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Matters of the Heart

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Matters of the Heart

By: Fiona Palmer
Narrated by: Anna Steen
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About this listen

A classic love story about manners, men and modern romance retold by best-selling Australian author Fiona Palmer.

Western Australia, 2019: The Bennets are a farming family struggling to make ends meet. Lizzy, passionate about working the land, is determined to save the farm. Spirited and independent, she has little patience for her mother's focus on finding a suitable man for each of her five daughters.

When the dashing Charles Bingley, looking to expand his farm holdings, buys the neighbouring property of Netherfield Park, Mrs Bennet and the entire district of Coodardy are atwitter with gossip and speculation.

Will he attend the local dance, and is he single? These questions are soon answered when he and Lizzy's sister Jane form an instant connection on the night. But it is Charlie's best friend, farming magnate Will Darcy, who leaves a lasting impression when he slights Lizzy, setting her against him.

Can Lizzy and Will put judgments and pride aside to each see the other for who they really are? Or in an age where appearance and social media rule, will prejudice prevail?

Australia's best-selling story teller Fiona Palmer reimagines Jane Austen's beloved classic tale of manners and marriage, transporting an enduring love story in this very 21st century novel about family, female empowerment and matters of the heart.

©2019 Fiona Palmer (P)2019 Hachette Australia Audio Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance
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Throughly enjoyed this Australian adaptation of the classic story. Really enjoyed watching the story unfold in a contemporary way. Intriguing how the characters have been adapted to Australian bush life. Highly recommended.

Great Australian adaptation of a classic

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I’m a huge fan of pride and prejudice, I found this a little cringe worthy at times, many times, I didn’t return it because it is one of my favourite stories and I knew what I was expecting. It’s quite strange and takes a bit of getting used to, however it stays fairly true to p&p storyline. Leaves a lot to consider in the end, which we’ll never know.

Strange

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Even though I know how the story goes, this is very well written and fun.

Loved it.

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I loved this story. It’s now the second book I’ve read (well listened to) by Fiona Palmer. This story was so warm and was such a lovely listen. I’m now off to download another book of hers.

Beautiful listen

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I loved this story. It’s a brilliant contemporary adaptation of a classic tale. Fiona has taken the classic Pride and Prejudice tale and transported it to the Australian outback. She takes the details of romantic dramas and includes modern-day issues, including gender roles and career expectations, communication and connection in the age of mobile phones and so on.
A great read... just goes to show that while so many things change, in other respects, nothing changes!

Brilliant contemporary adaptation of a classic

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I love Pride and Prejudice, and have enjoyed reading other books by Fiona Palmer. I was excited to see how she would translate this story into a 21st century Aussie farm. The result is very disappointing.

* This review contains spoilers *

If read as a stand alone novel by itself this is a nice rural tale. But as it is advertised as a Pride and Prejudice remake, it missed the mark badly. Sure it follows most of the main plot points. But the spirit is missing. Jane Austen's book is full of satire, there is none here. Mrs Bennett is not useless and immature purely focused on getting her daughters married, she is a productive and caring wife and mother. Mr Collins is not the slimy ridiculous man about to inherit the farm and throw the females out. Charlotte Lucus marries him for love, rather than to secure her position and financial comfort. None of the inequality of the sexes and social struggle of the original is even hinted at. And I was looking forward to how Fiona Palmer would address Lydia's problems with Wickham, and what disaster would be fitting in the 21st century. Here again was a major anti-climax. Nothing that would damage her family's reputation, or change the direction of her life, and in contrast to the original it is explicitly stated that Lydia does not sleep with him. She does not marry him. Just comes home and goes on as before.
I found the performance by Anna Steen also detracted from the story. She used uptalk for questions which made even stable mature characters like Lizzie and Jane sound like insecure teenagers. She also used it during the narration which was particularly annoying. I will not be listening to another book narrated by her in a hurry.
As I said, a nice enough story itself, but other than the characters' names it is not faithful as a Pride and Prejudice at all.

Disappointing

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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.