Sprig Muslin

Gossip, scandal and an unforgettable Regency romance

By: Georgette Heyer

Narrated by: Amelia Donkor

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

He thought he could set her on a better path. But they might both wander astray....

Sir Gareth Ludlow never truly recovered from the death of his fiancée. Years later, a chance encounter with Amanda, a young and devastatingly pretty runaway, inspires him to try to do the right thing and to set her on a path towards a good life.

But Sir Gareth has been neck-deep in a life of debauchery and hedonism ever since his fiancée's death, and Amanda's startlingly lively imagination proves to be more than he'd bargained for. As they both become increasingly entangled in Sir Gareth's scheme, it seems more and more difficult for either of them to lead the life they should....

A witty and delightful historical novel, Sprig Muslin shows why Georgette Heyer has such a huge and devoted readership to this day.

©1956 Georgette Heyer (P)2021 Penguin Audio

I thought the reader was wonderful.

Some reviewers did not like the reader of this delightful novel by Georgette Heyer. I thought she was fabulous. I loved the British accent, and her subtle differences in narration, depending on the character who was speaking. Don’t be swayed by negative comments. Try it yourself!

Less romance, more comedy

More emphasis on the comedy in this Heyer regency rom-com. Our hero Sir Gareth Ludlow is rejected by his prospective fiancée, and then spends most of the novel trying to help/protect a cluelessly romantic teen girl who has run away from home as part of a scheme to convince her grandfather to allow her to marry her military boyfriend. This child is so annoying that no reader can believe she and Gareth will end up together, but everyone else they meet instantly makes this assumption. Of course there's a happy ending--that's not really a spoiler, is it?
Amelia Donker narrates competently, but unfortunately has a few odd quirks: she reads every "you know" with a 21st century inflection as if it's just a filler phrase, and pronounces "puss" as "pus," rather than an affectionate abbreviation of "pussy," which just meant "kitten" in 19th century polite society.
Look, there's no such thing as a bad Georgette Heyer romance, and the rowdy final chapter of this one is worth the circuitous journey.

Favorite Author, Terrible Narration

I love Georgette Heyer and was so delighted to see a bunch of her books redone on Audible. Unfortunately, the narrator was pretty terrible. I listened to the whole book hoping it would improve or grow on me, but sadly it did not. What a shame, for the story is one of my favorites!

Sweetly witty

Light upbeat story. The witty dialogue will keep you listening and laughing out loud. Heyer’s characters are exceptional. Her pairing of personalities and circumstances keeps the listener engaged.

Wonderful Regency romance needs better narration

A mediocre reader has ruined a delightful, insightful, and funny book. The male and female voices are hard to distinguish, and the pronunciation of "Mama" and "Papa" are centuries off. Georgette Heyer's romances need to be read with a smile on the lips. This reader could probably do a much better job if she were trained in comedic timing and 19th-century aristocratic word usage and conversational style. This performance does no justice to the book and is just irritating.

Georgette Heyer’s “Persuasion”

This is a Heyer I didn’t like as much when I was younger - like A Civil Contract, it has a heroine that is not as dashing as some of Heyer’s, and the love story is not as melodramatic as a Sylvester or a Devil’s Cub. But as I’ve gotten older and realized how exhausting melodrama can be (even though it is fun) its charms have grown on me. Sometimes it’s nice to just watch two thoroughly decent people figure themselves out.

I also quite liked the narrator, which I want to emphasize because I was surprised to see that she has gotten a few bad reviews. I saw one that said Heyer needs to be read “with a smile”. This startled me because I’d just been thinking that I could often hear this narrator smiling as she read! There were a couple of minor mispronunciations, but nothing major; overall she had just the warm upper crust British accent you want for Heyer.

Sweet and Funny Story

I enjoyed the audiobook, though I agree with other listeners that the narration fell short in places. The narrator did a great job with Amanda’s dialogue, but too often adopted a monotone for other parts of the narration. I especially disliked the voice that she used for Hildebrand’s dialogue, which made him sound really weird. Overall, however, I was pleased to find this clever and amusing Georgette Heyer novel in audiobook form.

Although not one of Heyer’s best it has its charm

The story is fun and entertaining. The reader is really bad. It seems at times like she just doesn’t care. Although I thought she was pretty good at Hildebrand.

Historical romance classic

Another Georgette Heyer classic story. It was well narrated and with a very satisfactory conclusion.

Not Heyer’s Best, but still good fun

Less attention to the central romantic storyline than you find in my favorite Heyers, but charming madcap fun