Download New Releases Full Audiobooks in Classics, British Literature

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Mrs. Dalloway

Author: Virginia Woolf

Narrator: Juliet Stevenson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-18-10

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 756 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

It is a June day in London in 1923, and the lovely Clarissa Dalloway is having a party. Whom will she see? Her friend Peter, back from India, who has never really stopped loving her? What about Sally, with whom Clarissa had her lifes happiest moment?

Meanwhile, the shell-shocked Septimus Smith is struggling with his life on the same London day.

Luminously beautiful, Mrs. Dalloway uses the internal monologues of the characters to tell a story of inter-war England. With this, Virginia Woolf changed the novel forever.

Members Reviews:

One Tough Read Perfectly Delivered

First of all, this isn't in the style of Jane Eyre. Modernist writing can be very, very challenging. This book and "To the Lighthouse" are in the same class with James Joyce and William Faulkner. These authors require interaction with the reader.

If you are willing to 'work' with the author and pay attention to the writing, you will be rewarded with a life-long impact that will make much other writing seem vapid.

There are two ways to approach this book. One, search online for notes and commentary and prepare yourself for the journey. If you understand where the book is going, you will greatly enjoy the journey. Woolf intentionally rations information which can make the book very hard to follow. But as in life, if you know a person, you can follow their thoughts with fewer words because you understand that person.

The book is much like a conversation we have in our heads. It's not made of fully complete thoughts and is distracted by other thoughts. And the book takes place in a very narrow slice of time---a single day but with references to times past. Hang on tight!

Sit quietly and think. Pay attention to how your mind will burst forth with fragments of ideas, odd images and unrelated fragments. This how our brains work and what the modernists were exploring.

The other approach is to go through the book twice, unprepared. You'll have to go through the book more than once anyway. I listened to the same 30 minutes sometimes 5 or more times. Move ahead. Go back again!

Now, if you are willing to do this, a treasure awaits you. If not, this book will be a horrible drudge.

I loved it. Frankly, "To the Lighthouse" was easier.

Chris Reich

This book was a marvel!

What did you love best about Mrs. Dalloway?

The writing just blew me away. I thought that it would be inaccessible, but instead it grabbed me from the first few words and never let go.

Have you listened to any of Juliet Stevensons other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have and I think that this was her best.

When the mood is right...

All the action within this novel takes place during one day and evening as Mrs Clarissa Dalloway, an upper-class woman, is first preparing for, then throws a party in the evening. While still at home before she sets out to run her errands, she is visited by Peter Walsh, a man she's known since she was a young girl and who once asked her to marry him. For the whole of the novel, we wander from one stream of thoughts to another, with Clarissa's mind wandering from the moment's happenings and backwards into the past, then without preamble we are following Peter's thoughts, then Clarissa's husband and so on, with the author's focus wandering between every person encountered in the novel. Clarissa thinks about the life choices she has made.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Martin Chuzzlewit

Author: Charles Dickens

Narrator: Sean Barrett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 33 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-27-10

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 203 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Chuzzlewits are a family divided by money and selfishness; even young Martin, the eponymous hero, is arrogant and self-centred. He offends his grandfather by falling in love with the latters ward, Mary, and sets out to make his own fortune in life, travelling as far as America- which produces from Dickens a savage satire on a new world tainted with the vices of the old. Martins nature slowly changes through his bitter experience of life and his enduring love for Mary. Martin Chuzzlewit is one of Dickenss most humorous and satirical novels, and it contains two great comic creations: the hypocrite Pecksniff and the drunken nurse Sarah Gamp.

Members Reviews:

It's worth the wait

The first few chapters of this delightful story center around one nasty character after another. Don't give up because there are dear friends to get to know -- Tom & Ruth, John, Mark Tapley (the best of all), young Martin at last, and more. I didn't want the story to end. The narrator is brilliant, with perhaps the best characterization of all being that of Sarah Gamp, whose fracturing of the English language is outrageously funny. I can't imagine reading her lines -- they must be unintelligible. Hearing them made me laugh out loud. And Dickens' satire of America is broad but true -- where every man has the title of "Major" or "General", befouls every surface with copious quantities of spat tobacco juice, brags about himself and his nation, swindles, and is cock-sure and greedy. He certainly nailed the worst of our faults, and, once again, presents the flaws and beauties of human nature. Enjoy!

not my favorite Dickens.... but

I confess I waded through the first hours getting hopelessly confused, but being a Dickens' fan I persevered. Then It occurred to me I could find the manuscript on line and straighten all the characters out in my mind. From then on I was hooked. It's a delicious satire that I enjoyed as long as it was based in England, cringed when it moved to America and smiled as Dickens resolves it all with full appropriate recompense.

