Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One

A Companion to the Roxton Family Saga, Books 1-3

By: Lucinda Brant

Narrated by: Alex Wyndham

Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

These are letters from the private correspondence of the Roxton family, spanning 1743-1777, with extracts from the diaries of Antonia, fifth duchess of Roxton and seventh duchess of Kinross. They include Roxton's last letter to Antonia. This volume complements the first three books of the award-winning Roxton Family Saga: Noble Satyr, Midnight Marriage, and Autumn Duchess, with a foreword by a late-Victorian descendant, Alice-Victoria, 10th duchess of Roxton.

©2015 Lucinda Brant (P)2015 Lucinda Brant

She does it again!

Lucinda Brant has done it again! I absolutely love the Roxton series and am so happy there is a continuation of my favorites character's stories. Eternally Yours, narrated by the amazingly talented Alex Wyndham, lets listeners in to private conversations between the Duke of Roxton and his lover, as well as some other characters. This is such a neat way to go back and hear snipbits about the history. This story will give you all the feels!! And my favorite part? The introduction "written" by a family member much further down the generations! Wonderful!

Give me more!

Loved this compilation of letters that fills in the blanks in the Roxton series. Loved the ones especially from the Duke (Monsigneur). Such a great series, I hope there will be more like this, especially wonderful with Alex Wyndham narrating! He captures the tone of this series so well!

I was tearing up in the car

Would you listen to Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One again? Why?

Yes. They're very well written.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Duke - he's a great husband

What does Alex Wyndham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has the dreamiest voice, and does a wonderful job of differentiating characters. I even checked to see if there might be a YouTube of him reading a phone book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The various love letters were very moving, especially the Duke's on his deathbed. It did make me tear up while I was driving.

Any additional comments?

I've enjoyed the whole series, and recommended them to my sisters. They do a great job of pulling you into their time and situation. I enjoyed revisiting the characters I had come to know in the earlier books.

More Pieces to the Puzzle

What did you love best about Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One?

Obviously these are just correspondents written between the characters of the Roxton series but it helps piece together a few plots withing the books that you wouldn't normally think about.

What about Alex Wyndham’s performance did you like?

Alex Wyndham always does a great job performing these books.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sure. And that's Just what I did.

Not to be Ignored!

The letters were astounding as an audiobook, especially with the elegant sound of Alex Wyndham's voice. You must read or listen to the first three books in the series, to get the full effect of the sentiment contained in this "Eternally Yours" novella. I enjoyed every moment and was left waiting for more at the end. It was as if you were looking into the personal life of dear friends. I found myself laughing out loud and in the next moment crying at the tenderness of words, that the 5th Duke de Roxton spoke to his Duchess (Antonia). Wow. I was deeply touched. Hard to believe these people aren't real, that's how gripping the words of friendship and love impact the listener. I salute Ms. Brant. She outdid herself in writing the letters. Thanks Audible.

Brilliant Writing and Narration

Any additional comments?

I’m so happy I listened to this companion of books one through three before continuing the Roxton Family saga in book four. Not only did it refresh my memory of the stories, but added an additional layer of understanding behind the events.  It also allowed me to remember with fondness their stories:

I didn’t think listening to narrated letters would elicit such emotion from me.  Many a time, while listening, the feelings of deep emotion would set the tears to falling, not small tears, mind you, but bit tears which certainly would have stopped me reading if I had been reading, not listening.  Narrator is superb in his craft, there is no doubt.

Then there were the times when Antoine as a young girl wrote to the Duke, hoping to have a letter in return.  These were quite silly and would have captured any hardened duke-ish heart, bringing smiles to my own. Narrator Alex Wyndham heightened the experience with narration par excellence, as he has done throughout the series. 

These letters were so realistically, I had to pose a question to the author.  The book mentions the foreword written by a late-Victorian descendant, Alice-Victoria, 10th.   I then Googled this person and found none.  With this unanswered question, I asked author Lucinda Brant if the Roxton family is in any way tied to specific persons in history.

The many letters within this book of 170 pages were mentioned in the first three books of the saga.  As you know, during that time letters were very important to people.  Travelling was difficult, so they resorted to lots of letter writing. The author decided, and I must say it’s brilliant, to write these said letters, allowing the reader to gain better understanding of the deeper emotions and frame of mind of the characters.

The descendant, the 10th Duchess of the Roxton's, also from the imagination of the author add even more to these letters.  Brant made her so realistic I had to find out if she were real.  Brant also states she may write a book set around the time of this Duchess, living during the 1890s.  Whatever time period this author writes in, her eloquent style, and descriptive scenes captivate and enthrall the reader or listener.

Once book six is written, she will write volume II of another set of letters.  I have just finished listening to Proud Mary, book four of the saga. I continue to be mesmerized with the saga.

The Letters

I listened to this audio book after I had finished the series. I'm not sure when it's truly suggested to read it, but for me, after all the others suited me best. Wonderful narration as with the others... Alex Wyndham is truly gifted as a story teller. To me, this book pulls the others all together, or I guess it could be a brief overview. Lucinda Brant never disappoints!

Good but wanted more

Alex Wyndham does one fine job of it like always. Fun listening, refreshes the memory of the books. It's kind of a resumé. But...
I was hoping to learn more on the family and it did not.

