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The Stranger's Child
- Narrated by: James Daniel Wilson
- Length: 19 hrs and 52 mins
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Publisher's summary
From the Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Line of Beauty: a magnificent, century-spanning saga about a love triangle that spawns a myth, and a family mystery, across generations.
In the late summer of 1913, George Sawle brings his Cambridge schoolmate—a handsome, aristocratic young poet named Cecil Valance—to his family’s modest home outside London for the weekend. George is enthralled by Cecil, and soon his sixteen-year-old sister, Daphne, is equally besotted by him and the stories he tells about Corley Court, the country estate he is heir to. But what Cecil writes in Daphne’s autograph album will change their and their families’ lives forever: a poem that, after Cecil is killed in the Great War and his reputation burnished, will become a touchstone for a generation, a work recited by every schoolchild in England. Over time, a tragic love story is spun, even as other secrets lie buried—until, decades later, an ambitious biographer threatens to unearth them.
Rich with Hollinghurst's signature gifts—haunting sensuality, delicious wit and exquisite lyricism—The Stranger’s Child is a tour de force: a masterly novel about the lingering power of desire, how the heart creates its own history, and how legends are made.
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The first of the classic mysteries featuring governess-turned-detective Miss Silver, who investigates a deadly conspiratorial ring. Charles Moray has come home to England to collect his inheritance. After four years wandering the jungles of India and South America, the hardy young man returns to the manor of his birth, where generations of Morays have lived and died. Strangely, he finds the house unlocked, and sees a light on in one of its abandoned rooms. Eavesdropping, he learns of a conspiracy to commit a fearsome crime.
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The shaky first of a long, strong series
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Daughters of Eden
- By: Charlotte Bingham
- Narrated by: Kim Hicks
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Daughters of Eden focuses on the lives and fortunes of four very different young women at the outbreak of the Second World War. Marjorie, left at a boarding school by her emigrating mother; plain Poppy, pushed into marriage with a mean-spirited aristocrat; Kate, despised by her father, but determined to prove herself; and man-mad Lily, who turns out to be the bravest of them all. That all of them are chosen to work undercover for the espionage unit at Eden Park is a surprise, not least to them.
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An amazing book everyone should read.
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The Unseen
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- By: Katherine Webb
- Narrated by: Clare Wille
- Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins
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A vicar with a passion for nature, the Reverend Albert Canning leads a happy existence with his naive wife, Hester, in their sleepy Berkshire village in the year 1911. But as the English summer dawns, the Cannings' lives are forever changed by two new arrivals: Cat, their new maid, a disaffected, free-spirited young woman sent down from London after entanglements with the law; and Robin Durrant, a leading expert in the occult, enticed by tales of elemental beings in the water meadows nearby.
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Great book!
- By Dana on 09-03-12
By: Katherine Webb
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Rebecca
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Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.... The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives - presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.
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Easily the best audiobook I have ever heard!
- By Kid at Heart on 11-10-18
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Clarissa is almost 17 when the spell of her childhood is broken. It is 1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer - and the end of an era. Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university and staying with his mother, the housekeeper, she is dazzled.
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The Last Summer Delivers
- By Carmen dela Cruz on 05-22-16
By: Judith Kinghorn
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Mr. Fox
- A Novel
- By: Helen Oyeyemi
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- Unabridged
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Fairy-tale romances end with a wedding and the fairy tales don't get complicated. In this book, celebrated writer Mr. Fox can't stop himself from killing off the heroines of his novels, and neither can his wife, Daphne. It's not until Mary, his muse, comes to life and transforms him from author into subject that his story begins to unfold differently....
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A Great Novel, just Poor for Audio
- By James A. Dittes on 08-13-16
By: Helen Oyeyemi
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Laughter in the Dark
- By: Vladimir Nabokov
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Albinus, a respectable, middle-aged man and aspiring filmmaker, abandons his wife for a lover half his age: Margot, who wants to become a movie star. When Albinus introduces her to Rex, an American movie producer, disaster ensues. What emerges is an elegantly sardonic and irresistibly ironic novel of desire, deceit, and deception, a curious romance set in the film world of Berlin in the 1930s.
