The Blue Sapphire

By: D. E. Stevenson

Narrated by: Hilary Neville

Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

On a beautiful spring day, Julia Harburn sat on a seat in Kensington Gardens enjoying the sunshine.

She was wearing a white frock and a large straw hat with a sapphire-blue ribbon which exactly matched her eyes - a strange coincidence, as it turned out, for the blue sapphire was to have a far-reaching influence upon her life.

So far, her life had been somewhat dull and circumscribed; but quite suddenly her horizons were enlarged. She began to make new friends - and enemies - and she began to discover new strength and purpose in her own nature. This development of her character led her into strange adventures.

©1963 D. E. Stevenson (P)2005 Soundings

Delightfully silly story

This is the kind of book that's as enjoyable on the zillionth relisten as on the first listen, and I'm always sorry when it ends. Compared to others of Stevenson's novels, this one is less involved, but the characters delightful. Be aware that it does touch on issues of British empire that will be uncomfortable for many readers, so don't gift it without reading it first.

Lovely, vintage DES

I had read this book before, and had forgotten a lot of it, so it was delightful to rediscover the world of Julia and her surroundings. You won't be disappointed. Hilary Neville's narration is wonderful; she is one of my favorite DES readers and she hits the accents perfectly. Very satisfying.

my favorite d e stevenson book

i have read and cherished her books for over 50 years. this is a very good audible version of blue sapphire. this book will give you comfort and entertainment no matter your situation or mood, if you love a good English story. for those who criticize it, for being outdated or slow, whatever that means, you are simply not worthy and you just don't get it. if you have not discovered d e stevenson, she is a wonderful gift to a certain type of reader.

A meandering journey

I only "discovered" DE Stevenson recently, but I have enjoyed many of her books several times over. This offering will not make my re-listen list. It seems as if DE collected scrap ends from different stories that just didn't make it into a more robust novel. It's not to say it's not gentle and somewhat enjoyable, but the heroine has almost no character and her foray in the hat-selling business seems dated, even as it was written.
A better DE Stevenson book about a young woman leaving a sheltered life is "Listening Valley."
If you're looking for something not terribly hard to follow with no big surprises or alarming plot turns, this could fit the bill. (And I'm not being sarcastic, sometimes a quiet book is needed.) It should be noted that this book puts forth a few more stereotypes and recycled characters than usual.
The narrator, Hilary Neville, does her usual excellent job.

Not my favourite Dorothy Stevenson

I was excited to find this on audible because in print it is rare and expensive. The narrator does a wonderful job, but there is only so much you can do for this main character. She is aggravatingly stupid and frustrating. I am glad I didn't spend big money on the print version is all I can say.

Predictable and boring

The worst kind of romance. Characters are stereotypes. Dialogue cringeworthy. If you want suspension of disbelief this story is not for you

Story is awful

So much wrong with one book. I usually like this author, but this book is awful. The fiancé is so awful that readers are forced to root for the guy who refuses to hear the word NO.
There is so much casual racism here. “The darkest Africa”, referring to a native African as “the creature” and pulling out the N-word when referring to how hard the character was working. Additionally, there is the casual rape of Africa’s natural resources, and (what would now be considered illegal) insider trading on the stock market.

The main character is so vapid that she doesn’t know how to find an actual job. She is multi lingual but ends up working retail making very little money. Which doesn’t matter really because her daddy is wealthy and gives her an allowance, plus the aforementioned insider trading gives her a tidy nest egg.
This book has some funny moments, but the condescending manner is which it is written will make any modern reader grind teeth in frustration and stop reading before the end of the first chapter. Do yourself a favor and skip this altogether.