Sean Barrett's performance was masterful sorting out the many characters.

Great book, good narrator

This is a wonderful novel with some especially colorful imagery at various points. The narrator is a little bland when speaking as the narrator, but his character voices are rich and varied, and leave nothing wanting.

excellent narration - excellent book

This is the first book I have listened to that was narrated by Sean Barrett. He is an excellent voice actor and brings each character to life. It is very easy to follow even though the plot can be quite complex. A very enjoyable audio book.

Dickens Comes to America!

Written in 1843, this is an excellent Dickens novel that deserves to be as well known as say Oliver Twist or Great Expectations. The author???s typical tongue-in-cheek humour is very present throughout the work. The number of characters is reasonable, they are relatively fleshed out and it is easy for the reader to sympathize with many. Surprisingly in a Dickens work, some live through phases of introspection and evolve significantly.

The plot is characteristically implausible and includes completely improbable coincidences. It does however entail quite a bit of suspense.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Woman in White

Author: Wilkie Collins

Narrator: Ian Holm

Format: Unabridged

Length: 24 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-27-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 333 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Exclusively from Audible

Late one moonlit night, Walter Hartright encounters a solitary and terrified woman dressed all in white. He saves her from capture by her pursuers and determines to solve the mystery of her distress and terror.

Inspired by an actual criminal case, this gripping tale of murder, intrigue, madness and mistaken identity has never been out of print since its publication and brought Collins great fame and success. Considered to be among the first mystery novels and the first and finest in the genre of 'sensation novels', The Woman in White is noted for its suspenseful plot and unique characterisation.

Collins's use of multiple narrators drew on his legal training and he states 'the story of an offence against the laws is told in Court by more than one witness'.

In 2003, Robert McCrum writing for The Observer ranked The Woman in White number 23 in the top 100 greatest novels of all time. The novel was also listed at number 77 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.

Charles Dickens was a close friend and mentor of Collins, and the two collaborated together on drama and fiction. The Woman in White, as well as some of his other work, was first published in Dickens' journals.

Narrator Biography

Sir Ian Holm, is a star of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who has played more than 100 roles in films and on television, whilst receiving a stream of awards and nominations. His television debut came as Richard III on the BBC's filmed theatrical production The Wars of the Roses (1965). One of his best-known roles is Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981). He has also starred in The Fifth Element (1997), From Hell (2001), The Aviator (2004) and as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. He has provided voice-overs for many television documentaries including 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth (2009), starred in the BBC's The Lord of the Rings radio dramatisations and narrated many audiobooks. In 1989 he was appointed CBE and in 1998 was knighted for his services to drama.

Members Reviews:

The outstanding narration is what I enjoyed most

Ian Holm is a wonderful actor and I believe it was his skillful and haunting interpretation of the various characters and complex story that made it so enjoyable to listen to. The restrictive conventions and mores of English society of the 19th century, with an appealingly strong female protagonist, made it of particular interest, as well.

An achievement in Gothic mystery!

In The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins combines classic Gothic ingredients -- the unknown woman escaped from an asylum, long-buried family secrets, switched and manufactured identities, expatriot Italians with shadowy intentions, hidden pasts, blackmail, scandal, and that most heinous of all villains, the well-to-do man of means who spends himself into bankruptcy and will stick at nothing to maintain himself in the manner to which he is accustomed -- into an effective Victorian mystery.

What sets the work of Collins apart is how sympathetically and skillfully he paints the perspectives of those who are not privileged in a given situation, in this case Walter, the young man without means, and the intelligent and capable single woman (also without means), Marian. What might be a simple sensation story in other hands becomes a dark exploration of how the society and law of the day renders helpless very capable and courageous individuals.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Heart of Darkness

Author: Joseph Conrad

Narrator: David Horovitch

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-10-10

Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 116 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

"...he seemed to stare... with that wide and immense stare embracing, condemning, loathing all the universe. I seemed to hear the whispered cry, 'The horror! The horror!'"

