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Shirley
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Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Bronte
- Narrated by: Thandie Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
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Such a lovely old love story
- By Lynnette on 09-09-2017
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Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
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Masterpiece and superbly read.
- By Allie C on 31-01-2017
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Ruth
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Eve Matheson
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The orphaned heroine Ruth, apprenticed to a dressmaker, is seduced by wealthy Henry Bellingham who is captivated by her simplicity and beauty. Their affair causes her to lose her home and job to which he offers her shelter, only to cruelly abandon her soon after. She is offered a chance of a new life though shamed in the eyes of society by her illegitimate son. When Henry reappears offering marriage she must choose between social acceptance and her own pride.
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Unforgettable
- By Daren on 30-04-2018
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Wives and Daughters
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Prunella Scales
- Length: 25 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Molly Gibson, the only daughter of a widowed doctor in the small provincial town of Hollingford, lost her mother when she was a child. Her father remarries wanting to give Molly the woman's presence he feels she lacks. To Molly, any stepmother would have been a shock, but the new Mrs. Gibson is a self-absorbed, petty widow, and Molly's unhappiness is compounded by the realisation that her father has come to regret his second marriage.
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Completely engrossing
- By Jenny on 14-10-2018
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North and South
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion that poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature. When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire....
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Juliet does it again.
- By Diana on 07-10-2014
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Northanger Abbey
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Catherine Morland, a country clergyman's daughter, is invited to spend a season in Bath with the fashionable high society, little does she imagine the delights and perils that await her. Captivated and disconcerted by what she finds, and introduced to the joys of "Gothic novels" by her new friend, Isabella, Catherine longs for mystery and romance. When she is invited to stay with the beguiling Henry Tilney and his family at Northanger Abbey, she expects mystery and intrigue at every turn.
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A lesser novel by Jane Austen, very well read
- By Rodney Wetherell on 31-07-2018
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Bronte
- Narrated by: Thandie Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
-
Such a lovely old love story
- By Lynnette on 09-09-2017
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
-
Masterpiece and superbly read.
- By Allie C on 31-01-2017
-
Ruth
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Eve Matheson
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The orphaned heroine Ruth, apprenticed to a dressmaker, is seduced by wealthy Henry Bellingham who is captivated by her simplicity and beauty. Their affair causes her to lose her home and job to which he offers her shelter, only to cruelly abandon her soon after. She is offered a chance of a new life though shamed in the eyes of society by her illegitimate son. When Henry reappears offering marriage she must choose between social acceptance and her own pride.
-
-
Unforgettable
- By Daren on 30-04-2018
-
Wives and Daughters
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Prunella Scales
- Length: 25 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Molly Gibson, the only daughter of a widowed doctor in the small provincial town of Hollingford, lost her mother when she was a child. Her father remarries wanting to give Molly the woman's presence he feels she lacks. To Molly, any stepmother would have been a shock, but the new Mrs. Gibson is a self-absorbed, petty widow, and Molly's unhappiness is compounded by the realisation that her father has come to regret his second marriage.
-
-
Completely engrossing
- By Jenny on 14-10-2018
-
North and South
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion that poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature. When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire....
-
-
Juliet does it again.
- By Diana on 07-10-2014
-
Northanger Abbey
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Catherine Morland, a country clergyman's daughter, is invited to spend a season in Bath with the fashionable high society, little does she imagine the delights and perils that await her. Captivated and disconcerted by what she finds, and introduced to the joys of "Gothic novels" by her new friend, Isabella, Catherine longs for mystery and romance. When she is invited to stay with the beguiling Henry Tilney and his family at Northanger Abbey, she expects mystery and intrigue at every turn.
-
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A lesser novel by Jane Austen, very well read
- By Rodney Wetherell on 31-07-2018
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Mansfield Park
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: P J Morgan, Becca Maggie, Russell Gold, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Mansfield Park is the third published and perhaps most subtle of Jane Austen's novels. It tells the story of Fanny Price, who, at the age of 10, is sent from her impoverished household to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle and be raised alongside her cousins. Fanny grows up as a misfit, not truly a member of the Bertram family, but too genteel to feel comfortable with her parents.
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Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Emilia Fox
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose.
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The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Jenny Agutter
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of a woman's struggle for independence from an abusive husband. Helen 'Graham' has returned to Wildfell Hall in flight from a disastrous marriage and to protect her young son from the influence of his father. Exiled to the desolate moorland mansion, she adopts an assumed name and earns her living as a painter. Gilbert Markham, a local man intrigued by the beautiful young 'widow' offers his friendship but becomes distrustful when her reclusive behaviour sparks rumours and speculation.
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Review.
- By wendy on 05-09-2017
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Cranford
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Prunella Scales
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
A vivid and affectionate portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid-19th century, Cranford describes a community dominated by its independent and refined women, relating the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two middle-aged spinster sisters striving to live with dignity in reduced circumstances. Through a series of satirical vignettes, Gaskell sympathetically portrays changing small town customs and values in mid-Victorian England....
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love!!!!!
- By Amazon Customer on 07-10-2016
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Mary Barton
- A Tale of Manchester Life
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
When her father assassinates Henry Carson, his employer's son and Mary's admirer, suspicion falls on Mary's second admirer, Jem, a fellow worker. Mary has to prove her lover's innocence without incriminating her own father.
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Very satisfying experience
- By Jenny on 01-04-2018
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Can You Forgive Her?
