The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

By: Susanna Clarke

Narrated by: Simon Prebble, Davina Porter

Length: 7 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Susanna Clarke returns with an enchanting collection brimming with all the ingredients of good fairy tales: petulant princesses, vengeful owls, ladies who pass their time by embroidering terrible fates; endless paths in the deep, dark woods; and houses that never appear the same way twice. The heroines and heroes who must grapple with these problems include the Duke of Wellington; a conceited Regency clergyman; an 18th-century Jewish doctor; and Mary, Queen of Scots; as well as Jonathan Strange and the Raven King.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories introduces readers to a world where charm is always tempered by eeriness, and picaresque comedy is always darkened by the disturbing shadow of magic.

©2006 Susanna Clarke (P)2006 Audio Renaissance, a divison of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic Reviews

"All but one of the stories takes place in or around 1811, and Clarke uses the language, diction, and historical settings beautifully, just hinting at Jane Austen. Each character is elegantly drawn and comes to life....These stories are charming, engaging, and deceptively simple." (Booklist)

21st century 19th century lit

If you haven't read or heard, as the case may be, "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell", go do that now. After you are finished, pick up "The Ladies of Grace Adieu". The incomparable Susanna Clarke further establishes a 19th century Britain where the practice of magic is a reality and the study of faeries a laudable diversion for any gentleman or lady. This is a collection of several previously published works and well worth the listen.

Clarke's writing is much illuminated by footnotes and this particular audible rendition, through the use of two narrators, easily handles the format.

The narrators are engaging throughout and both have a certain droll delivery that well captures the subtle humor found throughout Ms. Clarke's work.

24 of 24 people found this review helpful

Another beautiful read.

I thought I would be bothered by the inclusion of Davina Porter in this reading, because Simon Prebble was amazing in his reading of Clarke's "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," but I was wrong. So, with two talented readers, this audio book was fantastic.

16 of 16 people found this review helpful

Wonderful

These are wonderful stories, maybe even better than her long novel "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" which I read first and enjoyed very much. Smart, entertaining, witty, I recommend this very highly.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Slowly draws you into her world

Having not read Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell (though it's been on my shelf for ages) I was a bit bemused by the first story and almost gave up. I loved the language and atmosphere, but found the characters hard to engage with and wasn't always entirely sure exactly what was going on.
However the next story, an evocative, whimsical and cheeky retelling of the English folk tale Tom Tit Tot, totally sucked me in and from then on I was completely hooked. The two readers worked well for me, they each brought something different to the stories, though in some ways it would have made things clearer if they'd alternated story by story as sometimes the transition from one story to another was unclear. Also it would be nice if the chapters were each individual stories, so you could easily navigate back to the beginning of a story (if, like me, you sometimes vague out and then suddenly realise you are not sure what's going on).

I listened to these in the last weeks of my pregnancy as I walked the hills and bushlands of my area and it totally transformed the surrounding environment into Clarke's fairytale world. I think this will be the first audio book experience I will treasure as an experience with its own peculiarly intimate geography - something I usually identify with the physical terrain of the book.

Recommended for people with an interest in fairy and folktales, fans of Neil Gaiman, Angela Carter, Margaret Mahy. If you like this I highly recommend Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels, which uses Snow White and Rose Red as a storytelling frame. Be warned though, Lanagan's world is far less benign than Clarke's fairy landscape of tricksters and sprites and does contain confronting themes.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

better by ear

Although not all of these stories are Clarke at her best, they have an oral feel that makes the audio book an excellent way to experience them. JSMN fans will especially appreciate the title story, which provides a female response to the divided magician's public sphere in JSMN and a refreshing reworking of the classic female gothic narrative. My favorite is probably the complex story about the English minister, whose adaptation to fairy ways reminds me of the creepy conclusion to Gulliver's visit with the Hwynmnmns (sp?). I've noticed that Clarke is especially appreciated by English lit fans and scholars.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Charming

If you are a Jane Austen fan you will really enjoy this book. The talk from that era is the same. Nothing grizzly here, just enjoyment. More of a woman's read I think. A quiet, leisurely listen.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Short take on short mysteries

I found these short tales light, pleasant and entertaining for a 1.5-2 hour drive. I would not call them gripping, but they held my attention well enough for me to think "no, don't go down that lane' or 'gees...don't look!' After a couple of hours, I found myself needing a little break to ponder the story and the times in which which it occurred. Would I recommend it to my Audible pals....as a nice diversion for one who likes to sample the menu and try something different, yes.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Fun Fables set in the world of Strange & Norrell

So after listening to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell I was desperate to see if there was anything else written by Susannah Clarke in the same world. Although a direct sequel or a similar novel doesn't seem to be on the horizon there is The Ladies of Grace Adieu, which is a collection of short stories set in the same world as Strange and Norrell.

