A Great and Terrible Beauty

By: Libba Bray

Narrated by: Josephine Bailey

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls, and their foray into the spiritual world, lead to?

©2003 Libba Bray (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic Reviews

"A delicious, elegant gothic." (Publishers Weekly)

More Details, please!

Libba Bray gives us a strong, determined heroine in this gothic fantasy/mystery. Gemma seldom shrinks from bullies, a challenge, or her own desires, and this is refreshing, especially so in a young woman in an 1895 setting. Quite a nice departure from most angst-ridden teens. Not all of Gemma's friends are likeable, but she does the best with what she has.

What I found lacking was a sense of place and flow. Characters drive this novel, but the settings deserved more detail, and action often takes leaps that leave gaps in the imagination, making it hard to follow, especially towards the end. Younger readers may appreciate the fast flow but it can be frustrating to an adult.

Josephine Bailey as narrator sparkles. If only all readers were so talented! Her voices are singular and easy to recognize, despite Felicity's voice slipping into a Gilligan's Island Mrs. Howell in the beginning. Overall she's a joy to listen to.

Ms. Bray's portrayal of Victorian society and its expectations on girls is both honest and rebellious and strikes a modern chord that in too many instances still plays today. This novel does much to underline this without detracting from the story whatsoever, showing the personal implications for each girl rather than preaching.

Four stars for being an easy listen, good historical depiction, strong characters, and appropriate for the intended audience.

A Great Narrator, an Acceptable Book

A somewhat predictable gothic/fantasy book. Gemma receives her wish to leave India for England when her mother is mysteriously killed on Gemma's 16th birthday. Gemma is shipped off to boarding school in England. There she must gain the acceptance of her schoolmates, solve the mystery of mother's death, and learn to deal with her "powers". An interesting look into social mores of the Victorian era.

Certainly not the best written book I have listened to, but the narrator was what made this such an enjoyable listen. She did a delightful job of capturing the personality of the characters, and managed to make each sound distinctly different. She kept my attention more than the story line did!

A Great and Wonderful Book

Libba Bray's first in the Jemma Doyle series, A Great and Terrible Beauty is a journey well worth taking. I would never recommend this book to a guy, but for the rest of us, we've all felt like Jemma sometimes. That's the beauty of the book- yes, it's set in Victorian England and, yes, part of it takes place in a magical otherworld called the Realms, but still, Jemma and all her struggles and friends and enemies and frienemies feel real. This book concludes its narrative, but still leaves open a number of questions so that the sequel is very desirable. Even if it hadn't left open the major snare that gets you into the next book, you'd still want to go on. The world created, the characters introduced, and the relationships just starting to burgen in this book are developed more in the following ones. Well worth the read even if you aren't going on to the next, but with such a great author brilliant narrator, and compelling story, why wouldn't you. I'm still hoping for a fourth book.

New details second time around...

I read this series out of order in high school on accident. That was over 10 yrs ago! I’m reading it I. Order this time lol and I love it all the same. I found new details that I missed the first time around. I love Libby Bray’s writing style. It’s easy to follow, but detailed enough to take you there. I would recommend this to young adults or teens.

Perfectly voiced!

One of my favorite books as a teenager and still over 10 years later. Narrator is AMAZINGLY PERFECT! Easily the best audio book I've ever listened to after already reading it myself! Bravo!

Libba Bray frees women

The way she writes her women is unparalleled. She gives depth to characters that break through stereotypes, have real problems, and demonstrate the capacity to build strong female friendships. This book is for adults and teens alike. Wake up, ladies! There's a whole world out there and you are allowed to feel it with the full spectrum of your being.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the narrator. Her voices were subtle but made all the difference.

Certainly Great Reading!!

I know some people would not enjoy this book because it's mostly not what they 've been expecting. At first, I was sort of dissapointed, even feel bored, but then things started to get real exciting in the end. To read this book, you have to have patience and maturity, and you'll find it valuable. Really great book, great narration too.

Victorian page-turner

This book may be classified as Young Adult fiction but don?t let that stop you. It?s an intriguing, well-crafted story that will monopolize the time of anyone who enjoys the Victorian era, magic, life lessons, and complex characters. The author has perfectly captured the essence of sixteen-year-old girls, but there are no stereotypes here. The narrator manages to give each of the girls a distinctive voice ? and there are quite a few of them. I would recommend the book on the narrator?s performance alone.

Great narrator!

This is one of the best narrators I’ve heard on this app. I’ve been rereading this series for the first time since I was younger and I really enjoyed doing so through Audible. Recommend!

literally my favorite series

do yourself a favor and start the series its juicy af, beautiful story telling, hints of romance that dont overtake the entire plot with mushy shit and so much beautiful fictional world building :)