The Proposition

By: Judith Ivory

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Set amidst the glitz and glamour of high society Victorian London, The Proposition is an opulent tale of blossoming love.

Lady Edwina Bollash is a woman of importance and distinction who has never been the object of any man's affection. However, when she meets Mick Tremore, a tall, handsome young man from the bottommost rung of society, she instantly attracts his attention. As Mick wants desperately to become a gentleman, Edwina decides to transform him into a man with class. From the start, she notices the way he looks at her. But what she doesn't yet realize is that as much as she is preparing him, he is preparing her for a place in his heart--and in his bed. Narrator Steven Crossley elevates the mounting passion of Ivory's prose, building tension with every breath and every sensuous word.

©1999 Judith Ivory, Inc. (P)2001 Recorded Books, LLC

Ann

I have over 60 audio books, and this is one of my favorites. The narration was fantastic!

Astounding performance

I have never heard anyone, even in movies, carry such an incredible and convincing job as Steven Crossley. I can not even explain how he carried the accent from thick to slightly lighter and then a little better and so on until the perfection with still the same inflictions as someone who learned the words that way. Judith Ivory also did an amazing job with her clever storyline and funny moments that had me laughing out loud. All around a very good story that came up to the level of perfection by narration.

Loved this Book

A woman takes a man in a lower class and teaches him how to be a classy gentleman. But she falls in love with him and he fell in love with her pretty much at first sight. Don't want to give it away, but as it turns out he comes from a very classy family. I highly recommend.

I fell in love with a rat catcher!

I listened to this wonderful audiobook last year and neglected to write a review. Let me just say that the team of author Judith Ivory and narrator Steven Crossley made me fall in love with a rat catcher.

I have a weakness for lower-class blokes who are smart and savvy enough to work their way into the upper-class world. Derek Craven in Dreaming of You, “Charming” Mickey O’Connor in Scandalous Desires, and Nick Gentry in Worth Any Price are now joined by Michael "Mick" Tremane, the Cornish/Cockney rat catcher who is the hero of this Pygmalion-inspired story.

The devastatingly handsome Mick is so clever, sweet, and charming that you can understand why the genteel but rather impoverished heroine falls for him. In fact, if you're like me, you wonder why she doesn't do it sooner. But she is not a woman given to living her dreams. Indeed, she hardly has any dreams. She's too intelligent and too independent to believe that any man can desire her, given that she's twenty-nine, too tall, and wears spectacles.

There's not a lot of action in this book. It's mostly Winnie teaching Mick to speak and act like a gentleman, and him gradually wearing down her formidable defenses.

How can the grand-daughter of a duke find happiness with a rat catcher? The ending is a bit contrived, as well as rushed, but this is Romancelandia after all.

Steven Crossley does an excellent narration, wonderfully voicing Mick's transition from rat catcher to gentleman.

Smashing!

What a combination! Wonderful writing and delightful narration!
My first Judith Ivory novel, but not my last.

Very enjoyable

The Proposition was a very enjoyable "listen". The story was well written, entertaining, and fun. I loved the narrator. He was able to transition between the various English dialects so smoothly...it was a delight to listen to him. Ms. Ivory really knows how to create sexual tension without being overly crass. This book is definitely worth the credit!

Very good book!

I bought this book a while ago and hadn't had a chance to hear it. I'm so glad that I did! It was very well written and very funny. The narration was terrific!

magical fairy tale romance

Take my fair lady, mix in a dose of Anastasia, combine with a luxurious narrator and you have this amazing sensual romance. one of the best I've enjoyed. no needless misunderstandings and no uninspired conflict to distract from this love story. kept me riveted and sighing to the end. don't pass this one up!

Loved it!

Unique Victorian romance. Loved it! Poignant, funny, smexy, with a secret suspense. Amazing narration by Steven Crossley. Just wow. However, he speaks a bit slowly, and the story itself includes few heart-thumping action scenes, so the pace feels a little slow.

It's My Fair Lady / Pygmalion -- but the hero's speech is transformed, by the heroine. Excerpt:

********************

"I look like a bloody lord, don't I?"

Edwina cleared her throat. Well. Yes. And here stood another unwelcome bit of truth. The handsomest bloody lord she had ever seen was a ratcatcher wearing her father's outdated trousers, shirt, and vest, and wandering her house in the middle of the night.

********************

Lady Edwina Bollash sees herself as a Plain Jane academic type, an unlovable linguist. Goodness knows why -- maybe it's the nose, or the spectacles. More likely, it's the fall-out from a cold, neglected childhood. At any rate, she's never garnered any interest in men and has stifled her dreams, become socially timid (the opposite of the hero).

She has accepted a challenge to transform the brawny, rough, irascible, devilishly handsome Mick Tremore into a gentleman. Mhaha! He's a ratcatcher! A shrewd lewd ratter, with a ferret named Freddie and a terrier named Magic, helping him support 14 siblings in Cornwall.

She must reduce Mickey's Cornish dialect, align his verbs and nouns, and teach him ton etiquette in just six weeks, so he can impersonate a Viscount and dupe a duke. (Deeper plot therein, with a twisty turn or two.)

But Mick's got something to teach his teacher. His lessons begin with a trade. He will shave off his mustache if she will raise her skirt. Just a little...

Loved this! Funny! Sexy. Sweet. Poignant, watching lonely Edwina blossom under Mickey's hot regard. Enjoyed the poignant scenes with his ferret, old Freddie.

Contents include a few smexy scenes and some swearing.

Great story

I enjoyed this one from start to finish. Mick or Michael was a great character and I just loved him. His transformation was wonderful, yet he didn’t change who he was at the core of himself. I’m thoroughly enjoying this author and the narration was great 😊