Trollope book, and the story is excellent. The writer is more inclined to lon-windedness and repetition, which made me wonder if this wasn't a serial or a "novel in three parts" or seven volumes or something like that.

Trollope's ability to wind several characters together is admirable and entertaining. His characters are diverse and personable. Timothy West's reading is always superb.

If you have not encountered Trollope before, I recommend a shorter narrative first to warm you up. But if you already enjoy 19th century literature, this is a solid option.

Trollope's world

The Way We Live Now is an excellent introduction to the writings of Trollope. It's long, but never boring, and the characters are well-developed.

Some might call Anthony Trollope the male equivalent of Jane Austen and I can see why. But to me his stories had such a different flavor. I liked that not everything always comes out perfectly in his endings. I also liked that some of the books got into the workings of Parliament as it was then. He is very good at portraying his female characters, many of whom are very feisty and colorful.

I started with this stand alone book, became utterly fascinated, then listened to all the Barsetshire Chronicles, followed by all the Palliser series. I have spent the last couple of months in Trollope's world and hated to leave it. There are some other novels left, but I loved each of the two series and having familiar characters come in and out of the various books. Even more so than Austen I became so frustrated with problems caused by the lack of communication (due to cultural restraints of the time) that I wanted to grab the particular character out of the book and shake some sense into them.

And what can I say of Timothy West? I love Simon Vance, but after hearing the samples I went with the West narrations and am so glad I did. He was pitch perfect and his accents were marvelous. He was a large part of how much I enjoyed this entire journey. I became so absorbed into this world that I am not at all sure what to read now.

Best Trollope book

Loved every chapter. This is such a classic that I listened twice in the same year. Timothy West is the greatest audio performer for all things Trollope. completely worth your time!

Long but worth every page

Never have I read such a long narrative that never, ever dragged. Part social satire, part realist novel of high seriousness, Trollope’s masterpiece can be approached with recognition as well as with pleasure by any 21st century reader. The most striking commonalities between the two eras, aside from the famikiar foibles of men and women, lies with the striking resonance between the villain, a crass and bold conman who becomes the hero of London business circles, and a certain fake American billionaire who lately made a somewhat polluted splash in politics