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 28 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Can You Forgive Her? is the first of the six in the Palliser series. Trollope inextricably binds together the issues of parliamentary election and marriage, of politics and privacy. The values and aspirations of the governing stratum of Victorian society are ruthlessly examined, and none remains unscathed. But above all Trollope focuses on the predicament of women. 'What should a woman do with her life?' asks Alice Vavasor of herself, and this theme is echoed by every other woman in the audiobook.
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beautiful vocabulary
- By Richard on 14-11-2018
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The Moonstone
- By: Wilkie Collins
- Narrated by: Peter Jeffrey
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Considered the first full-length detective novel in the English language, T.S. Eliot described The Moonstone as 'the first and greatest English detective novel'. The stone of the title is an enormous yellow diamond plundered from an Indian shrine after the Siege of Seringapatam. Given to Miss Verinder on her 18th birthday, it mysteriously disappears that very night. Suspicion falls on three Indian jugglers who have been seen in the neighbourhood. Sergeant Cuff is assigned to the case....
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Wonderful reading of a classic detective novel
- By Kimberley on 27-06-2016
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Vanity Fair
- A Novel without a Hero
- By: William Makepeace Thackeray
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton
- Length: 32 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Vanity Fair, with its rich cast of characters, takes place on the snakes-and-ladders board of life. Amelia Sedley, daughter of a wealthy merchant, has a loving mother to supervise her courtship. Becky Sharp, an orphan, has to use her wit, charm, and resourcefulness to escape from her destiny as a governess. This she does ruthlessly, musing: "I think I could become a good woman, if I had £5,000 a year."
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He Knew He Was Right
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 30 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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When Louis Trevelyan's young wife meets an old family acquaintance, his unreasonable jealousy of their friendship sparks a quarrel that leads to a brutal and tragic estrangement.
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An unknown gem
- By Mr on 22-07-2017
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Emma
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Jenny Agutter
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Emma can be enjoyed as a charming love story, a detective story, and a comic and lively picture of English life 200 years ago. Austen's beautiful, clever, wilful but fallible heroine Emma Woodhouse believes she knows best. Perfectly content with her life she sees no need for either love or marriage, yet nothing pleases her more than meddling in the romantic lives of others.
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Vanity Fair [AudioGo]
- By: William Makepeace Thackeray
- Narrated by: John Castle
- Length: 31 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Set during the time of the Napoleonic Wars, this classic gives a satirical picture of a worldly society. The novel revolves around the exploits of the impoverished but beautiful and devious Becky Sharp who craves wealth and a position in society. Calculating and determined to succeed, she charms, deceives and manipulates everyone she meets. A novel of early 19th-century English society, it takes its title from the place designated as the centre of human corruption in John Bunyan's 17th-century allegory.
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Wuthering Heights
- An Audible Exclusive Performance
- By: Emily Brontë, Ann Dinsdale - introduction
- Narrated by: Joanne Froggatt, Rachel Atkins - introduction
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The unapologetic intensity with which Emily Brontë wrote this story ensures that it will forever be considered one of the greatest works of English literature. A passionate tale of a chaotic and often violent love, Wuthering Heights transcends your average romance and, with its Gothic undertones, takes the listener on a journey through one man's lustful hunt for revenge.
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Excellent narration.
- By Anonymous User on 28-12-2017
Publisher's Summary
Following the tremendous success of Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë returned to pen a novel every bit as romantic and compelling as her first, but with deeper, heartier themes as she captured the social and political currents of the newly industrialized United Kingdom of 1812. Set in a chaotic time in England, during the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Caroline Helstone's world is turned upside down when she meets the vivacious Shirley Keeldar. Shirley becomes a beacon of light for Caroline as the two become close friends. However, Caroline is soon shocked to discover that Shirley has won the affections of Robert Moore, the impoverished mill owner whom she loves. Fully representative of Yorkshire life at the time, Brontë's second novel is completely gripping, unrelenting and utterly wrenching in its portrayal.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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- Montcalm
- 03-06-2015
Social Romance
Shirley is surely not Brontes best, though its themes are rich--how to combine manufacturing w land preservation , capitalism w justice. The plot is sloooow.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 26-08-2018
The best narrative
The narrator is by far the best I have heard. The voices, accents and narrative...beautiful
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- Hallesaspberry
- 01-10-2016
Very much enjoyed
Great book. A little long winded at times but still worth a listen. Excellent narration.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Cassandra Leigh
- 10-05-2018
A disappointment!
Sometimes the characters' voices were difficult to distinguish, but generally well read. Boring story! Waste of my time to listen.
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- C
- 20-10-2017
Wonderful but for one thing...
.... lovely captivating story but golly the French accents of the narrator truly grated by the end. Didn't think they reflected the male characters at all and at times they were emasculating. Story had one or two tiresome tangents but overall a v pleasant listen!
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- Mrs. K. Sowden
- 16-06-2017
Long but gets there in the end
Very long story and rather slow. Fascinating insight into lives of gentlewomen in 1800s and last dozen chapters very enjoyable.
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- Susan Whitehead
- 30-12-2017
Shirley
I started this book about a year ago and gave up. Determined not to leave it unread I picked it up and persevered to the bitter end. It really was the most badly written and boring book l have ever read. It could have been told in a sixth of the time. It was self indulgent, whole chapters given over to sermons and introspective thoughts of characters. Honestly, Charlotte Bronte only wrote one book. My criticism has nothing to do with the age in which it was written, in fact the behaviour of the heroine was seen as shocking at the time. Bronte was a friend of Mrs Gaskell who is a hundred times the better writer. Be warned don’t waste your time and money on this book.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful