Love in a Cold Climate

Radlett and Montdore Trilogy Series, Book 2

By: Nancy Mitford

Narrated by: Zoe Telford

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

A sparkling romantic comedy that vividly evokes the lost glamour of aristocratic life in England between the wars.

Polly Hampton has long been groomed for the perfect marriage by her mother, the fearsome and ambitious Lady Montdore. But Polly, with her stunning good looks and impeccable connections, is bored by the monotony of her glittering debut season in London. Having just come from India, where her father served as viceroy, she claims to have hoped that society in a colder climate would be less obsessed with love affairs.

The apparently aloof and indifferent Polly has a long-held secret, however, one that leads to the shattering of her mother's dreams and her own disinheritance. When an elderly duke begins pursuing the disgraced Polly and a callow potential heir curries favor with her parents, nothing goes as expected, but in the end, all find happiness in their own unconventional ways.

©1949 Nancy Mitford (P)2021 Tantor

WHY IS SHE WHISPERING????

Everything about this book is wonderful and I’m sure the narrator is good at what she does… but how on earth did this get passed to audible??? I can barely hear on the loudest volume and it’s so inconsistent. It’s like trying to hard and being “cute” but it comes off as irritating. Such a shame bc the book is so good. Definitely needs a re record!

Great voice, perfect for Nancy Mitford

Have always had this book as a favorite, the narrator makes it seem like Nancy is telling me the story herself.

smashing book and reader!

This book is a favorite of mine and the reading is marvelous. some reviews complain that the reader whispers but I had no trouble understanding her.

it's a portrait of the English upper classes by a woman who was one of them. witty. fascinating and funny. much of it is autobiographical.

The Mitford family was famous even in its own time. The father, a lord, was extremely eccentric. his five daughters made scandalous names for themselves in the 1930s,

Wonderful

It took me a little while to get used to the narrator’s whispery voice after listening. To The Pursuit of Love’s but she turns out to be perfect for Fannie. Loved it and wished Mitford hadn’t ended it so quickly bc I wanted to spend more time with the characters. But that kind of finish fits with style of writing at the time. I’m going to listen all over again so I can pretend to be in front of a roaring fire with lovely cups of tea.

Great text, very poor reading

The reader seems to be going through this subtle text like a combine harvester. Many deep breaths and much mincing of sentences into small segments, without much attention to the specificity of the prose. Enamoured of her method much more than of Mitfford’s quiet wit, one feels grateful when one can hear the
words, and hear them pronounced correctly ( please dear performer, do consent to rehearse the pronunciation of foreign words which you almost infallibly get wrong, not to mention some words in your own tongue).

terrible audio

I've read the print book and liked it. It was impossible to listen to this performance. The volume was incredibly in consistent. The voice of the narrator in main voice was very low with an affected whisper and slight lisp. The other characters were very loud and brassy. I couldn't keep the volume at a tolerable mid level.

DO NOT PURCHASE ! The Whispering Narrator is Awful

I shall learn to trust negative reviews one day. I read a few warnings about this narrator, but have usually ignored those and been fine. I have never stopped listening to a narrator before this in all my years of listening.

Sadly, I can't return it as not purchased with cash not credit (who knew?)

Listening to someone whisper for an hour makes one's throat ache for her. To make it worse, she IS able to do clear and powerful voicing, as strong characters are loudly and clearly represented. Of course this also whips one back and forth on the volume and attention...totally losing the great story. Sadly this appears to be the only audiobook for this title, only other option is a dramatic reading.

Horrifying reader

I can honestly say I have never heard anything like this. The reader whispers the entire book. It’s the most bizarre performance decision. It’s utterly intolerable. This is a wonderful book by wonderful author read by a wretched reader. It’s particularly tragic because the prior novel is so beautifully read. Someone needs to re-issue this.

Terrible narration.

I’m a devoted Audible listener but this is shocking. Cannot pick up a word of what she is saying and wish you would redo this delightful book with another narrator. So disappointing.