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Decline and Fall
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Vile Bodies
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Robert Hardy
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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A satiric novel by Evelyn Waugh, published in 1930. Set in England between the wars, the novel examines the frenetic but empty lives of the Bright Young Things, young people who indulge in constant party-going, heavy drinking, and promiscuous sex. At the novel's end, the realities of the world intrude, with Adam Fenwick-Symes, the protagonist, serving on a battlefield at the onset of another world war.
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Scoop
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Lord Copper, newspaper magnate and proprietor of the Daily Beast, has always prided himself on his intuitive flair for spotting ace reporters. That is not to say he has not made the odd blunder, however, and may in a moment of weakness make another. Acting on a dinner party tip from Mrs. Algernon Stitch, Lord Copper feels convinced that he has hit on just the chap to cover a promising war in the African Republic of Ishmaelia. So begins Scoop.
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Ironic but true
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Brideshead Revisited
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The wellsprings of desire and the impediments to love come brilliantly into focus in Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece - a novel that immerses us in the glittering and seductive world of English aristocracy in the waning days of the empire. Through the story of Charles Ryder's entanglement with the Flytes, a great Catholic family, Evelyn Waugh charts the passing of the privileged world he knew in his own youth and vividly recalls the sensuous pleasures denied him by wartime austerities.
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a true classic read by a veteran performer
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Guy Crouchback has lost his Halberdier idealism. A desk job in London gives him the chance of reconciliation with his former wife. Then, in Yugoslavia, as a liaison officer with the partisans, he finally becomes aware of the futility of a war he once saw in terms of honour.
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The futility
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After seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last has grown bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. In a novel that combines tragedy, comedy, and savage irony, Evelyn Waugh indelibly captures the irresponsible mood of the "crazy and sterile generation" between the wars.
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Officers and Gentlemen
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Undergoing training on the Isle of Mugg, Guy Crouchback is now attached to a commando unit where the ministry whisky flows freely and HM Forces have to show proper respect to the Laird. But the comedy of Mugg is followed by the bitterness of Crete: the indignity of withdrawal or surrender.
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meh. didn't finish this one. very hard to follow
- By Anonymous User on 13-09-2019
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Vile Bodies
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Robert Hardy
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A satiric novel by Evelyn Waugh, published in 1930. Set in England between the wars, the novel examines the frenetic but empty lives of the Bright Young Things, young people who indulge in constant party-going, heavy drinking, and promiscuous sex. At the novel's end, the realities of the world intrude, with Adam Fenwick-Symes, the protagonist, serving on a battlefield at the onset of another world war.
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Scoop
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Simon Cadell
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lord Copper, newspaper magnate and proprietor of the Daily Beast, has always prided himself on his intuitive flair for spotting ace reporters. That is not to say he has not made the odd blunder, however, and may in a moment of weakness make another. Acting on a dinner party tip from Mrs. Algernon Stitch, Lord Copper feels convinced that he has hit on just the chap to cover a promising war in the African Republic of Ishmaelia. So begins Scoop.
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Ironic but true
- By 99Albert on 27-10-2021
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Brideshead Revisited
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Jeremy Irons
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The wellsprings of desire and the impediments to love come brilliantly into focus in Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece - a novel that immerses us in the glittering and seductive world of English aristocracy in the waning days of the empire. Through the story of Charles Ryder's entanglement with the Flytes, a great Catholic family, Evelyn Waugh charts the passing of the privileged world he knew in his own youth and vividly recalls the sensuous pleasures denied him by wartime austerities.
-
-
a true classic read by a veteran performer
- By Patrick on 19-08-2017
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Unconditional Surrender
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guy Crouchback has lost his Halberdier idealism. A desk job in London gives him the chance of reconciliation with his former wife. Then, in Yugoslavia, as a liaison officer with the partisans, he finally becomes aware of the futility of a war he once saw in terms of honour.
