The Well-Beloved
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Wessex Tales
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Wessex Tales, a collection of short stories including "The Three Strangers", "The Withered Arm", and "The Distracted Preacher", deals with a number of timeless themes seen so often in Hardy’s work: marriage, class, revenge, and disappointed love. Many of the tales have a supernatural tinge, and all are set around Hardy’s much loved homeland.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
A Sampler
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-14
By: Thomas Hardy
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Under the Greenwood Tree
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Robert Hardy
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 16
The four seasons of the Wessex year form the backdrop for the delightful romance of Dick Dewy and Fancy Day. The ups and downs of their courtship are set alongside the story of the rustics who form the church choir.
By: Thomas Hardy
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Trespass
- By: Rose Tremain
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevensen
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 33
In a silent valley in southern France stands an isolated stone farmhouse, the Mas Lunel. Aramon, the owner, is so haunted by his violent past that he's become incapable of all meaningful action, letting his hunting dogs starve and his land go to ruin. Meanwhile, his sister Audrun, alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life. Into this closed world comes Anthony Verey....
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Saved by the amazing Juliet Stevensen
- By Eleanor Corner on 02-11-13
By: Rose Tremain
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Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 38 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,532
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,147
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,138
Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Beautiful story, amazing narration
- By Marcus Vorwaller on 08-02-08
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
Find Me
- A Novel
- By: André Aciman
- Narrated by: Michael Stuhlbarg
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 814
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 738
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 738
The author of the best seller Call Me by Your Name revisits its beguiling characters decades after their first meeting. In Find Me, Aciman shows us Elio’s father, Samuel, on a trip from Florence to Rome to visit Elio, who has become a gifted classical pianist. A chance encounter on the train with a beautiful young woman upends Sami’s plans and changes his life forever. Elio soon moves to Paris, where he, too, has a consequential affair, while Oliver, now a New England college professor with a family, finds himself contemplating a return trip across the Atlantic.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Was hoping for more
- By A. Paduch on 11-10-19
By: André Aciman
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The Woodlanders
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 144
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 143
Set in the Dorset landscape familiar to Hardy novels, The Woodlanders concerns the fortunes of Giles Winterborne, whose love for the well-do-do Grace Melbury is challenged by the arrival of a dashing and dissolute doctor, Edred Fitzpiers. When the mysterious Mrs Charmond further complicates the romantic entanglements, marital choice and class mobility become inextricably linked.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Thomas Hardy lesser known work
- By Molly Aultz on 06-12-08
By: Thomas Hardy
-
Wessex Tales
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Wessex Tales, a collection of short stories including "The Three Strangers", "The Withered Arm", and "The Distracted Preacher", deals with a number of timeless themes seen so often in Hardy’s work: marriage, class, revenge, and disappointed love. Many of the tales have a supernatural tinge, and all are set around Hardy’s much loved homeland.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Sampler
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-14
By: Thomas Hardy
-
Under the Greenwood Tree
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Robert Hardy
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 16
The four seasons of the Wessex year form the backdrop for the delightful romance of Dick Dewy and Fancy Day. The ups and downs of their courtship are set alongside the story of the rustics who form the church choir.
By: Thomas Hardy
-
Trespass
- By: Rose Tremain
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevensen
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 33
In a silent valley in southern France stands an isolated stone farmhouse, the Mas Lunel. Aramon, the owner, is so haunted by his violent past that he's become incapable of all meaningful action, letting his hunting dogs starve and his land go to ruin. Meanwhile, his sister Audrun, alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life. Into this closed world comes Anthony Verey....
