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The Crimson Petal and the White
- Narrated by: Jill Tanner
- Length: 41 hrs and 32 mins
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Publisher's summary
NOW A MAJOR BBC DRAMA starring Romola Garai, Chris O'Dowd, Gillian Anderson, Richard E. Grant, Shirley Henderson, and Mark Gatiss.
'Watch your step. Keep your wits about you; you will need them....' So begins this irresistible voyage into the dark side of Victorian London. Amongst an unforgettable cast of low-lifes, physicians, businessmen, and prostitutes, meet our heroine Sugar, a young woman trying to drag herself up from the gutter any way she can. Be prepared for a mesmerising tale of passion, intrigue, ambition, and revenge.
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Well done both narrators and Author !
- By Andover Meadow on 09-17-16
By: Alix Rickloff
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One Touch of Scandal
- By: Liz Carlyle
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
All Grace Gauthier ever wanted was the security of a good marriage, family, and home. Instead, despised by her aristocratic father's family because of her mother's foreign birth, she's taken a safe position as a governess. Now, unprotected and alone in London, accused of the shocking murder of her employer, she has no one to turn to except the mysterious - and possibly dangerous - Lord Ruthveyn.
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Boring What Happened
- By Cindy Johnston on 10-13-10
By: Liz Carlyle
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Born of Persuasion
- Price of Privilege, Book 1
- By: Jessica Dotta
- Narrated by: Amanda McKnight
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The year is 1838, and seventeen-year-old Julia Elliston's position has never been more fragile. Orphaned and unmarried in a time when women are legal property of their fathers, husbands, and guardians, she finds herself at the mercy of an anonymous guardian who plans to establish her as a servant in far-off Scotland. With two months to devise a better plan, Julia's first choice - to marry her childhood sweetheart - is denied. Then, a titled dowager offers to introduce Julia into society, opening a realm of possibilities.
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Debut Book in Series
- By Carrie Fancett Pagels on 10-31-13
By: Jessica Dotta
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The Affair of the Porcelain Dog
- By: Jess Faraday
- Narrated by: Philip Battley
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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London, 1889. For Ira Adler, former rent-boy and present plaything of crime lord Cain Goddard, stealing back the statue from Goddard's blackmailer should have been a doddle. But inside the statue is evidence that could put Goddard away for a long time under the sodomy laws, and everyone's after it, including Ira's bitter ex, Dr. Timothy Lazarus.
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Brilliant book, Phenomenal audio experience!
- By 'Nathan on 04-24-13
By: Jess Faraday
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Domina
- By: Barbara Wood
- Narrated by: Marion Castle
- Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beautiful and courageous, Samantha Hargrave dares to dream that she will become one of the first female doctors - and surgeons - in America. Born in the slums of London and possessing a special gift for healing, Samantha struggles to enter the all-male medical profession. When her ambition encounters hostile rejection in England, she sails to America, where she meets an eccentric doctor who takes her on as an apprentice.
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Really bad.
- By Anonymous User on 12-29-17
By: Barbara Wood
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How to Tame Your Duke
- A Princess in Hiding, Book 1
- By: Juliana Gray
- Narrated by: Veida Dehmlow
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
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Overall
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England, 1888. Quiet and scholarly Princess Emilie has always avoided adventure, until she's forced to disguise herself as a tutor in the household of the imposing Duke of Ashland, a former soldier disfigured in battle and abandoned by his wife. When chance draws her into a secret liaison with the duke, Emilie can't resist the opportunity to learn what lies behind his forbidding mask and find out what adventure really means. The duke never imagines that his son's tutor and his mysterious golden-haired beauty are one and the same.
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Don't miss this Exciting New Trilogy
- By 🌸DARA on 09-16-13
By: Juliana Gray
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Miss Marley
- A Christmas ghost story - a prequel to A Christmas Carol
- By: Vanessa Lafaye, Rebecca Mascul
- Narrated by: Josie Dunn
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Orphans Clara and Jacob Marley live by their wits, scavenging for scraps in the poorest alleyways of London, in the shadow of the workhouse. Every night, Jake promises his little sister ‘tomorrow will be better’, and when the chance to escape poverty comes their way, he seizes it despite the terrible price. And so Jacob Marley is set on a path that leads to his infamous partnership with Ebenezer Scrooge. As Jacob builds a fortress of wealth to keep the world out, only Clara can warn him of the hideous fate that awaits him if he refuses to let love and kindness into his heart....
