Molly

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Charlotte Anne Dore

Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

She had dared turn a cold shoulder to London's prize catch. She was a precocious American upstart who thought beauty, brains, and bravery were enough to conquer London society. Well, he'd show her! Nobody spurned Lord David Manley, the most eligible bachelor in town - not publicly, not privately. He was determined that she'd soon be trembling in his arms, desperately in love with the man she had dared mock. David Manley always got his way, and Miss Molly Maguire presented a challenge he couldn't resist. But Lord David had never met anyone quite like this headstrong heiress who fought like the devil, looked like an angel, and had all London society dangling on a string.

In this whirlwind series, Marion Chesney brings us spirited, independent women who are at once bewitching, beguiling, and determined to make their mark on the world, be it within their social circle or extending beyond. With their arms wide open, these women are absolutely original and unforgettable, as are the tales in which they are featured.

©1980 Marion Chesney (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

Waste of your time—do not bother to read

I am a huge MC Beaton fan, so I was really disappointed by the story line. With the exception of Molly, the Americans were made to look like uncouth imbeciles with no class nor manners. But even Molly is described as a ‘sure shot’ as if she were from the Wild West. She goes to a blackmailer’s house to warn him to cease his blackmailing and shoots a candle flame out as he holds a candle in the dark. She then proceeds to shoot a tin can that just happens to be sitting on a fence in the distance...with the only light coming from moon. The poor American girls must be sent to England so that they can be taught manners and elocution. It’s such a ridiculous story line that I couldn’t finish it. Also, the reader’s American accents were hilariously awful.

Not so good, but it's included with Audible

I like most of M.C.Beaton's work but on this one the British/American accent switching is odd, with the American accents reminding me of Brooklyn-ese in a 1940's comedy. Odd characterizations, like for some reason the heroine is a crack sharpshooter, shooting the flame off a candle, even though she grew up in Brooklyn. As one other reviewer said this might be better read rather than listened to.

My review.

The story was cute . the narrator was awful!!!!. when she tried an American accent, she sounded like. a loud squawking chicken. she was absolutely awful.

love this series

I know these were published years ago but I love this series. I am a fan of Marian Chesney aka MCBeaton and am so sad of her passing.

Very different

This is an odd mix of two continents and misplaced US accents. I did not finish. Some reviewers thought it was a fine story, and I believe it, because Chesney knows how to write cute tales. But I don't want to slog through the rough demeanor and accents of the two girls from the eastern US, who probably wouldn't have sounded or acted like that.

The accents will make you giggle. 😝

There a couple of things to consider when listening to this book.
1) It was originally written in 1980. Some of the man and woman ideals are a little questionable.
2)I feel like the narrator did her best when switching from a Brooklyn dialect to a British dialect. Totally different type of dialect, totally different vowels. It would be very difficult for anyone to do. But man that is something that poor Charlotte really struggles with. I giggled a few times.
3) This title was a pretty simple story. I think the author was going for a kind of gangs of New York style back story. Where the heroine can shoot a gun and acts a bit like an outlaw. But it came across more like a western. Lol. Which was also funny.
4) Overall it was simple, cute, and easy to listen to little story. Not Beaton’s best work by any means. But not bad overall. Especially because it is free from audible.

Pretty good story, pretty bad narrator

This was really hard to sit through.
The story is typical MC Beeton Edwardian romantic fare, and I liked it well enough (although it's not one of her better ones).
But the heroines are from Brooklyn, New York, and that's quite a distinctive accent, communicating gritty working class -- not unintelligent, but often characterized as crude, argumentative and in-your-face -- certainly the opposite of refined or well-bred. Think Laverne and Shirley. So Beaton is setting up her readers with an excellent foil for genteel uppercrust English society.
Although she does an admirable job with the rest of the material, the narrator simply fails to nail that Brooklyn accent, and ends up producing some kind of weird I don't know what, but it's all over the place and incredibly distracting.
I am sure the English are sick of Hollywood producing films with actors affecting horrible versions of the British accents, and this is probably not a big deal in comparison.
Nevertheless, the production was a mess. I can't recommend this audiobook with anything close to a positive review.

Love the author, but

I love this author and have read or listen to anything I can find by her. This story was just too weak, no sparkle, no fun. Make it a miss.

Change Narrator

Cute story but the narrator did not do it justice. Terrible imitation of both male and female characters. I hope to remember the name so as not to hear her ruin another possible good read.

Horrible narration! Lame story.

Didn’t finish this book. The narrator didn’t seem familiar with the book, so she would shout a statement, then would read “he said under his breath,” then read the next dialogue in a lowered voice. She could not do a Brooklyn accent to save her life and the main female character was always shouting. Plus, she mispronounced so many words!
The first part of the story was alright, but when the villains came up with the idea to scare the two sisters by “haunting” them, that was the last straw for me, I wasn’t willing to endure the assault on my ears any longer!