The Beautiful Visit

By: Elizabeth Jane Howard

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

On the eve of an unusual voyage, a young woman reviews her life. Her story begins with a 'beautiful visit' to friends in the country which serves as an awakening experience. What follows is an account of her struggle to retain the mood of her visit.

©1950 Elizabeth Jane Howard (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

wonderfully written, wonderfully read.

A stunning debut novel by one of the most underrated of modern English novelists-hardly mated by the devices of novice fictionalists, reliance on first person narration and. little obvious a division into episodes.

Brilliant reader

I like listening to anything Juliet Stevenson reads. This is EJH’s first novel. You can see what she is trying to do. I want to read more.

Juliet Stevenson saves this story...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The main character is so lifeless and a too much of a malcontent. If my favorite narrator had not been reading it I would have stopped. All the life in this book comes from Ms. Stevenson's incredible talent.

Has The Beautiful Visit turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.

What about Juliet Stevenson’s performance did you like?

She is simply marvelous. I will listen to anything she reads.

Any additional comments?

I have all of the Austen's Ms. Stevenson has read...but please...where is Pride and Prejudice???

Well told and refreshing

A window into the coming of age and emancipation of a young woman during the WW1 era. Juliet Stevenson is an unequaled reader, inerrant in her interpretation and characterization. This recording is not separated by chapter, but is divided into segments of an hour.

I loved this

If you could sum up The Beautiful Visit in three words, what would they be?

Well, first of all I refuse to "sum up" this book in three words. That really is ridiculous. Any work deserves more respect than that.

This is really what I call a "vertical" novel. There is relatively little horizontal or chronological "action" that propels the plot. It's not that kind of book. The development goes downwards, (or upwards, depending on your perspective) deeper into the people and places that inhabit the story. Think Graham Greene. Think Gaskell.

What did you like best about this story?

Howard is fantastic with character and place. I love her people. I care about them and even the enigmatic, keep me interested.

Have you listened to any of Juliet Stevenson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Well, she is, hands down, THE BEST. I would listen to anything she cared to read.

Any additional comments?

I don't think this is for everyone. Certainly not for those who must have something "happen" every moment. There are relatively few "dramatic" instances. Like Gaskell, she often examines quiet lives/

Profound

This is not for people who love action packed narrative, but if you enjoy deepening your knowledge and understanding of the human condition, come to this book. The narrator is The Best. No contest.

Shifted on the inside

If you could sum up The Beautiful Visit in three words, what would they be?

Elegant, Decent, Poetic.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Beautiful Visit?

When she demonstrated the art of being herself finally.

What about Juliet Stevenson’s performance did you like?

Her pure ability to be there and yet be able to allow a reader to disappear from her presence simply because her performance is the transportation right into the atmosphere of another world.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely, it's worthy of the journey.

such a disappointment

I wanted to enjoy this book so much. It seems to have all of the right qualities for an engrossing listen. Juliet Stevenson was wonderful, as always, but how I wish she'd been given better material. The writing itself was graceful and often beautiful. The big problem is the complete absence of characters who are compelling. The narrator, nameless, is so devoid of personality that it's a challenge to continue after one realizes how dull she's going to remain. The other characters who surround her seem a little more interesting, but all the of them are so dreary that everything just plots on. The plotting is full of loose ends, unexplained and discarded. Sad incident after sad incident takes place with no real shape or form to the narrative beyond chronology. As soon as a new character or episode begins, it doesn't take long to realize that it will end poorly. And any book that can take place in part during World War I and completely ignore any of its impact is just... a disappointment. I kept wanting things to be better so I persevered through the whole to discover, not surprisingly, that there was no satisfying ending at all. for die hard fans of Juliet only. If you like 19th century novels, or books by Daphne Du maurier, or rich contemporary fiction by female authors, it will fall flat for you, too.

depressing and boring

I've always liked this narrator, which is why I gave this a try. Mistake. I listened to over half of it expecting something to catch on but finally skipped to the end to see if there was any kind of ending. I just don't get what the author was aiming for. The central character's life is so joyless and hopeless. Her way of resolving this is to take a big risk on something and then the book ends. All I could think is, I hope that works out for her.

A Book I Have Already Forgotten

The story has a decent plot. But:

1) The plot is a bit too much all over the place;

2) Major flaw: As one of the characters tells the protagonist, “You are the girl for whom everything is new.” And it is so. The protagonist is clueless and, worst of all, incapable of learning anything. She has zero personality. I don’t mind unlikable characters in literature at all: but she is not meant by the author to be unlikable, she just is because not a well-written character.

3) Maximal flaw: This book is utterly, completely, insufferably lacking in humor. Not even a sardonic note, an ironic tinge, a vaguely funny observation.
Juliet Stevenson, who has an excellent voice, uses the same dramatic tone throughout making the all thing quite irritating.

I am not saying one shouldn’t read this book. It’s ok. It is not horrid, it is not “offensive” to one’s intelligence. But it will leave no trace. I finished it a week ago, and I have already forgotten everything about it.