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Death is often the point of life's joke
- By Darwin8u on 05-19-13
By: Vladimir Nabokov
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The Forsyte Chronicles, Vol. 2
- A Modern Comedy
- By: John Galsworthy
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 34 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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John Galsworthy's magnificent trilogy of power and passion chronicles the wealthy Forsyte family. The complete Chronicles are divided into three volumes, containing nine books and four interludes in total. Volume 2, A Modern Comedy, focuses on Soames's vivacious daughter, Fleur. Soames tries constantly to protect her but is baffled by the carefree attitudes in post-war London. Fleur and her husband Michael Mont host society gatherings, but her previous affair with Jon Forsyte leaves embers of a passion that are ready to ignite - with dreadful consequences.
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Very worthwhile
- By Jonathan Kalkstein on 09-27-22
By: John Galsworthy
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Death in Zanzibar
- By: M. M. Kaye
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Dany Ashton is invited to vacation at her stepfather's house in Zanzibar, but even before her airplane takes off there is a stolen passport, a midnight intruder - and murder. In Zanizbar, the family house is Kivulimi, the mysterious "House of Shade", where Dany and the rest of the guests learn that one of them is a desperate killer. The air of freedom and nonchalance that opened the house party fades into growing terror, as the threat of futher violence flowers in the scented air of Zanzibar.
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Old Favorite Now in Audio
- By Marie on 01-13-13
By: M. M. Kaye
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What listeners say about The Stranger's Child
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kindle Customer
- 11-28-11
Left me feeling sad and disappointed
I’m not a sophisticated reader, not educated in the liberal arts, and not "well read", so one should take this review with a grain of salt.
The humor referred to in "what the critics say" was completely missed by me; which; I suppose, attests to my limitations as a reader. But I do agree that it was beautifully written; and beautifully read, however it verged on the tedious. But never quite so much that I gave in to the urge to stop reading. In general it felt like very long roller coaster ride with long hauls and anticlimactic drops.
There is no "plot" just the story about a very handsome young aristocrat with "raven hair", "big hands" and "a huge..." who's family, poetry and, mostly homosexual escapades are the subject of the many family biographers, most, or all, of whom have their own homosexual escapades; with the main character or one another.
But the homosexual undercurrent of this; (Gothic novel?) is rather trite and cavalier. I mean, no one ever gets upset by being hit on, and everyone seems rather indifferent about the many "queer" characters in the book. None of whom seem a bit disturbed by how the many male characters go after one another. Very "romantic" but a bit difficult to believe, given the nature of "the crime that dares not speak it's name", and the period in which they was being committed.
Aside from that this book was a bit of a slog with a plethora of characters, coming and going; in and out, Jumping from one generation to the next and then, abruptly, without warning, ending.
It was all a bit of a tease for me, just when you got interested in a character the storyline shifted to another character entirely, often in another family or another generation.
It left me feeling rather sad and disappointed.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Here-and-faraway
- 01-19-13
I Hated For It To End
What did you love best about The Stranger's Child?
I loved both its characters and the way the writer explores how and what is remembered.
What other book might you compare The Stranger's Child to and why?
I could loosely compare it to A.S. Byatt's Possession or Tennysons' "In Memoriam" (where the story got its title from.) Like Possession, we see biographers trying to unravel the mystery of what a famous poet was really like and who he was romantically involved with. Unlike Possession, the story isn't centered on "who dun' it" (although there are some surprising twists at the end), but rather who is remembered, how they are remembered, and who is forgotten. It's very poignant to see who and what is lost.
Which scene was your favorite?
The ending left me with chills. I also listened to the first part of the story over and over again because it is so well crafted.
If you could take any character from The Stranger's Child out to dinner, who would it be and why?
I adored Daphne, but would probably take Cecil out to dinner just to see what kind of mischief he would get himself into.
Any additional comments?
This is a beautifully written book. The author really knows his craft. The pace is set on slow burn. The book isn't about exposing one shocking revelation after another, but rather about how things are revealed and chosen to be remembered. You know that feeling when you finish a story and wish there was more? When you can't start anything else because what you just read was so good? When the story's over, but it still hangs like a veil over your daily life? That's where I am right now, after completing The Stranger's Child. It's definitely something I will listen to again.
