Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock  By  cover art

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

By: Imogen Hermes Gowar
Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $35.09

Buy for $35.09

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction

In 1780s London, a prosperous merchant finds his quiet life upended when he unexpectedly receives a most unusual creature - and meets a most extraordinary woman - in this much-lauded, atmospheric debut that examines our capacity for wonder, obsession, and desire with all the magnetism, originality, and literary magic of The Essex Serpent.

One September evening in 1785, Jonah Hancock hears an urgent knocking on his front door near the docks of London. The captain of one of Jonah’s trading vessels is waiting eagerly on the front step, bearing shocking news. On a voyage to the Far East, he sold the Jonah’s ship for something rare and far more precious: a mermaid. Jonah is stunned - the object the captain presents him is brown and wizened, as small as an infant, with vicious teeth and claws, and a torso that ends in the tail of a fish. It is also dead.

As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlors and brothels, all of London is curious to see this marvel in Jonah Hancock’s possession. Thrust from his ordinary existence, somber Jonah finds himself moving from the city’s seedy underbelly to the finest drawing rooms of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of the coquettish Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on - and a shrewd courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting sparks a perilous liaison that steers both their lives onto a dangerous new course as they come to realize that priceless things often come at the greatest cost.

Imogen Hermes Gowar, Britain’s most-heralded new literary talent, makes her debut with this spellbinding novel of a merchant, a mermaid, and a madam - an unforgettable confection that explores obsession, wonder, and the deepest desires of the heart with bawdy wit, intrigue, and a touch of magic.

©2018 Imogen Hermes Gowar (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

“Wonderful… completely transporting.” (Madeline Miller, New York Times best-selling author of Circe and The Song of Achilles)

"Historical fiction at its finest, combining myth and legend with the brutal realities of the past.... Comparisons will be drawn to the works of contemporary authors Sarah Waters and Michael Faber... but The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock has more in common with the novels of Dickens and Austen." (Irish Times)

What listeners say about The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    246
  • 4 Stars
    140
  • 3 Stars
    66
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    19
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    328
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    39
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    214
  • 4 Stars
    124
  • 3 Stars
    59
  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
    19

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Gave up

Although initially promising and witty, the novel began to grate and bore. Overwrought and strangely stilted, almost like an academic assignment... no, I wonder if it is perhaps just too long. When I realised I no longer cared about any of the characters, I gave up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I tried!

I gave this book six hours to improve. While the author is clearly talented, the shrillness of the way the main female character is voiced was grating and made it so that I never could immerse in the story. The plot meanders without meaning and it never pays off. If I could return it, I would.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Awful

So incredibly slow I could not finish. I was bored from the first chapter to the 13th, where I finally gave up. The 13th chapter was unnecessarily pornographic. Needlessly drawn out and overly descriptive to the point of ridiculousness. I could not possibly imagine wasting another 12+ hours of my life on this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Juliet Stevenson's reading of The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock is wonderful! As noted in the mainstream reviews of the book, it is a tour de force of picaresque writing. But it is also a vividly humanistic voyage through the dark sides of London at the end of the 18th Century. The leading characters are engaging because they are so fully drawn, and the minor characters are vivid portraits of the age. For most of the book, the listener (and I suspect a reader) is seeing London as Hogarth saw it both as an illustrator and as a magistrate. The first Mermaid, and there are two, is a grotesque and, as such. is an inescapable attraction to the London crowds to which Ms. Gowar introduces us with Hogarthian enthusiasm. The second Mermaid arrives in a mist of magical realism fills the listener with the same distress that numbs the characters. We fear for Angelica, Mr. Hancock and Suki and cannot wait to find out what will happen.

As can be imagined, I recommend the book wholeheartedly, but what I recommend even more is Juliet Stevenson's reading of the book. She inhabits every character with an extraordinary variety of accents and cadences so that her audience can tell who is speaking even in a scene with three or four characters. The voices of Angelica and Mr. Hancock are particularly well chosen and give each of them a reality that a movie or stage setting would find difficult to equal. Ms. Stevenson's readings are informed by her career as one of England's leading actors and make it easy for the listener so "see" each of the book's beautifully described settings and the characters' actions. The arc that Angelica must follow in Ms. Gowar's tale is made so believable by Ms. Stevenson's reading that the listener cheers her on with great affection. And Mr. Hancock, a widowed merchant living in Dickensian gauntness in the house his grandfather built, is given a growing vitality by Ms. Stevenson's gruff but increasingly optimistic voicing.

This is a full length reading, so it gives the listener ample time to enjoy an entrancing story, set in a painterly vision of 18th Century London read by the best reader that Audible has found. It is every bit as enjoyable as Ms. Stevenson's reading of Jane Austin.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This is Not a Conventional Mermaid's Tale!

This is not a conventional mermaid's tale! It is a very HUMAN story. It covers a very wide range of human experience and even though it is set in the past a lot of the themes are relevant in today's modern world. The main features of this book have to do with the limited roles and status of women in 1785 and how those limits impact their lives. The story also brings up the true meaning of love and the importance of love in the lives of everyone. Note: If someone is only interested in this because of the mermaid - it would be very important for that person to read the synopsis from the Publisher. It is not a conventional mermaid. That is beside the point...this is a very well-written, imaginative, thought-provoking story. The Audible edition features a transcendent performance of all of the many character voices by Juliet Stevenson. Take this ride - go on the adventures!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Very Disappointing!

I really thought that I would enjoy this book and was looking forward to listening. I did finish it because I kept thinking that it has to get better. But sadly, it did not. It dragged in chapters and I wondered why some chapters were even in the book. The narration was good as there were lots of characters and I was able to distinguish them. If I were to give someone advice it would be don't waste your money or your time unless you are really into historical fiction and even then I don't know if it was accurate. I give the author points for writing it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful story, outstanding narration!

I was mesmerized by the narration of Juliet Stevenson. This story combines vividly drawn settings, well defined characters who are memorable and multi-faceted, and a beautiful take on the human condition, all presented masterfully by the narrator.
Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I love this book

It's a fairy tail like wonder, but for adults. wonderfully written and narrated. I don't need to say more but I can't write a review under 15 words, how ridiculous.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Lovely little trip back in time, but could have used more mermaid.

I think all in all I did enjoy it, but the ending I was so underwhelmed by. I get that the whole journey is so much more than the actual mermaid and it turns into a nice little metaphor for each character but come on, I wanted some more mermaid lol. At least a better understanding of what she actually was physically (the 2nd one.)

Pros: Beautifully written (I loved the descriptions of food, rooms, outfits) very fleshed out characters, not a predictable story line and a satisfying ending.

Cons: It does get a little long winded at times where the story waxes and wanes a bit, there are a lot of people to keep up with and although the ending IS satisfying, you do kind of wish the story had maybe taken a different, more climatic turn. Or that’s just me.

I do recommend it for a read to travel back to the 17th century and just get enveloped in so many peoples lives during that time and how the mermaids touched their lives. It read kind of like a Downton Abbey season to me (I know different times but the elements of class and drama with so many different people who all affect each other some way in the end is what I mean)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Writing: OK, Plot: silly, Narration: excellent

I would have given up after about 100 pages if I were reading the book. The writing was good enough, but the book could have been edited by about half the length without damaging the rather silly plot; respectable businessman meets hooker, falls in love, is willing to do anything for her, they marry, and eventually live happily ever after. However, Juliet Stevenson's reading was so wonderfully expressive that I listened to the whole 17 hours and 19 minutes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful