Showing results by narrator "Carrington MacDuffie" in All Categories

Alison Larkin Presents is delighted to publish these selected New York short stories by Edith Wharton, whose inside knowledge of New York's upper class is put to sparkling use here.

Multi award-winning narrator Carrington MacDuffie brings her signature depth and wit to this delightful collection of Edith Wharton’s New York Stories: Volume II.

In the middle of the Great Depression, Montana native Julia Bennett arrived in New York City with no money and an audacious business plan: to identify and visit easterners who could afford to spend their summers at her brand new dude ranch near Ennis, Montana. Julia, a big-game hunter whom friends described as “a clever shot with both rifle and shotgun,” flouted gender conventions to build guest ranches in Montana and Arizona that attracted world-renowned entertainers and artists. 

The setting is wealthy French society, in all its richness and style. The tension created by the young wife’s breaking of a taboo and her building fear of her villainous husband; the curiously magical power of the words of the heroine’s sister as she calls out in secret; the climax of the story with the rapid intercutting between characters—all make for a tale that begs to heard.

By beginning a conversation that encourages self-examination and compassion, Combined Destinies invites listeners to look at how white Americans have been hurt by the very ideology that their ancestors created. Editors Ann Todd Jealous and Caroline T. Haskell, both experienced psychotherapists skilled at facilitating dialogue about racial issues, are cognizant of the challenges that even the thought of such conversations often presents. Their book is based on the premise that for positive and lasting change to occur, hearts as well as minds must be opened.