The Chaperone

By: Laura Moriarty

Narrated by: Elizabeth McGovern

Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922, and the summer that would change them both.

Only a few years before becoming a famous actress and an icon for her generation, a 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita to make it big in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle is a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip. She has no idea what she’s in for: Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous blunt bangs and black bob, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will change their lives forever.

For Cora, New York holds the promise of discovery that might prove an answer to the question at the center of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in a strange and bustling city, she embarks on her own mission. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, it liberates her in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of the summer, Cora’s eyes are opened to the promise of the 20th century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.

©2012 Laura Moriarty (P)2012 Penguin Audio

I loved the story - a saga - and the performance.

This was a great read (listen). If you like a good story read this one.

Lovely

Really good story. Elizabeth McGovern was the perfect choice to narrate this story. I was a little sad when the story ended.

Very Good Storie

I loved how Cora grew in this storie. I loved the end of how she was able to live the life she wanted even to the end of her life and her secrets stayed secret to the end.

Two fascinating stories in one

Wonderful historical fiction, beginning with an orphan girl, Cora, placed on an orphan train, heading out of New York City, and getting chosen to be a daughter by a couple in Kansas. We travel through life with Cora - her marriage - her life that takes unusual turns - and then get story #2 when Cora is a summer chaperone for a teenage Louise Brooks. Cora's life is never the same after that chaperoning job. Louise is based upon a real life character who eventually became an actress during the early years of Hollywood. Elizabeth McGovern was a terrific reader for this book, right down to the clipped mid-Western accents of Kansas. I highly recommend this.

Adoption, Louise Brooks, Blended Family

I am sad this book is over, and I'm writing this review to tell you to read this if you are at all interested in the subject.

What a Treat!!

What a terrific story!! I really enjoyed the main character, Cora, and how she was transformed by her experience as a chaperone to the wild Louise Brooks. Elizabeth McGovern was a marvelous narrator. I'm looking forward to more books by Ms. Moriarty and hope that Downton Abbey won't take up so much of Ms. McGovern's time that she can't narrate some more choice novels like The Chaperone. It was a great experience.

pleasantly surprised

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

Yes, It was so well read and i became involved in the movements and actions

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Chaperone?

When she allowed herself to become empowered and acted for herself, raher then the times. Very dignified and soft

Have you listened to any of Elizabeth McGovern’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No but I am have always enjoyed her performances as a teen in Ordinary People and Downton Abbey.

Read this book for my book club

I enjoyed the book I enjoyed the reading of it and the overall story I will read more of her stories in the future because I enjoyed it I like that it's band several years starting before my time and going through the 50s 60s and 70s pretty much most of my lifetime very good book

Not what it seems at first

If you could sum up The Chaperone in three words, what would they be?

Unexpected

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character deepens and develops in unexpected ways, yet her actions are internally consistent and so plausible.

Which character – as performed by Elizabeth McGovern – was your favorite?

Elizabeth McGovern is an excellent narrator: clear and able to adjust to each character. Her flat midwestern accent was spot-on, especially as it was stronger when the action occurred in the Midwest.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I thought about this book for quite some time after finishing it: what don't we know about the people around us, how do people change and develop -- and under what circumstances -- yet stay true to their essential selves? I truly wished to meet many of the characters.

History, mystery, love

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Elizabeth McGovern reading this interesting and wonderful historical novel. Must listen.