A Damsel in Distress

De: P. G. Wodehouse

Narrado por: Frederick Davidson

Strange things are happening at Belpher Castle. For starters, the Earl's sister is intent on pairing off her stepson, Reggie, and niece, Lady Patricia (known as Maud). Maud, however, is in hot pursuit of Geoffrey Raymond, and she is also being pursued by the unacceptable composer, George Bevan.

"Reggie was a troubled spirit these days. He was in love, and he had developed a bad slice with his mid-iron. He was practically a soul in torment."

Public Domain (P)1993 Blackstone Audiobooks

Love the story

The story is great, I liked the narrator, but in the second half the recording got very choppy and hard to listen to. I backed up and it was rough in the same places, leading me to believe it's the copy and not my headphones or device.

Positively Spiffing!

It is an excellent one off, and almost every phrase is sheer linguistic magic! When I read Wodehouse, I find my speech elevated for days!

Early Wodehouse

This reads like an early Blandings Castle tale in many ways. Great fun. With Wodehouse, it isn't so much the tale as the TELLING of the tale. His phrasing, his tone are the key, and that makes him perfect for audio books.

Very Entertaining!

This was my first by the author. I loved it! Very english, and very entertaining. Not so much a laugh outloud comedy, but lots of ironic humor. And attention-holding to the end! I'd definitely recommend it.

Funny voices, misread lines

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. The narrator mis-read too many sentences and mis-pronounced too many words.

What other book might you compare A Damsel in Distress to and why?

This novel seems to be a precursor to the Blandings Castle series by the same author.

How could the performance have been better?

I would have preferred that the narrator keep the funny voices to the dialog. Reading the entire book with a fake upper-class accent is not only unnecessary it is intensely irritating. It sounds like a bad Tim Curry impersonation.

Apart from which, the narrator seems incapable of reading more than a few words ahead. Given the unpredictable nature of Wodehouse's long sentences, this failing produces many inappropriate pauses and meaningless fragmentary phrases. I don't know what to suggest to remedy this - learn to read, perhaps?

Did A Damsel in Distress inspire you to do anything?

Throw a boot at the stereo.

Any additional comments?

Grrrr!