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7 people found this helpful
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- kate the first
- 04-13-18
Uncovering Lost History
What made the experience of listening to The Stranger's Child the most enjoyable?
Alan Hollinghurst is slowly easing his way into my list of favorite authors. This is a slow but moving examination of the historical covering and uncovering of a young love between two young men right before WWI. I found everything enjoyable - the character studies, the references to literary history, the narrator's different voices and Brit accents, the descriptions of landscapes and people. You get the feeling that both the author and narrator love and intimately know England.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Stranger's Child?
Two characters in particular made this memorable: horrible, jealous, overbearing Dudley and the banker-turned-biographer, Peter, who is socially inept and a bit self-absorbed but likeable too in a weird way
Have you listened to any of James Daniel Wilson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I haven't listened to him but I really enjoyed his narration here - his different British accents are fabulous. He did a South Country (farmer) accent especially well - my husband has that accent, and I made him listen to it. He laughed in pleasure of hearing himself! :D
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Finding love in old pages (sorry - I am not very clever sometimes)
Any additional comments?
I just want to request more Hollinghurst novels if you can get them! Very nice evening listening.
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- Russell
- 02-28-13
Couldn't Finish It
Any additional comments?
I really enjoyed two other Allan Hollinghurst books, but I could not get into this story enough to finish it. To be fair to Mr. Hollinghurst, I don't think think it's his fault. This audiobook's performer was quite bad. He made it sound like a children's book. The performance was so distracting that I found myself focusing on it instead of the story. I gave up trying to finish it once I realized it had become a chore. I think I'll return it under Audible's new Great Listen Guarantee.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Andre
- 04-08-12
A Sorry Story from a Gift Writer
What disappointed you about The Stranger's Child?
The author goes on and on without sharing any sense of his destination.
Has The Stranger's Child turned you off from other books in this genre?
Yes, the book
What does James Daniel Wilson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Well read.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
If you are a militant gay, convinced that every other male is secretly gay, you might enjoy the book. If, however, you see the world as a mix of gay and straight -- you'll be frustrated by the lack of straight characters...and by the inclusion of those from the British upper class that would certainly have been part of the story if a more balanced author had been at the keyboard.
Any additional comments?
Hollinghurst's earlier work - particularly The Swimming Pool Diaries - is much more compelling. This book felt like Downton Abbey without with, pathos, or characters you cared about. (Don't even get me going about the ending...)
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4 people found this helpful
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- Rob S.
- 07-07-16
Dreadful
What would have made The Stranger's Child better?
I was 12 chapters into this tome and was still trying to find a reason to care or continue! Between the readers droning oration and the authors gun shy approach to this subject, ugh, I gave up and started skipping chapters just to finish it - i gave up during Daphne's insipid interviews at the end - I DIDN'T CARE anymore.
What could Alan Hollinghurst have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
I wasn't expecting a torrid beach burner of a book, but his guys approach to writing about gay love was irritating to say the least. It was never written but every way implied to the point of madness.
What didn’t you like about James Daniel Wilson’s performance?
This man had the flat monotoned voice of a Penn station train announcer.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Listening to this book took my mind off the current election news - if only briefly.
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- The Good DR
- 12-04-13
Bookclubber
What would have made The Stranger's Child better?
A meandering story that was very difficult to follow.
Would you be willing to try another one of James Daniel Wilson’s performances?
The fact that no one in my book club enjoyed this book had everything to do with the author and nothing to do with the performance of the narrator, So yes.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
A few people in my book club thought The author had a gift of painting visual images of characters and scenery.
Any additional comments?
Out of six people in our book club only one person finished this entire book. This has never happened before. The other five people, including me, found the books so on unengaging and difficult to follow that we gave up and quit reading. One of the worst books I've ever read.
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- D.W.
- 01-30-21
Long, disjointed ramble that went nowhere
This is the only novel by Hollinghurst I have not enjoyed. While he usually takes his time telling a story, he has (until now) eventually gotten there. Hollinghurst novels do as a rule change perspective and shift in time, and it usually works out. This novel's parts don't really hang together, there is little chance for story or character development as everything shifts as soon as the reader begins to figure out who the new characters and places are, and how they relate to the previous parts of the novel.
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