Madam, Will You Talk?
The modern classic by the Queen of the Romantic Mystery
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Madam, Will You Talk?
Narrated by:
Emilia Fox
Buy Now for $26.99
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Narrated by:
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Emilia Fox
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By:
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Mary Stewart
About this listen
It sounds idyllic: a leisurely drive through the sun-drenched landscape of Provence. But Charity's dream holiday turns into a nightmare when she becomes embroiled in a sinister plot to kidnap a young boy. She soon finds herself in a deadly pursuit and must uncover who to trust . . . and who to fall for.
Whenever I look back now on the strange and terrifying events of that holiday in Southern France, I remember the minutes I spent gazing at the golden arches of the Roman aqueduct over the Gardon... the last brief lull before the thunder.
(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd©1956 Mary Stewart
Critic Reviews
The terrible thirsty heat of the Provençal summer, the noise of the cicadas, the dust of the country buses... the tension mounts steadily until it reaches breaking-point . . . an excellent tale of mystery.
She set the bench mark for pace, suspense and romance - with a great dollop of escapism as the icing. (Elizabeth Buchan)
A comfortable chair and a Mary Stewart: total heaven. I'd rather read her than most other authors. (Harriet Evans)
Mary Stewart is magic.
Especially in these covid times when we can't travel it was lovely to have a story with such a strong depiction of food, scenery and atmosphere of the south of France not to mention the smoking!
The story is of the period so there is some casual racism.
Really really enjoyed this.
An absolute gem of an audiobook
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Always one of my favorites
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Actually Mary Stewart didn’t just write romantic suspense, she’s been credited with inventing the genre. Unbelievably, after skimming through reviews here on Goodreads, most are of the opinion that this, her 1955 debut, is Stewart’s weakest and least polished book. Unbelievable because it’s seriously good.
The book is set after WW2 which left our heroine, Charity, a widow. Charity travels to France for a holiday and, whilst staying in an Avignon resort, she gets to know one of the guests, a young boy, David. Charity’s natural maternal instinct kicks in and she soon becomes protective of, and friendly with, David. However, this puts her in danger when she and David are being pursued by David’s father, a man who has recently been charged with murdering his wife's lover.
It’s difficult to write suspenseful action scenes but Stewart does it with ease. Her cat and mouse chases, in particular, are spectacularly written. She also made me believe wholeheartedly in the romance. There was a real chemistry between Charity and her romantic lead. At times the air just crackled between them.
I love Alfred Hitchcock movies and this book is basically like reading a book version of one of his movies. I immediately cast Cary Grant and Grace Kelly whilst reading this. In fact, I struggle to understand why no one ever made it into a movie.
Given the age of the book I assumed there would be parts full of political incorrectness and just generally old fashioned views. I was pleasantly surprised that, for the most, this isn’t the case. There are a few parts which have scenes showing men bullying women but they’re not as grating as I feared. Actually, if anything, my fears were unfounded when it came to Charity. She was a strong independent woman who pretty much managed to get herself out of the many sticky situations she landed in throughout - usually without the help of a man. Okay, at times she gets a little help from males (even in a roundabout way she is helped by her late husband) but a lot of the time, it’s her own ingenuity that saves her.
The constant smoking of the characters is probably the most noticeable difference in the eras! Cigarettes are lit up for every occasion! LOL
I listened to this in audio version and it was read by Emilia Fox who proved acting royalty can be handy when it comes to classy narration. Fox is easily one of the best narrators I’ve come across in audio-land thus far. I highly recommend this version.
I must give thanks to group challenges here on Goodreads. I would have probably never picked up this book to read if it wasn’t for the ‘book with a question as a title’ category that I was stumped on before deciding on this novel. Now, given that I really loved this book, I’m looking forward to some serious binge reading of Stewart's other works.
Easily a 5/5
Masterful
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a beautiful production of a classic favourite
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Boring waffle
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