-
-
The futility
- By Anonymous User on 02-07-2022
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A Handful of Dust
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Andrew Sachs
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
After seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last has grown bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. In a novel that combines tragedy, comedy, and savage irony, Evelyn Waugh indelibly captures the irresponsible mood of the "crazy and sterile generation" between the wars.
-
Officers and Gentlemen
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Undergoing training on the Isle of Mugg, Guy Crouchback is now attached to a commando unit where the ministry whisky flows freely and HM Forces have to show proper respect to the Laird. But the comedy of Mugg is followed by the bitterness of Crete: the indignity of withdrawal or surrender.
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meh. didn't finish this one. very hard to follow
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- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
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Guy Crouchback, determined to get into the war, takes a commission in the Royal Corps of Halberdiers. His spirits high, he sees all the trimmings but none of the action. And his first campaign, an abortive affair on the West African coastline, ends with an escapade which seriously blots his Halberdier copybook. Men at Arms is the first book in Waugh’s brilliant trilogy, Sword of Honour, which chronicles the fortunes of Guy Crouchback.
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- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
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What happened to the characters of Decline and Fall and Vile Bodies when the war broke out? Put Out More Flags shows them adjusting to the changing social pattern of the times. Some of them play valorous parts; others, like the scapegrace Basil Sea, disclose their incorrigible habit of self-preservation in all circumstances. Basil's contribution to the war effort involves the use of his peculiar talents in such spheres of opportunity as the Ministry of Information and an obscure section of Military Security.
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Complex and utterly compelling
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The Evelyn Waugh BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited and Other Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Evelyn Waugh, Jeremy Front
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Evelyn Waugh is one of the pre-eminent English novelists of the 20th century. This collection comprises six of his finest works, dramatised by award-winning writer Jeremy Front, including Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited, Scoop and Sword of Honour (The Waugh Trilogy).
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Full on, and terrific!
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Publisher's Summary
Expelled from Oxford for indecent behaviour, Paul Pennyfeather is oddly unsurprised to find himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at Llanabba Castle.
His colleagues are an assortment of misfits, including Prendy (plagued by doubts) and Captain Grimes, who is always in the soup (or just plain drunk). Then Sports Day arrives and with it the delectable Margot Beste-Chetwynde, floating on a scented breeze.
As the farce unfolds and the young run riot, no one is safe, least of all Paul. Taking its title from Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Evelyn Waugh's first, funniest novel immediately caught the ear of the public with his account of an ingénu abroad in the decadent confusion of 1920s high society.
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What listeners say about Decline and Fall
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Papa G
- 28-05-2019
Michael Maloney, voice artist
Very enjoyable and funny. The voices are brilliantly done. Glimpses into the meaning of life from unexpected characters.After Brideshead Revisited, read by Jeremy Irons, you'd want to read everything by Waugh. I do.
1 person found this helpful
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- Dead Texta
- 06-09-2016
Wonderful reading by Michael Maloney
Hilarious piece of satire on class and education. Loved it. Michael Maloney brings each of the characters alive spectacularly.
1 person found this helpful
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- Kapurne
- 16-07-2022
Utterly marvellous
Very, very funny. Fabulously narrated. Every single character is unique, flawed, fully formed and quite irresistible. A cracking tale very much of its time.
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- Andrew Paul
- 04-11-2021
Great story read with entertaining skill
My first Evelyn Waugh book but probably not my last. This edition was very entertaining and a humourous story with an amazing glimpse of the period.
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- Sister Luke
- 02-12-2020
Curious
Was this recorded quite a while ago? I mean, decades ago? The audio/narration quality would seem to suggest as much.
He sort of slurs/stumbles his way through at a very rapid pace, and often makes outright mistakes, which I assume if this was a proper audiobook recording he would have gone back to correct. All his voices sound pretty much the same, and there are some odd choices in how he choose to do many characters. Overall, it just didn't sound very professional, or seem like Maloney really 'got' the book. In fact, I would guess he was probably bored by it. Sloppy. Sloppy is the word I'm looking for.