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Perfect Christmas read
- By A. Speller on 12-24-18
By: Vanessa Lafaye, and others
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That Scandalous Summer
- Rules for the Reckless, Book 1
- By: Meredith Duran
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Raised in scandal, Lord Michael de Grey is convinced that love is a losing gamble - and seduction the only game worth playing. But when duty threatens to trump everything he desires, the only way out is marriage to a woman of his brother’s choosing. Elizabeth Chudderley is delightful, delicious - and distressingly attractive. With such a captivating opponent, Michael isn’t quite sure who is winning the game. How can such passionate players negotiate a marriage of necessity - when their hearts have needs of their own?
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I hated for it to end!
- By Libby on 08-05-15
By: Meredith Duran
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Tulip Fever
- By: Deborah Moggach
- Narrated by: Rula Lenska
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Seventeenth-century Amsterdam is a city in the grip of tulip mania, basking in the wealth it has generated. Sophia’s husband Cornelis, an ageing merchant, is among those grown rich from this exotic new flower. To celebrate, he commissions a talented young artist to paint him with his young bride. But as the portrait grows, so does the passion between Sophia and the painter; and as ambitions, desires and dreams breed an intricate deception, their reckless gamble propels their lives towards a thrilling and tragic conclusion.
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Very interesting book
- By Kevin Crumpton on 01-31-17
By: Deborah Moggach
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His at Night
- By: Sherry Thomas
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Lord Vere is used to baiting irresistible traps. As a secret agent for the government, he's tracked down some of the most devious criminals in London, all the while maintaining his cover as one of society's most harmless - and idiotic - bachelors. But nothing can prepare him for the scandal of being ensnared by Elissande. Forced into a marriage of convenience, Elissande and Vere are each about to discover that they're not the only ones with a hidden agenda.
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The title is SO random!!
- By 🌿🌸Susynne🌸🌿 on 05-04-15
By: Sherry Thomas
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The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
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The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity. It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.
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Boy, am I in the minority on this one.
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What listeners say about The Crimson Petal and the White
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- anniepaints
- 06-16-11
Loved this Book!!
I loved this book SO much and when I read the first review that was written for this book I felt so sorry for waiting to give my opinion. I think that anyone that enjoyed watching "The Duchess of Duke Street" and/or "Upstairs, Downstairs" on PBS would probably like this story as well or more. This is not a book for the squeamish so if you cannot tolerate a certain amount of sex and unpleasantness, don't bother. I was able to keep track of the many characters quite easily, partly because the narrator is so easily understood. Once I started listening, I was so hooked! I finished this almost 42 hour book in just 10 days and wished it was longer. The ending was excellent. It was a bargain for just one credit. (Editor NOT needed, thank you very much).
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72 people found this helpful
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- MJ
- 10-24-11
Can't Put It Down
While I freely admit, I am not finished with this book......not even finished with part one of the five, I have to say I LOVE IT. I wanted to counter the few less than stellar reviews given by previous reviewers. Yes, it is rather long-winded and probably could have used a more scissor-happy editor; however, this is one thing I love about the book. The author is indeed verbose, using many words to describe people, places, and things, but this has always helped me to more easily visualize settings and characters. I detest authors who are skimpy with descriptors (I guess I just don't have a vivid enough imagination). This author is excellent and I will be looking forward to more from her.
Believe it or not, the characters come across as likeable (more or less), even when they are obviously toffee-nosed snobs. The book is definitely adult. If you are squeamish about sex, coarse language, and the seedier side of life, do give it a miss. BUT if you, as well as I, enjoy reading about lives lived completely differently than your own, buy it. You just might find yourself being transported to a different place and time. And you WON'T want to leave. I actually can't wait to finish this review so I can turn on my iPod again to be sent back to London, circa 1874. I'm anxious to see how Sugar is getting along; how William will manage his serious "issues", and to meet the other interesting and complex characters created by Ms. Faber.
Apparently this book has been made into a major BBC drama now starring Romola Garai, a terrific, young, English actress. I'd love to see it sometime. It'd be interesting to see how they "clean it up" for airing on public television.
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28 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Linda Likes to Learn
- 07-27-11
MESMERIZING STORY, HISTORICAL AMBIENCE, BUT.....
I loved this book - every word of it, from the very unusual start.....right down to the last words BEFORE the ending. You quickly become immersed in the hidden Victorian world of sex for sale and the sinners who consider themselves perfect gentlemen in every way - with no thought or understanding of the women they use and abuse, whether whores, wives or servants.
All the realistic and captivating characters are totally believable, and the narrator clearly defines them. The plot has twists and turns that are, for the most part, not too surprising. But the characters, and the story, carry you forward, and keep you caring about the characters - with hope that the story will be true to their personalities and the expected choices that they should make.
You quickly find yourself cheering for an extraordinary 'fallen woman' and hoping that she will overcome all the odds against her. Then wonderful things begin to happen to this deserving woman, and you want this to be the best 'Cinderella story' of all time. But I don't want to spoil the ending for you.
Under ordinary circumstances, I would have rated this book at 5 stars. But, the sudden, unexpected ending really ticked me off - and I down-graded the rating by 1 star. This is ?going to be? or is ?now? a BBC series - so I must assume that the reason for the abrupt ending for the book is because a SECOND season (and book) will soon be on our reading horizon. Curses on the ending of a series that leaves you hanging! But it's nice to know that you will eventually 'know all', when the next season begins. I am looking forward to seeing the TV series - and certainly looking forward to another book that continues with the life of Sugar - a very unusual lady of the night.
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26 people found this helpful
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- Daisy 2
- 10-11-12
41 hours of my life, and he couldn't decide how...
Any additional comments?
to end it? I was so sucked in - could not stop listening - could not wait to see how everything would work out. Then it literally just ended. I thought it was a mistake and listened to the last few minutes 3 times to make sure I didn't miss anything. It's like the author wrote this great story and couldn't decide how to end it, so he just ended it. Urggggg!
I usually try to avoid writing bad reviews, but this one just really bugged me enough to say something. It's such good writing, such interesting flawed characters, to get so vested...how could he not tell us what happened to everyone? I'm so disappointed. :(
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21 people found this helpful
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- nursebettyknitting
- 04-17-12
needs a sequel
A wonderful book...but the ending is so unsatisfactory... In fact, there is no ending at all - there is an abrupt stop - it actually made me mad and wanting. Listen anyway - it is a masterpiece.
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17 people found this helpful
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- Jelly Bean
- 06-13-11
Needed a really good editor.... Tedious
This book is in need of a really good editor... It is extremely tedious and much, much too long and is repititious and boring. The narrator read really well but the book needs desperately to be condensed and to get to the point. Over 40 hours of listening which I suppose is good for long distance travellers but I very quickly lost interest in the characters and was sorry I had bought it.
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15 people found this helpful
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- bluestategirl
- 12-15-11
Add my name to the list of devoted fans!
What a brilliant book. I hung on every word of this amazing tale. I thought I would be less than pleased with the ending, but it felt just right to me. I'm so glad I took a chance on it. It will be one of my favorite "re-reads" in years to come. Michel Faber is a genius. And Jill Tanner does him proud!
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13 people found this helpful
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- Geoff Maddison
- 09-13-11
A Contemporary Dickens
What a fantastic story. From the first word to the last! A contemporary Dickens, Mr. Faber has written a cast of characters to warm the heart and treat the eye in 1860's London. With just enough sex to shock a Victorian, he leads us on a journey of vice and redemption. Even the superb narrator adds humanity with occasional growls of tummy!
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12 people found this helpful
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- yoderfamily01
- 11-20-11
Absolutely Horrible!
I can't believe I wasted so much time on a book with no redeeming (or even interesting) characters, endless (pointless and lewd) descriptions of the horrors of Victorian prostitution and a plot that went NOWHERE. I'm stunned that anyone thought this novel was worth publishing, let alone making an audiobook and apparently a TV adaptation. Seldom have I been so disappointed in a read.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Beth
- 11-14-12
Disappointing, unappealing characters
What did you like best about The Crimson Petal and the White? What did you like least?
I generally am very fond of historical fiction. It was clear the author had done her research. She chose to write about the seamy underbelly of Victorian England, and portrayed it very well. But I also prefer books with characters who are sympathetic. They don't have to be perfect (in fact, perfect characters are usually annoying) but there has to be somewhere I can connect, on an emotional level, with the people the story is about. I didn't like any of the characters in Faber's book, so by the (extremely unsatisfying and inconclusive) end, I didn't really care what happened to any of them.
What could Michel Faber have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
I found the author's use of the present tense in the narrative voice distracting and affected. I also hated the "dear reader" style interjections into the narrative. I could see that the author might have been trying to evoke a Victorian prose style, but again, it just didn't work for me. A straightforward, omniscient narrative voice, in the past tense would have helped -- though with such a dearth of sympathetic characters, even that wouldn't have saved it for me.
Which character – as performed by Jill Tanner – was your favorite?
I liked none of the characters. The least detestable were Henry and Emmaline Fox, but even they were not sympathetically portrayed. I thought the narrator did a decent job with the material -- at least, her characters were relatively easy to tell apart, and not annoyingly affected (I do hate it when narrators use inappropriate regional accents to differentiate characters -- especially when the people are members of the same family -- and Tanner doesn't do that...)
Did The Crimson Petal and the White inspire you to do anything?
I did plow through to the end. But that's fairly faint praise. I don't have any desire to seek out the television version, nor to read the next book in the saga (if one is ever written).
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8 people found this helpful