On a becalmed yawl in the Thames estuary, Marlow tells a tale of Africa. His job there is to find the enigmatic Kurtz, but his journey further and further upriver reveals the brutality of the white Imperialists who run the country. Established as one of the great English novels, and a story of mythic power, Heart of Darkness is rich in meaning allusive, enthralling, and haunting.

Members Reviews:

The Horror! The Horror!

I had expected to more or less hate this novel because of the difficult subject matter and because so many readers before me have, but the narrator, David Horovitch helped me appreciate the beautiful writing from the start, and so I was hooked. The story of Robert Marlowe travelling by steamship into the heart of the Congo and witnessing the horrific treatment of black slaves is not an easy one to take in, but it became positively bizarre when the character of Kurtz was introduced. I can certainly see how Marlon Brando's Kurtz in Apocalypse Now was based on the fictional one (that famous line: "The horror! The horror!"). Conrad is considered a racist by some, and I have yet to read more about the man or his work to form a more informed impression, but if he is considered so because of this specific book, I'd have to say I disagree. While the language he uses to describe the black natives is predictably disturbing to the modern reader, the character of Marlowe, while he doesn't intervene to help the slaves, also observes their treatment with palpable horror, and Conrad seems to make a strong case against colonialism. A book I'll eventually have to revisit to make sense of Kurtz (can one ever make sense of a madman??). Next time I'll take in Kenneth Branagh's version to compare between two great performances.

A Near Perfect Audiobook

What did you love best about Heart of Darkness?

I'm not always a fan of Conrad's storytelling; I wrote a one star review of a _Lord Jim_ audiobook based on Conrad's obtuse refusal to get on with the story, but _Heart of Darkness_ is worth the effort, even in book form. As an audiobook, it grabs (and requires) your attention, but is a surprisingly easy listen.

I first read this book in high school in the 1970s. It was a difficult read, but, even then, I thought it was worth the effort. When I reread it a few years ago, I was surprised by how short it was, and picked up on some things I had missed the first time. Coming back to it on audiobook was great pleasure and, once again, I picked up on things missed the last time. In this book, Marlow's narration works. The story is interesting, and you'll always pick up on new things.

This is a short book (at 4 1/2 hours, less than a third of the length of _Lord Jim_) but it is memorable. Like _Animal Farm_ and _1984_, this is great, must read novel. Like Captain America in _The Avengers_, it pretty much lives up to it's legend. You will *not* regret getting this audiobook.

hard to follow the story line

I heard great things about this book but it was very hard to keep up with the story line while driving.

Best 2 bucks I've spent on audible.

I read reviews before purchasing. There were people that complained about the reading and quality.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Mary Barton

Subtitle: A Tale of Manchester Life

Author: Elizabeth Gaskell

Narrator: Juliet Stevenson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-01-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 277 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Exclusively from Audible

Following the death of his wife and the government's refusal to pass his local trade union's chartist petition, John Barton sinks into a depression so deep that not even his doting daughter can lift him out of it. Seeing the poverty that her family has been reduced to and the desperation in her father's eyes, Mary Barton realises she must reject the proposal of her working-class lover, Jem. Instead, she sets her sights at a master's son, the wealthy heir of a Manchester mill, Henry Carson, in the hope that his situation will improve her own.

In a shocking turn of events, Mary discovers Mr Carson has been shot and her former lover, Jem, accused of his murder. As life-altering secrets emerge and the lives of those around her are put on the line, Mary must decide who to trust and who to denounce.

Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel, Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life, is an emotive condition of English work in which she artfully intertwines the socio-political struggles of the 'hungry forties' with elements of a classic love story. Mary Barton is a pioneering work of fiction which has ensured that Gaskell's name will forever be included in a list of England's greatest authors. Its success was such that it even won the attention of Charles Dickens and Charlotte Brontë, forging a great working relationship between the writers, and later leading Gaskell to write Brontë's biography.

Narrator Biography

Multi-award winning actress, Juliet Stevenson has graced the stage and screen with a myriad of powerhouse performances for over 40 years. Aged nine, she developed a passion for the spoken word after performing a reading of a WH Auden poem in front of her entire school. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and later became a member of its artistic council. Her theatre experience is vast and includes parts in Measure for Measure, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Burn This and Death and the Maiden.

She is also known for her film career in works such as Bend It Like Beckham, Emma, Truly Madly Deeply and Mona Lisa Smile. Stevenson has been BAFTA-nominated and been the winner of a Laurence Olivier Award. In 1999, she was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, for her services to Drama.

