Edith Wharton Collection

The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, and Ethan Frome

By: Edith Wharton

Narrated by: Jonathan Waters

Length: 25 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Discover three classic novels by the literary genius Edith Wharton.

Inside this bundle, you’ll find three stories which established Edith Wharton as a literary legend.

Originally written over a hundred years ago, these stories have stood the test of time to resonate in the hearts of people to this very day. Reflecting the life of the upper-class aristocrats and socialites, The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence offer tragic tales, while Ethan Frome tells a story in a small wintery town of Massachusetts.

With complex characters, tragic endings, and a timeless quality which explores the social customs of the upper class, these books are perfect for anyone interested in the literary genre.

Buy now to discover Edith Wharton’s classic works today!

Public Domain (P)2020 Montgomery Providence Publishing

A Nice Way to Enjoy a Classic

First off … this is not my typical fare; in fact, I don’t usually care for relationship drama, but I am on a bit of a classics kick and this seemed like an easy way to move outside my comfort zone … and for the most part that is true. The Narration on this collection was great and made it all very enjoyable. In “The Age of Innocence,” we get a Hallmark love triangle set in the NYC socialite scene that now has a bit of a nostalgic feel to it. I am not sure why “The House of Mirth” was not first, but they are remarkably similar stories to my mind, with perhaps a more stinging critique of social expectations and obligations of the time found here. Enough to make me happy to not be living then (while every age has its issues, I would like to believe that there is more freedom and opportunity today for many folks that traditionally had little or none). Granted this is all first world issues … but is still progress. The last piece, “Ethan Frome,” is the weakest of the three and explores an even darker side of human social relationships. All in all, it was worth the effort, but such stories remain a bit of a struggle for me to enjoy much.

The chapters and sections in this work are:

“The Age of Innocence”
Book 1 (5:47)
Book 2 (5:45)

“The House of Mirth”
Book 1 (6:41)
Book 2 5:32)

“Ethan Frome” (3:14)

I was given this free advance review/listener copy (ARC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#EdithWharton #FreeAudiobookCodes

awesome

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! excellent overall

Glad for the compilation

This is the first I’ve listened to/ read these stories. I’m glad they’ve been put together in this compilation. I’m not finished listening to the stories, but this is where audiobooks really shine for me. It gives me an opportunity to listen to books I’d otherwise not have time to read.

This is the first book I have listened to by this narrator ( Jonathan Waters ) and I would gladly listen to another. He does female voices very well. I am definitely aware I’m being read to, yet he is pleasant to listen to and has a nice cadence to his narration.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

Loved the first 2 titles, not so much Ethan Frome

I love Edith Wharton and The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth didn't dissapoint. I found the mispronunciation of virtually all expressions in French most grating.

I tried, I really tried

A great Gilded Age yarn from good ol' Edith Wharton. I did try the narrator because it was three books in one, but alas, you get what you pay for. The narrator has a nice voice, and is undoubtedly a good overall reader, but, he seems to be able to only do one voice for men, and one for women, (which sounds like the Dame in a Xmas Panto). He doesn't seem to be able to pronounce French words, which is unfortunate because these books are loaded with them.

I think I'd like to try the same narrator on a non-fiction work and see how it goes, he does have a very nice voice, just the wrong pick for these stories if you care about that sort of thing. Cheers to him anyway, but I'm going with a different narrator for these, it is worth the expense.

Edith Wharton Collection

I liked this compilation.I got into the second book better than book 1.Since it was written over 100 years ago it takes a bit to understand.In the age of innocence a divorce seems to be the worst thing a woman can ask for.She had to sue her husband. In House of Mirth we find a woman looking for a man to keep her..Ethan Frome seemed to be a stand alone winters tale.. Jonathan Waters was a fine narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

Well read, monumental novel.

Though the women’s voices are sometimes completely over the top. Not sure that Wharton had imagined them to sound that way. And the French mimicking is at first completely unintelligible until one understands that the voice actor must have skipped all French classes (M. Ree-vee-air - whatever happend to Monsieur? The choo-y-le-ries? Place-day-In-valli-dees?).

Great collection!

What an amazing narration of such lovely works! Enjoyed every bit of the narration. The narrator does an amazing job!

returned book because reader is so bad

I wanted a collection of Wharton's novels, and so I listened to the preview snippet and decided to get the book. However, on listening to the recording, I was continually frustrated by the narrator. He mispronounces virtually any foreign word and wrongly places the accent even on English words. For example, he mispronounces the author Thackeray's name (which you'd think the reader of a classic novel would know). An important part of audio narration is understanding the meaning of words and phrases and letting the stress fall where sense dictates. He constantly places the stress where it doesn't belong. I didn't have a hard copy of the first novel, The Age of Innocence, open before me, but I'm certain that he misread words on multiple occasions, so I was left wondering if the original could possibly have said what he said.

Wharton's novels are masterpieces and there's a real need for a collection like this one, but with a narrator who understands the text well, and has a sophisticated command of the language to match the sophistication of the writer.

Classic stories deserve a better storyteller...

I am a fan of Edith Wharton and wanted to listen to her classic stories while driving in the author's native New York and New England. However, I could barely get through Ethan Frome due to the narration. Being familiar with the story as well as a frequent audio/'Audible' listener, I found the quality of this reading void of depth and range. The male narrator using falsetto to imitate female voices was especially distracting. An engaging narration is why we listen. Otherwise, we don't.