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Saved by the amazing Juliet Stevensen
- By Eleanor Corner on 02-11-13
By: Rose Tremain
-
Anna Karenina
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 38 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,532
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,147
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,138
Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beautiful story, amazing narration
- By Marcus Vorwaller on 08-02-08
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
Find Me
- A Novel
- By: André Aciman
- Narrated by: Michael Stuhlbarg
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 814
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 738
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 738
The author of the best seller Call Me by Your Name revisits its beguiling characters decades after their first meeting. In Find Me, Aciman shows us Elio’s father, Samuel, on a trip from Florence to Rome to visit Elio, who has become a gifted classical pianist. A chance encounter on the train with a beautiful young woman upends Sami’s plans and changes his life forever. Elio soon moves to Paris, where he, too, has a consequential affair, while Oliver, now a New England college professor with a family, finds himself contemplating a return trip across the Atlantic.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Was hoping for more
- By A. Paduch on 11-10-19
By: André Aciman
-
The Woodlanders
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Samuel West
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 144
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 143
Set in the Dorset landscape familiar to Hardy novels, The Woodlanders concerns the fortunes of Giles Winterborne, whose love for the well-do-do Grace Melbury is challenged by the arrival of a dashing and dissolute doctor, Edred Fitzpiers. When the mysterious Mrs Charmond further complicates the romantic entanglements, marital choice and class mobility become inextricably linked.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thomas Hardy lesser known work
- By Molly Aultz on 06-12-08
By: Thomas Hardy
-
The Lying Life of Adults
- By: Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein - translator
- Narrated by: Marisa Tomei
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 316
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 290
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Story4 out of 5 stars 291
Giovanna’s pretty face is changing, turning ugly, at least so her father thinks. Giovanna, he says, is looking more like her Aunt Vittoria every day. But can it be true? Is she really changing? Will she turn out like her despised Aunt Vittoria, a woman she hardly knows but whom her mother and father have spent their whole lives avoiding and deriding? There must be a mirror somewhere in which she can see herself as she truly is.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed
- By Keighlee K. on 09-02-20
By: Elena Ferrante, and others
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Desperate Remedies
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Melody Grove
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
Cytherea has taken a position as lady's maid to the eccentric Miss Aldclyffe. On discovering that the man she loves is already engaged to his cousin, Cytherea comes under the influence of Miss Aldclyffe's fascinating, manipulative steward Manston. Desperate Remedies contains sensational ingredients of blackmail, murder and romance, but with its insight into psychology and sexuality it already bears the unmistakable imprint of Hardy’s future genius.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absorbing early Hardy
- By P. D. on 04-22-19
By: Thomas Hardy
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The Hand of Ethelberta
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: David Beed
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 10
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4 out of 5 stars 8
"The Hand of Ethelberta" (1876) is a comedy novel by Thomas Hardy. Ethelberta was raised in humble circumstances but, through her work as a governess, married well at the age of eighteen. Her husband died two weeks after the wedding and, now twenty-one, Ethelberta lives with her mother-in-law, Lady Petherwin. In the three years that have elapsed since the deaths of both her husband and father-in-law, Ethelberta has been treated to foreign travel and further privilege by her benefactress, but restricted from seeing her poor family.
By: Thomas Hardy
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The Wings of the Dove
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Story4 out of 5 stars 86
Milly Theale is a young, beautiful, and fabulously wealthy American. When she arrives in London and meets the equally beautiful but impoverished Kate Croy, they form an intimate friendship. But nothing is as it seems: materialism, romance, self-delusion, and ultimately fatal illness insidiously contaminate the glamorous social whirl.
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4 out of 5 stars
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No one but Juliet Stevenson...
- By J. Leiker on 05-02-18
By: Henry James
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The Trumpet-Major
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 19
Against the larger-than-life backdrop of England's conflict with Napoleon, young Anne Garland is courted by three suitors: the trumpet-major John Loveday, his sailor-brother Bob, and Festus Derriman of the yeomanry cavalry. For Hardy, the loves and sorrows of ordinary characters are as much the material of history as any record of emperors and generals.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Charming but sometimes exasperating
- By Tad Davis on 12-25-16
By: Thomas Hardy
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Call Me by Your Name
- A Novel
- By: André Aciman
- Narrated by: Armie Hammer
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,736
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 10,852
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10,833
Call Me by Your Name first swept across the world in 2007. It is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. During the restless summer weeks, unrelenting but buried currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them and verge toward the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing.