Wonderful, Wonderful Audiobook

Where does Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is actually the very first audiobook that I have ever listened to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One?

I so enjoyed listening to Alex Wyndham's expressive and appealing voice. He made each character come to life and I could actually picture them in my mind. He made me cry when La Duke of Roxton wrote his final letter to his beloved Antiona. Alex's expressive voice brought this beautiful audiobook come to life even though I had previously read the ebook.

Have you listened to any of Alex Wyndham’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me botch laugh and cry.

Any additional comments?

I have now downloaded 3 more of Lucinda Brant's audiobooks after hearing, Eternally Yours, Roxton Letters.

Wonderful insight into the lives...

of the characters in the series! I would have loved it if the letters were inserted into the books, at the appropriate times. It would have added so much the depth of the characters WHILE listening! But better late than not at all.
Alex Wyndham is an artist! His narration is such a pleasure to listen to! It’s like listening to a play! I search for books that he has narrated!

Simply Superb

Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One is the perfect companion to the first three books in the Roxton Family saga.

Perfectly written and with so much empathy and soul deep understanding of human nature and abiding love that I actually cried. Highly recommended, but read/listen to the letters after: NOBLE SATYR, MIDNIGHT MARRIAGE and AUTUMN DUCHESS because then the chief characters will feel like your intimate friends and I guarantee you will cry.

And what can I say about Alex Wyndham and his narration. Stupendous...As always this accomplished actor inhabits Lucinda Brant's characters and with his velvety tone and expert portrayal of each and every one of the cast, delivers a WOW performance that sends shivers down the spine. Bravo once again Ms. Brant and Mr. Wyndham.

Perfect.

Would you consider the audio edition of Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One to be better than the print version?

This is a difficult question to answer because the audio version couldn't be as good as it is without the wonderful material from the book that the narrator performs. That said, Alex Wyndham is the perfect performer, and the emotion he portrays during the reading of the letters and diary excerpts that this book consists of, just blew me away. He makes the characters so believable, and on occasion I even cried because what he was reading was so so sad. Well done to Lucinda Brant on writing the perfect story and to Alex Wyndham for performing it perfectly.

What other book might you compare Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One to, and why?

I have never read a book like this before, but as it is volume one, I will admit that I am thoroughly impatient already for the second volume.

Which character – as performed by Alex Wyndham – was your favourite?

I have to choose the character of Antonia as my favourite purely because Alex's portrayal of her with her feminine voice, and her French accent is just so good. It's hard to believe that a man with a most masculine, deep speaking voice could so believably speak as a woman.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

You couldn't really make a film of this book because it's just about letters and diary entries between characters from the Roxton Family Saga series. It could easily be a few scenes in a film if the Saga itself became a series though.

Any additional comments?

As I always say when I review an audio book written by Lucinda Brant, and narrated by Alex Wyndham, they make the perfect team. It's a real pleasure to both read and listen to the stories and I hope the partnership continues for a long time.

Superb!

I have to confess I wasn't sure what to expect as I have never read a book of letters before.

I am so delighted I did as it gave all the background to complete the story and I have to say that Roxton's letter to Antonia is the most beautiful I have read in a very long time ❤

I cant wait to read Volume 2 and cannot recommend this book highly enough! Well done!

Oh my!

This is a companion book to the excellent Roxton series by Lucinda Brant and it by far exceeded my expectations. I cried a lot and laughed and smiled. If you even just like the Roxtons get this book but if you really enjoyed them it is essential. I am certain you will love it as much as I do. Enjoy.

Amazing

This is so good I have got all my books out to reread, fabulously narrated.

Disappointing

A disappointment. There was very little in content that was new. The whole thing seemed a mish mash and was quite confusing. It might work as a companion to the books concerned as a written copy to be dipped into at the time of reading but for me it didn't work at all in audio. Such shame.

Beautiful letter and diary entries

If you could sum up Eternally Yours: Roxton Letters Volume One in three words, what would they be?

Heartfelt written correspondence

Who was your favorite character and why?

The characters are numerous as the letters are from and to the intimate circle surrounding The Duke of Roxton and his family and friends. For anyone who has read and loved the Roxton books, this companion book is essential reading/listening. I was so sad when I reached the end of the books, so listening to this add-on book gives the back stories and added dimension to the books. It was a novel idea of Lucinda Brant (or maybe not, but it was the first time I had come across such additional information to support a series of books) that was wonderful to read. There are letters and diary entries from Antonia, The Duke, his son, the all-wise Martin Ellicott, The Valentine's and various other supporting 'cast' in the series.

What about Alex Wyndham’s performance did you like?

Amazing, crafted, sublime, heart-wrenching, talented, mellifluous, a stupendous actor - I need a Thesaurus to carry on.....

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I think the letter to Antonia from Roxton on the morning after their wedding and his letter to her before his death was one of the most exquitely written things I have ever read.
Antonia's diary entry after his death made me cry.
Alex Wyndham brought all the words to life from each writer - what an amazing talent to have.

Any additional comments?

If you have loved the Roxton series, then the letters can only add another beneficial dimension to the story. Having being so sad when the series ended, I felt quite thrilled that the series still continued by adding greater padding to the back-story, as we were allowed an intimate personal view into their lives. Wonderful and a joy to listen to.