Juliet's other audiobook narrations include Sense and Sensibility, North and South, The Portrait of a Lady and Madame Bovary. These and many more can be found at Audible.

Members Reviews:

Narration as Brilliant Performance Art

Juliet Stevenson is nothing less than brilliant in narrating this work of Elizabeth Gaskell, and brings its several characters to life with seeming effortlessness. It is a piece of vibrant performance art. Gaskell's touching novel is a reminder that the extent to which socio-economic dislocation and abuse will be eradicated is dependent on being spiritually alive to the oneness of humanity. And though written over 150 years ago, Gaskell's deep concern over society's deafness to the poor, never heavy-handedly conveyed, unfortunately still has rich meaning.

Mrs. Gaskell was so far ahead of her time

Elizabeth Gaskell wrote novels and short stories in the 1840-60's.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Sons and Lovers

Author: D. H. Lawrence

Narrator: Simon Vance

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-23-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 215 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Sons and Lovers, D. H. Lawrence's first major novel, was also the first in the English language to explore ordinary working-class life from the inside. No writer before or since has written so well about the intimacies enforced by a tightly knit mining community and by a family where feelings are never hidden for long.

When the marriage between Walter Morel and his sensitive, high-minded wife begins to break down, the bitterness of their frustration seeps into their children's lives. Their second son, Paul, knows that he must struggle for independence if he is not to repeat his parents' failure. Lawrence's powerful description of Paul's single-minded efforts to define himself sexually and emotionally through relationships with two women---the innocent, old-fashioned Miriam Leivers and the experienced, provocatively modern Clara Dawes---makes this a novel as much for the beginning of the 21st century as it was for the beginning of the 20th.

Members Reviews:

Momma's Boy (The Dangers of Overbearing Parenting)

Lawrence is a great novelist and seems to have told a tale no truer than in his autobiographical "Sons and Lovers." The primary characters all have some major defect of character, but I felt most pity for Paul Morel (the Lawrence character) and Miriam (his childhood semi-sweetheart). Momma Morel didn't like Miriam because Mom would then lose control over Paul. And Paul could never let go of Mom's strings even after she'd died.

A novel best illustrating the dangers of a parent frustrated in his/her own life and then attempting to control the life of his/her child such that the parent ruins the child's life too (not only in love but in career and in joy).

Simon Vance does an admirable job narrating. The book is free on Kindle and once you download that, the audiobook is only $0.99. A super deal.

Lawrence's hidden talent

Where does Sons and Lovers rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

I gave this book a five rating because I injected my assessment of it with a healthy dose of subjectivity. In this instance, I liked the book, I connected with it. I mean that it really resonated with me. Otherwise I would have given it 4.5 stars. But here's something objective. Whilst Lawrence is usually remembered or known for his mooning and swooning excerpts, these sorts of narrations really only comprised 2-5% of Sons and Lovers. The rest of the book was a very strong narrative, very well detailed and compelling, much in the vein of Tolstoy and later Hardy. Lawrence wrote wonderful narrative. Another startling and objective fact about the book was in the way it was read by Simon Vance. Simon gave the story a dimension I wouldn't have thought of, and it was a powerful and deserving dimension. Till now I had interpreted Paul Morel as being a 'moony' overly sensitive mother's boy. And he is such in many ways. But Simon brought a manliness to the character that gave the character and the story real street cred. I quite connected with this story.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Canterbury Tales [Audio Connoisseur]

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer, Neville Coghill (translator)

Narrator: Charlton Griffin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 23 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-19-10

Publisher: Audio Connoisseur

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 131 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

If you want to understand the daily life and psychology of the Late Middle Ages, Neville Coghill's famous translation of The Canterbury Tales provides one of the very best means of doing so. Within its pages are to be found a broad range of society high and low, male and female, rich and poor who express their innermost beliefs and extravagant fantasies in a series of stories they tell as they make their way to Canterbury cathedral. Politics, religion, commerce, philosophy, love, sex, honor, alchemy and just about everything known at the time is discussed with gusto and sincerity by these lively pilgrims.

From the pious tales of nuns to the bald ribaldry of common tradesmen, the full panoply of Medieval man is on display here. And it is done with a genius unmatched in any work of its time.Chaucer, who was active in the second half of the 14th century, lived in a dynamic and epoch-changing period. He was a participant in the Hundred Years War and knew the great King Edward III personally. He was an eyewitness to events of the time and his wry wit was put to brilliant use in service to his poetry, among the best ever written by an Englishman.

