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The Queen of Spades  By  cover art

The Queen of Spades

By: Alexander Pushkin
Narrated by: Orson Welles
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Publisher's summary

Written in 1833, Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades is a tale of avarice and madness. Orson Welles plays Hermann, an ethnic German serving in the Russian army. He believes that his fortune will be won at the gaming table, if only he can discover the three winning cards.

"Theatre Royal" was a groundbreaking independent series, first broadcast by the BBC in 1953 and soon taken up by American networks. It starred many leading actors and was the only radio series in which Laurence Olivier played leading roles.

©1992 Divine Art Ltd (P)1992 Divine Art Ltd

What listeners say about The Queen of Spades

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The correct reading is the one Welles is giving

The story feels a tad hurried due to the abridgment for radio, but the performance is incomparable as always.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Deliciously nostalgic

To listen to this radio show in the voice of Orson Wells is marvelous! I could picture myself glued to the radio in another time…

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great story

Great story well acted with several legacy stars as a radio play you will enjoy it

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Very Short Performance of A Pushkin Short Story

This is a dramatic performance of a Pushkin Short Story. It is very short. The main character is played by Orson Welles. I enjoyed the performance very much. It does generally follow the short story, but is a performance, not an audiobook version of the story. I enjoyed the performance, and I am glad to read the story, and listen to the play. ThNk You...

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Faro and the laws of physics.

The physics maxim that states, “no two things can occupy the same place, at the same time”. Brilliant of Pushkin to use this statement which foreshadows Herman’s doom when the old countess replaces the thought in his mind when he plays his third card, and her “spirit” lets the diabolical thought of the Countess occupy his mind when he should have been paying attention to the card he was playing.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible sound.

Unbearable sound quality from the beginning. I can't listen to this book. It's too bad, because I was looking forward to this Pushkin performance.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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not the actual short story

this is a radio drama adapted from the short story, and not the short story itself. should not be labeled as such.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Don't waste your time

This is perhaps the worst dramatization of this story. The music was so loud I was afraid it would blow the Kindle's speakers. And the speech was too quiet to make out most of the words. They never mentioned the main character's name, and they completely left out his affair (?) with Lizaveta and her importance to the story. Its only positive is that it's free for Audible members. If you want to experience a good dramatization of this story look for Tchaikovsky's opera of the same name, especially the 1987 performance at Bolshoi Theater. It is some of the composer's best work.

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