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The Hand of Ethelberta  By  cover art

The Hand of Ethelberta

By: Thomas Hardy
Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
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Publisher's summary

Opportunistic, shrewd and beautiful, Ethelberta resolves to disguise her humble beginnings and elevate her position in society. Crafting her career as a society poet and staging her family as her servants, she proves admirably adept at sustaining her own web of deceit as she reinvents herself and navigates the attentions of four different suitors. The wealthiest is not the one she loves... what will she do? This is a light-hearted urban tale, offering a different side of Thomas Hardy. The master of pastoral realist novels was presenting a "somewhat frivolous narrative", which nevertheless displayed his acute consciousness of class divisions and continues to delight those who discover it within his better-known works.

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Public Domain (P)2023 Naxos AudioBooks UK Ltd.

Critic reviews

"Fenella Woolgar gives an exemplary performance of this gentle comic novel, which skews the English class system.... Woolgar provides Ethelberta with a youthful, light tone that belies her resolute nature. Woolgar expertly distinguishes the many characters with individualized vocal expression. Her pacing is relaxed, and her vivid depictions of rural and city settings add atmosphere. This novel is an easy listen and can serve as an introduction to Hardy's works." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Hand of Ethelberta

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A pleasant surprise

Though usually considered one of Hardy’s lesser novels, this was was a thoroughly enjoyable listen. (The “hand” of the title refers to Ethelberta’s hand in marriage.) The eponymous protagonist is the intelligent, strong willed middle daughter of a large working class family, struggling to make ends meet in class-conscious England. Not nearly as bleak as Tess or Jude, the novel includes a good dose of comedy. Fenella Woolgar’s reading is perfect.

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