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- Chris
- 09-02-2017
Give the narrator an oscar!
This is a wonderful, Jeeves-and-Wooster-esque yarn (although with a bigger helping of satire) made fantastic by the skills of a highly adaptable and talented narrator.
High recommended!
5 people found this helpful
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- Claire
- 05-04-2017
Unsurpassable narration
If you could sum up Decline and Fall in three words, what would they be?
Quaint, clever, wry.
What did you like best about this story?
The narration is absolutely perfect and gave me so much more expressive characterisation than I'd have been able to conjure in my own head - thank you, Michael Maloney!
What does Michael Maloney bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
It's honestly as if he wrote the novel himself, so perfectly does he capture each snort, sneer, grimace and tick - he narrates each character with a sort of audible physicality which makes it easy to visualise the characters, and it's laugh out loud stuff. It's ridiculous, it's over the top, and it's jolly good fun.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I found it very amusing, diverting, and just what I needed to wind down to each night for a week. Waugh's not to everyone's taste, but if you like a class-based period comedy, boom, here it is. They don't make 'em like this anymore...
Any additional comments?
I read that David Suchet will be appearing in a new TV adaptation, and I can see that working very well; having seen him as Lady Bracknell recently, he can do comedy brilliantly.
10 people found this helpful
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- Raal Harris
- 11-02-2016
Ripping Yarn
Thoroughly enjoyable book and wonderfully narrated by Michael Maloney who expertly brings the larger than life characters to life.
4 people found this helpful
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- Alan Coady
- 29-04-2017
Perfect Narration
Would you listen to Decline and Fall again? Why?
I will certainly revisit this production. The story is hugely enjoyable but Michael Maloney's narration really stood out. Not only did he highlight the comical elements but he seemed able to distinguish a fine spectrum of 'posh' voices which hinted at varying degrees of class, income, education etc.
What did you like best about this story?
I enjoyed Waugh's parody of public school life and society in general - criminals of all classes included.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
The Sports Day farrago was very enjoyable. On a quieter level, so were many conversations - with much subtle humour.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Certainly not crying - I laughed aloud many times, and smiled many more.
Any additional comments?
This is a really fun listen. I certainly plan to re-listen - and probably more than once.
3 people found this helpful
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- Douglas
- 06-04-2017
Excellent narration
I am a fan of Waugh but this is definitely not my favourite of his books. However it was brilliantly narrated and often seems like a full cast rather than a single voice.
3 people found this helpful
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- Harriet
- 20-04-2016
Brilliant narrator
Would you consider the audio edition of Decline and Fall to be better than the print version?
Can't say as I haven't read the print version.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Decline and Fall?
All of it.
Have you listened to any of Michael Maloney’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Michael Maloney is brilliant at capturing character, and the mood of the period, all of his voices are distinct and brilliant.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No
3 people found this helpful
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- MC
- 05-06-2019
classic Waugh
a tale of black humour which makes you squirm and giggle in equal amounts. will listen again and again.
1 person found this helpful
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- Pepino
- 08-09-2018
Pifffection
A short spiffy social commentary on public school education and the absurdity of life, often funny sometimes touching but always true. This is one of the rare gems of audiobooks where the performance is top draw and brings the book to life.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 04-09-2021
Took me back to 'o' level days
Don't listen to Waugh if youare easily offended: he is a racist, sexist old snob but he is of his time and deals in sterotypes to portray the simultaneously bright society stars and the gloomy shadows they leave.
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- A reader
- 20-08-2021
Maloney is my favourite narrator
I love all of Evelyn Waugh's books, bitingly funny and sharply insightful on and critical of early-mid twentieth-century British society. What makes this stand out is the extraordinary narration. Michael Maloney is phenomenal: he completely captures the spirit and pace of Waugh's novels, while being sensitive to their pathos and humour. I'd listen to anything narrated by him, but Maloney and Waugh are a dream match. He's narrated a few of Waugh's novels on audible - all equally fabulous.
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