The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

If you haven't read or heard, as the case may be, "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell", go do that now. After you are finished, pick up "The Ladies of Grace Adieu". The incomparable Susanna Clarke further establishes a 19th century Britain where the practice of magic is a reality and the study of faeries a laudable diversion for any gentleman or lady. This is a collection of several previously published works and well worth the listen.

Clarke's writing is much illuminated by footnotes and this particular audible rendition, through the use of two narrators, easily handles the format.

The narrators are engaging throughout and both have a certain droll delivery that well captures the subtle humor found throughout Ms. Clarke's work.

I thought I would be bothered by the inclusion of Davina Porter in this reading, because Simon Prebble was amazing in his reading of Clarke's "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," but I was wrong. So, with two talented readers, this audio book was fantastic.

I found these short tales light, pleasant and entertaining for a 1.5-2 hour drive. I would not call them gripping, but they held my attention well enough for me to think "no, don't go down that lane' or 'gees...don't look!' After a couple of hours, I found myself needing a little break to ponder the story and the times in which which it occurred. Would I recommend it to my Audible pals....as a nice diversion for one who likes to sample the menu and try something different, yes.

Although not all of these stories are Clarke at her best, they have an oral feel that makes the audio book an excellent way to experience them. JSMN fans will especially appreciate the title story, which provides a female response to the divided magician's public sphere in JSMN and a refreshing reworking of the classic female gothic narrative. My favorite is probably the complex story about the English minister, whose adaptation to fairy ways reminds me of the creepy conclusion to Gulliver's visit with the Hwynmnmns (sp?). I've noticed that Clarke is especially appreciated by English lit fans and scholars.

These are wonderful stories, maybe even better than her long novel "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" which I read first and enjoyed very much. Smart, entertaining, witty, I recommend this very highly.

If you are a Jane Austen fan you will really enjoy this book. The talk from that era is the same. Nothing grizzly here, just enjoyment. More of a woman's read I think. A quiet, leisurely listen.

Having not read Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell (though it's been on my shelf for ages) I was a bit bemused by the first story and almost gave up. I loved the language and atmosphere, but found the characters hard to engage with and wasn't always entirely sure exactly what was going on.
However the next story, an evocative, whimsical and cheeky retelling of the English folk tale Tom Tit Tot, totally sucked me in and from then on I was completely hooked. The two readers worked well for me, they each brought something different to the stories, though in some ways it would have made things clearer if they'd alternated story by story as sometimes the transition from one story to another was unclear. Also it would be nice if the chapters were each individual stories, so you could easily navigate back to the beginning of a story (if, like me, you sometimes vague out and then suddenly realise you are not sure what's going on).

I listened to these in the last weeks of my pregnancy as I walked the hills and bushlands of my area and it totally transformed the surrounding environment into Clarke's fairytale world. I think this will be the first audio book experience I will treasure as an experience with its own peculiarly intimate geography - something I usually identify with the physical terrain of the book.

Recommended for people with an interest in fairy and folktales, fans of Neil Gaiman, Angela Carter, Margaret Mahy. If you like this I highly recommend Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels, which uses Snow White and Rose Red as a storytelling frame. Be warned though, Lanagan's world is far less benign than Clarke's fairy landscape of tricksters and sprites and does contain confronting themes.

I jumped on this one as soon as I finished the delicious Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, but was sadly disappointed. It was difficult to adjust to the female narrator, and even Simon Prebble's voice had a different tone, but it seemed more like it was in the quality of the recording. I only took to two or three of the stories, the rest were not easy to follow, especially the one about Mary Queen of Scots. I don't even remember if that's the right title. The last story was charming, laugh out loud funny, and I wish more of them had that familiar whimsical, magical feel. But they don't. If you are yearning for more after reading Jonathan Strange, I'm sure you will want to follow it up with this one, but it was not the enjoyable transition that I'd hoped for.

Not sure what's up here. I love Tom Robins and thought that I would grab this, but it is definitely the poorest quality audiobook I have downloaded from audible.com. I cannot believe that there is not a quality control process to keep these terrible cassette tape rips from showing up for sale here. This is not worth downloading from audible find it elsewhere or get it from the library. Sounds terrible on an ipod.