Unlike the massive doorstopper that is Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, The Ladies of Grace Adieu can be listened to in just a few hours. Each story is pretty short and some are a little unsatisfying because of it but overall it's a fun read if not as satisfying as the main novel.

The stories are a little bit hit or miss. Most I enjoyed but the title story seemed kind of boring and pointless to me as well as Mrs. Mabb, and On Lickerish Hill.

This book has two narrators. Simon Prebble did the main novel and it was good to hear him narrating again. Davina Porter does an excellent job of narrating the female protagonist stories as well.

The key difference between this and the main novel, is that some of my favorite parts of the main novel were when it focused on the magic situations as strange and a little terrifying. There's really only one story here that fits that bill, it's the Mr. Simonelli one.

Overall though, it's a nice lighthearted fun desert after the main course of Strange & Norrell but personally, I'm still left wanting more in this wonderful magical universe that Susannah Clarke has created.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

excellent follow-up

As we near the BBC USA airing of JS&MN, this book helped pass the time by offering more stories of a magical England and a chance for women to show their mad magical skillz (the author had to leave much of the activities of magical women out of the preceding novel in order to keep with the tone of the times).

We also finally get the oft-referred to tale of John Uskglass & the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner, as written by Lord Portishead - made me wish for a full rendering of A Child's History of the Raven King :)

Simon Prebble's excellent voice is joined by Davina Porter's: she matches him perfectly in giving a better feel for the tales that are best read by a woman.

I highly reccomend this for any and all who want to revisit the world of JS&MN again.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Hard To Follow Jonathan Strange

I really liked Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell so I was a bit ambivalent about reading this one given that it was likely to suffer from the "difficult second album" syndrome. It turns out to be a series of shorter stories set in the same "world" as the first novel. These vary in quality but they still contain a lot of the qualities that made Jonathan Strange such an enjoyable. However in the end I did feel a bit short-changed. The narration was excellent - Simon Prebble is one my favourites and I would seek out books narrated by Davina Porter based on this.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not quite as good as JS&MN- but still good

I downloaded this book after listening to 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell'. JS&MN is a long story with single plot running through the book, with little subplots and stories of faerie woven in. 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu' is a collection of shorter stories, all which have the same charm as those in the former book. Whilst this collection does not lead to as fulfilling an experience, it is still a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Lacked something but still enjoyable

I absolutely loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel so decided to give the Ladies of Grace Adieu a whirl. I did enjoy the book and the stories were compact, cleverly written and entertaining. However I think it is fair to say that I was spoilt by JS&MN so this book felt lacking in someway. I probably should have done them the other way around.
The audio quality was clean and crisp, Simon Prebble is a joy to listen to and the reading pace was great. I can't fault the book in any way,, other than I was probably wanting more of JS and didn't get it. A good book on the whole and well worth a listen. I give it four out of five.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Great stories - shame about the chapter spacings

Very enjoyable tales. Annoyingly the chapter spacings are regularly spaced throughout the audio book rather than at the start/finish of the stories. Very well read with a variety of narrators.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Very mixed bag.

The collection is very mixed in its quality. In general, the shorter stories work quite well but the longest, about Mr Simonelli and John Hollyshoes, is incredibly tedious. Had the 'chapters' in the book coincided with the reading then I would have skipped past it almost entirely. This is not the fault of the narrators, who are excellent, but of the author.

This is not a book I can see me ever bothering with again. I would say that, even if you enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, this is not a book worth buying.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Disdain for listeners by author and Audible

No excuse for confusion of chapters and stories. Laziness by author and Audible akin to removing chapter breaks in a book.