Members Reviews:

Getting Medieval Understanding

The Canterbury Tales has withstood the test of time because within them, Chaucer paints character portraits of the kinds of people he met in his time. I have read both modern translations and translations that are closer to Chaucer's original, keeping in mind that English was a foreign language back then compared to anything we understand now. It's the kind of thing that makes Shakespeare far easier to understand. In fact, I had the same problem with Shakespeare and Chaucer both back in school in that I felt like I was missing a vital ingredient in truly being able to understand and appreciate them.

While it took some time to get through this because I was constantly comparing the audio with the printed versions I have, I found that the extra time was well spent. I have a love for the printed word, but I tend to learn and retain information better through audio. As much as I hate to admit it, reading something like this is more akin to literary scholarship than it is reading an anthology of short stories as it might have been in Chaucer's day. I found this audio version to be of immense value in that I could hear the stories perhaps as Chaucer himself might have told them to other people that he met along the way. The character studies become people, even if they are perhaps exaggerated here and there, and that sort of thing helps to bring both this work - and the history of the time in which it was written - to vibrant life. And now that my appreciation has grown enough to catch up to my curiosity, I can truly say that I understand now that it's not simply the age of the work that makes The Canterbury Tales the classics they are. It's the character studies and the stories that make them the classics they are.

As with any translation, there is the risk of potentially losing something. Advanced scholars might be more inclined to try the original versions after hearing this. As it is, maybe it's the style, but it seemed to me pretty close.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Beowulf

Author: Francis B. Gummere (translator)

Narrator: Rosalyn Landor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 03-26-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 17 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

When sleep was at its deepest, night at its blackest, up from the mist-filled marsh came Grendel stalking....

Thus begins the battle between good and evil, for lying in wait and anxious to challenge the ogre Grendel is a young man, strong-willed and fire-hearted. This man is Beowulf, whose heroic dragon-slaying deeds were sung in the courts of Anglo-Saxon England more than a thousand years ago. Beowulf is our only native English heroic epic. In the figure of Beowulf, the Scandinavian warrior, and his struggles against monsters, the unknown author depicts the life and outlook of a pagan age.

The poem is a subtle blending of themes on the conflict between good and evil, and an examination of heroism. Its skillful arrangement of incidents and use of contrast and parallel show it to be the product of a highly sophisticated culture. This version of Beowulf is the translation by Francis B. Gummere.

Members Reviews:

Wonderfully Grim, Austere, Beautiful Beowulf

This is a great audiobook Beowulf! The translation by Francis B. Gummere apparently follows closely the Anglo-Saxon original, even to the alliterative verse and kennings, so that listening to it gives one the illusion of listening to the "real" poem. And Rosalyn Landor does a fine job with it, using her deep and gravitas-filled voice effectively, building a dark momentum and sounding heroic and wyrd-filled and cool. The scenes with Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon are all exciting and imaginative, and the scenes of interaction between Beowulf and Hrothgar and the other Scyldings are fascinating. Highly recommended!

very good translation

this is the translation that I have listened to several times over the years and it was a favorite of mine and still serves, but again, see my other reviews of B. At times Gummere tries very hard to keep the alliterative element of the original in the lines.

Get the Seamus Heaney version of this story.

This feels like an Old English translation not a modern English audio book. This makes it hard to follow both in story and speech. I highly recommend the Seamus Heaney version. It is abridged but that works to its advantage because this Francis B. Gummere version feels overwhelming, and more like a reading assignment than a leisurely read.

See my Seamus Heaney version review for a good comparison before you buy.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Can You Forgive Her?

Author: Anthony Trollope

Narrator: Timothy West

Format: Unabridged

Length: 28 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-26-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 447 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Exclusively from Audible

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, from her friend, the uncomfortably married Lady Glencora, to her aunt, the coquettish Mrs. Greenow, as well as her clear-headed cousin, Kate.

Alice is torn between marrying her ambitious but violent cousin George or the bland but gentlemanly John Grey, ending up both accepting and rejecting each of them in turn and thus transgressing from the Victorian moral code.

In contrast, her friend Lady Glencora is forced to marry the rising politician Plantagenet Palliser to prevent the worthless Burgo Fitzgerald from wasting her vast fortune.

