A Room with a View cover art

A Room with a View

Preview
Free with 30-day trial
A 30-day trial plus your first audiobook free.
1 credit/month after trial—to buy any title you like, yours to keep.
Listen all you want to a selection of thousands of Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.

A Room with a View

By: E. M. Forster
Narrated by: Rebecca Hall
Free with 30-day trial

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $22.99

Buy Now for $22.99

About this listen

In this rich new audio production, acclaimed British American actress Rebecca Hall brings one of E. M. Forster's most admired works to life in this classic tale of human struggle.

A charming young Englishwoman, Lucy Honeychurch, is wooed by both free-spirited George Emerson and wealthy Cecil Vyse while vacationing in Italy. Though attracted to George, Lucy becomes engaged to Cecil despite twice turning down his proposals. On hearing of the news, George confesses his love, leaving Lucy torn between marrying the more socially acceptable Cecil or George, the man she knows would bring her true happiness. Should Lucy choose social acceptance or true love?

It's both the quintessential Edwardian love story and a classic piece of social comedy, in which Forster is concerned with one of his favorite themes: the "undeveloped heart" of the English middle classes, here represented by a group of tourists and expatriates in Florence. Forster's disapproval of the era's restrictive conventions is reflected through his strong observation of character and society.

A Room with a View was ranked 79th on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The 1985 film adaptation by James Ivory won three Oscars.

Narrator Biography
Rebecca Hall is an award-winning British-American actress with extensive credits in stage and screen, including leading roles in Christine, Professor Marston & the Wonder Women, Frost/Nixon, and Vicky Christina Barcelona. As the daughter of two theater veterans - the stage director and Royal Shakespeare Company founder Peter Hall and the opera singer Maria Ewing - Rebecca began acting from an early age, and her mastery of the craft is on full display in her nuanced performance of A Room With a View, her debut audiobook narration.

Public Domain (P)2018 Audible, Inc.
Classics Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Celebrity Fiction Romance Heartfelt British Literature
All stars
Most relevant  
While completely of the era, this story covers all the modern themes of love, gender and the search for purpose.

Stunning story, beautifully read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I have watched the film so many times and love it’s languid unfolding and romance. The book is even more wonderful and I have enjoyed the narration.

Why did I take so long to read this?!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A wonderful story about love, truth deceit, family and Italy, Wonderful performance. A book I could listen to again and again.

Wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This story had only one likeable characters, who wasn't even the main character, which would normally repell me. However I found the story very engaging.

I really enjoyed stepping back to the early 1900's to get a glimpse into attitudes and social mores of the middle class English, albeit to poke fun at the rules.

I was surprised that the author was a male because of the plot line.

The narrator was very listen-able and her rhythm and timing were excellent, however it was sometimes difficult to differentiate between the different characters.

Surprisingly good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A nice rendition. I felt the narrative was too little as in make female characters were difficult to define until middle of book. I Enjoyed the book as it stands.

Good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Such a lovely story, I so enjoy good old period drama, such a good listen!
Perfect for rainy days .

Love this!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I have always loved this story since seeing the Merchant-Ivory film version. Then I read the book and loved it again. Now I listened to this version and my love is threefold. A great performance of a great story Deep down there is hope for the Miss Bartletts of this world as they try to break free from their stifling "manners" and the prescribed way to act. "You do love the boy body and soul" comes from a living room with a different view.

A book with a view

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Loved the story and Rebecca Hall's narration.

Such great characters. Especially loved Freddie and Mr Beebe.

Made we want to go back and watch the film again.

Just beautiful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A wonderful exposition of a changing England, the incomprehensible passions of youth, and how the lies we tell ourselves and others are the complicating factor in our lives, not the situations we blame for our confusion.

Perfect narration… warm, open, intelligent voice.

Loved this for the story and the narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Firstly, Rebecca Hall did an excellent job narrating. She has a very pleasant voice and skillfully inflects her tone for each of the characters, so that you may ascertain who is speaking.

In relation to the story, it was very nice. Certainly not what I would call a brilliant work of art and definitely not one of my favourites. Forster managed to make me laugh at times, but for a romantic such as myself, I was disappointed that the interactions between Lucy and George are often brushed over whilst Forster goes into great detail into other less interesting things. If you were not familiar with the film, I would think you could sometimes become confused as to what exactly was transpiring, but that is to be expected of a book from this time, with more formal and different forms of writing and speech than our own.

Very Enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.