Anthony Powell cover art

Anthony Powell

Dancing to the Music of Time

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Anthony Powell

By: Hilary Spurling
Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
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About this listen

The long-awaited portrait of a literary master from one of our generation's greatest biographers

Anthony Powell: the literary genius who gave us A Dance to the Music of Time, an undisputed classic of English literature. Spanning 12 spectacular volumes and written over 25 years, his comic masterpiece teems with idiosyncratic characters, capturing 20th-century Britain through war and peace.

Drawing on Powell's letters and journals, and the memories of those who knew him, Hilary Spurling explores his life. Investigating the friends, relations, lovers, acquaintances, fools and geniuses who surrounded him, she reveals the comical and tragic events that inspired one of the greatest fictions of the age.

©2017 Hilary Spurling (P)2018 Audible, Ltd Art & Literature Authors Europe European Great Britain Literary History & Criticism World Literature England War Imperialism
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I did enjoy listening to this book by a respected biographer and about one of my favorite writers. Overall, I enjoyed the narration but became increasingly irritated at errors and inconsistencies in Sophie Aldred's pronunciation of names and places: most glaring was her pronunciation of Powell's surname, which was usually produced as "Pole," but often pronounced "Powell," eg in the final sign off, where she said Powell, not Pole. I also noticed that Ms Aldred has a competent pronunciation of French names/places/quotations, but inability to pronounce "Kyoto," or other non-European words correctly. This inconsistency was a bit jarring and detracted from Spurling's excellent biography at times.

A few sour notes but a good biography

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