Trollope was considered one of the most successful and respected English writers of the Victorian era. With more than 40 published novels, they are regarded by some as among the greatest of 19th-century fiction. Many of his works covered political, social and gender issues. Fans of his work have included former British Prime Ministers Harold Macmillan and Sir John Major.

Narrator Biography

Timothy West is prolific in film, television, theatre and audiobooks. He has narrated a number of Anthony Trollopes classics, including the six Chronicles of Barsetshire and The Pallisers series. He has also narrated volumes of Simon Schamas A History of Britain and John Mortimers Rumpole on Trial. Timothy Wests theatre roles include King Lear, The Vote, Uncle Vanya, A Number, Quarter, and Coriolanus. His films include Ever After, Joan Of Arc, Endgame, Iris, The Day of the Jackal. On television, Timothy has appeared in Great Canal Journeys, Last Tango in Halifax and Bleak House.

Members Reviews:

Superb performance and sound

This is a review of the audiobook narrated by Timothy West, not a review of the novel per se. (I would advise new readers/listeners to Trollope to start with Barchester Towers.)

This is an superb performance of Trollope's speaking narrative. Trollope, I think, would love it; it is entirely in Trollope's service. Trollope's style, syntax, and voice are all excellently rendered throughout the 28 hours of storytelling. The acoustic quality is consistently perfect throughout all 28 hours. If West made any mistakes, they were edited out perfectly. The microphone was placed perfectly. I listened to the Audible enhanced MP3 format, which is 800 MB for the unabridged novel. The recording is so good that the lighter MP3 formats are sure to be of the highest quality also.

West's differentiation of individual characters is excellent, as each narrative voice is specific and recognizable and yet not delivered with extravagance. West's aim is to be expressive yet subtle. (Perhaps the subplot with Mrs. Greenow and her two suitors is a bit extravagant, but that is as Trollope wishes.) West renders sustained dramatic dialogue perfectly (very important for one of Trollope's greatest strengths), with just the right timing and nuances of tone.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Way We Live Now

Author: Anthony Trollope

Narrator: Timothy West

Format: Unabridged

Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-02-09

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 680 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Exclusively from Audible

In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.

Trollope's highly regarded satire is about the dishonest and villainous financier, Augustus Melmotte, who captivates and buys his way into the corrupt aristocratic society of London, throwing it into turmoil.

Described by The Guardian as 'the darkest of Trollope's 47 novels' it is also the longest with gloriously rich subplots. Inspired by the financial scandals of the 1870s, the novel is a dramatization of how greed and dishonesty permeated life during that era.

The Way We Live Now has become recognised as Trollope's masterpiece and was featured at Number 22 in The Guardian's 100 best novels.

Narrator Biography

Timothy West is prolific in film, television, theatre, and audiobooks. He has narrated a number of Anthony Trollope's classic audiobooks, including the six Chronicles of Barsetshire and The Pallisers series. He has also narrated volumes of Simon Schama's A History of Britain and John Mortimer's Rumpole on Trial.

Timothy West's theatrical credits include King Lear, The Vote, Uncle Vanya, A Number, Quarter, and Coriolanus and his films include Ever After, Joan Of Arc, Endgame, Iris, and The Day of the Jackal. On television, Timothy has appeared in Broken Biscuits (BBC), Great Canal Journeys (across 3 Series), and the regular role of Stan Carter on EastEnders (BBC).

Critic Reviews:

"A tale of financial skulduggery reminiscent of recent city scandals." (Daily Telegraph)

Members Reviews:

Long, but well worth it.

I have to admit to buying this audiobook solely for the reason that I wanted an author I'd never read before, and a story that would last a while. At 32 hours it did that, BUT, I really enjoyed it. It took a few chapters to get into the scenery as there was a plethora of character's names to remember, but Timothy West convinced me that there was treasure to come. He does an awesome job with the accents and different voices for each character. It really seemed like a a full cast performing a perfectly timed dialogue. As for the storyline, I'll leave that to the publisher's description because my review would go way over the 2000 letters allowed. Put it this way, - hearing this book made me look up and watch the entire new BBC film version on youTube at 10 min intervals because the DVD was unavailable in my area. I look forward to more Anthony Trollope, and definately more Timothy West.

For My Money, Better than Dickens

I bought this book because I had been listening to Victorian literature, familiarizing myself with some works that I had neglected earlier in my life, and the reviews were so positive I decided to give The Way We Live Now a try. I had not even heard of Anthony Trollope until now. To say that I am pleasantly surprised would be a terrible understatement.