- By Nico L. on 10-07-17
By: André Aciman
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A Pair of Blue Eyes
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4 out of 5 stars 49
Hardy's third novel, A Pair of Blue Eyes, follows the story of Elfride Swancourt. The daughter of the rector of Endelstow, a sparse, sea-swept parish in Cornwall, Elfride is caught between two suitors of very different backgrounds: Stephen Smith, a young architect restoring the old parish church; and the respectable, older man of London society, Henry Knight. The blue-eyed and high-spirited protagonist must untangle the conflicting messages of her heart and her mind.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Depressing story & unbelievable central character
- By Molly R. on 08-14-17
By: Thomas Hardy
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Tess of the d'Urbervilles
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,953
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,814
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,813
Tess Durbeyfield has become one of the most famous female protagonists in 19th-century British literature. Betrayed by the two men in her life - Alec D’Urberville, her seducer/rapist and father of her fated child; and Angel, her intellectual and pious husband - Tess takes justice, and her own destiny, into her delicate hands. In telling her desperate and passionate story, Hardy brings Tess to life with an extraordinary vividness that makes her live in the heart of the reader long after the novel is concluded.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Davina Porter Does It Again!
- By misaki on 06-15-15
By: Thomas Hardy
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The Golden Bowl
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 25 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 39
Wealthy Maggie Verver has everything she could ever ask for - except a husband and a title. While in Italy, acquiring art for his museum back in the States, Maggie’s millionaire father, Adam, decides to remedy this and acquire a husband for Maggie. Enter Prince Amerigo, of a titled but now poor aristocratic Florentine family. Amerigo is the perfect candidate.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The best!
- By susan von schlegell on 07-29-18
By: Henry James
![A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor] By cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Ecc++n0tL._SL320_.jpg)
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A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,231
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,449
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,494
A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past. Doctor Manette was wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years without trial by the aristocratic authorities.
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5 out of 5 stars
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it's the singer not the song*
- By Maynard on 11-09-13
By: Charles Dickens
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Persuasion
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,899
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,224
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,233
Anne Elliot has grieved for seven years over the loss of her first love, Captain Frederick Wentworth. But events conspire to unravel the knots of deceit and misunderstanding in this beguiling and gently comic story of love and fidelity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Juliet Stevenson is Simply Amazing
- By Em on 04-15-12
By: Jane Austen
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Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 125
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 103
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 101
Michael Henchard, drunk at a country fair, sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas. The following day, in despair and remorse, he forswears alcohol and sets out to redeem himself. In time, he becomes a respected merchant and eventually the mayor of the town. But Fate is not to be so easily appeased, and Henchard finds his past actions resonate through and destroy his plans for the future.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb
- By Tad Davis on 12-17-10
By: Thomas Hardy
Publisher's Summary
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What listeners say about The Well-Beloved
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lisa
- 06-22-16
Fickle Love on Portland and in London
Lesser known Hard nove. Enjoyable walking my home island with the characters. Great narrator. Do listen.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- J. Staines
- 07-30-14
Love the voice, but it's not enough
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I like Thomas Hardy novels, but despite this one being read by one of my favourite voice actors, it was not enough to hold my attention. The story rambles and I lost all sympathy with the protagonist. I didn't finish the book.
Would you ever listen to anything by Thomas Hardy again?
Yes.
What does Robert Powell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
He has a beautiful voice and reads very well, bringing his characters to life. He manages to read the female parts in a very believable way, as well, which is no mean feat.
Did The Well-Beloved inspire you to do anything?
Only to stop reading it! To be honest, it did get me to sleep quite well on a number of nights, which is no bad thing since I often find it difficult. But then, probably almost any book read by Robert Powell would have done that job.
Any additional comments?
I'm glad I tried it, since it was one of the few Hardy's I have never read.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Angelcritique
- 09-27-18
A good story spoiled
I was in great anticipation finding that Robert Powell was the narrator of this Thomas Hardy story, as I'm a longstanding admirer of Robert's work. Sadly I am bewidered, disappointed and decidedly irritated by this experienced and well respected actor's continuous mis-pronounciation of the commonplace female name of 'Avice' throughout the entire book. It's pronounced 'AY-VISS.' Not pronouncing the 'A' like the 'A' in 'hat' and 'cat'. Like in the word 'Avarice'. What's wrong with him? Has he never met a lady with this name in his long life. Does he not research his projects beforehand? Obviously not. I expected more from this esteemed actor's narration here. It spoils the entire listening experience for me. I guess I'll read the book myself to overlay a more positive memory of the novel.