Rules of Civility cover art

Rules of Civility

The stunning debut by the million-copy bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow

 Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Rules of Civility

By: Amor Towles
Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm, Rebecca Lowman
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $31.86

Buy Now for $31.86

About this listen

 For fans of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, this a witty, elegant fairytale of New York, set in 1938.

In a New York City jazz bar on the last night of 1937, watching a quartet because she couldn't afford to see the whole ensemble, there were certain things Katey Kontent knew:
· how to sneak into the cinema, and steal silk stockings from Bendel's
· how to type eighty words a minute, five thousand an hour, and nine million a year
· that if you can still lose yourself in a Dickens novel then everything is going to be fine

By the end of the year she'll have learned:
· how to live like a redhead and insist upon the very best
· that chance encounters can be fated, and the word 'yes' can be a poison
· that riches can turn to rags in the trip of a heartbeat . . .

(P) 2011 Penguin Audio©2011 Amor Towles 20th Century Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romantic Comedy Urban Romance New York Witty Heartfelt

Critic Reviews

Achingly stylish . . . [a] witty, slick production, replete with dark intrigue, period details, and a suitably Katharine Hepburn-like heroine
Terrific. A smart, witty, charming dry martini of a novel (David Nicholls, author of ONE DAY)
Gripping and beautiful
This is a flesh-and-blood tale you believe in, with fabulous period detail. It's all too rare to find a fun, glamorous, semi-literary tale to get lost in . . . While you're lost in the whirl of silk stockings, fur and hip flasks, all you care about is what Katey Kontent does next (Viv Groskop)
Irresistible . . . A cross between Dorothy Parker and Holly Golightly, Katey Kontent is a priceless narrator in her own right - the brains of a bluestocking with the legs of a flapper and the mores of Carrie Bradshaw
Jazz-age New York is the setting for martinis and girls on the make in Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. As glamorous as it is gut-wrenching, this is [a] must-read
Rules is more of an homage to an era, a ballsy treat of a novel with a pinch of mystery and oh so many neat one-liners
Impossibly glamorous . . . Towles conjures up vintage New York so marvellously that it made me feel nostalgic for a place I've never been to
Set against a soundtrack of clinking glasses and saxophones, the book is a love letter to the city and the era, so confidently written it instantly plunges you into Thirties New York. Towles creates a narrative that sparkles with sentences so beautiful you'll stop and re-read them. A delicious and memorable novel that will leave you wistful - and desperate for a martini
Amor Towles' stylish, elegant and deliberately anachronistic debut novel transports readers back to Manhattan in 1938 . . . Filled with snappy dialogue, sharp observations and an array of terrifically drawn characters . . . Glittering
A fizzy, finely observed tale . . . It's also a loving evocation of the chance social alchemy of Village jazz joints, Wall Street coffee shops, Midtown Champagne palaces, and Lower East Side former speakeasies
It's the Depression, and a gal Friday with a mouth like Dorothy Parker's is dallying with the smart set . . . turns out she's not the only climber. A joyride through the ups and downs of 1930s high society
If the unthinkable happened and I could never read another new work of fiction . . . I'd simply re-read this sparkling, stylish book, with yet another round of martinis as dry as the author's wit
Who doesn't want to be transported to Thirties Manhattan? (Lucy Mangan, author of ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?)
Rattles along at the pace of a riotous night out in the book's vividly evoked Manhattan. It is atmospheric, satisfying Great Gatsby-lite complete with fish-out-of-water first-person narration, country house parties and a fabulously wealthy male protagonist who is not all that he seems
Elegance and hardship drip off the page
All stars
Most relevant
amor does it again! wandr through a park and disappear into this wonderful story! glorious story telling

glorious stot telling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So beautifully written - and read - the opening paragraphs are a divine combination of words commonly used in the English language but rarely so gorgeously combined.
The story itself paints a vivid picture of relatively rare and certain types of New Yorkers at a pivotal point in the contemporary history of America. The perspective given is an interesting and delightful one, from an independent and determined young woman who knows her own mind and is prepared to stick to her own beliefs and self determination. I miss listening to this one already!

Loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narration and story are unparalleled. Highly recommend investing your time to listen to this story.

Masterful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautifully written and expertly read, it has been a while since I have felt great attachment to characters in a book, I did not want this story to end. Rules of Civility cleverly unfolds over the year of 1938 and introduces us to an America rebounding from the depression and 4 young characters that are finding their way in a world where society and rules are changing.

Loved this book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyed listening to this story by a master-storyteller. However, my favourite book by Amor is still A Gentleman in Moscow.

Enjoyable story well told

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.