The Devil's Own Work: Valancourt 20th Century Classics
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Narrated by:
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Matt Godfrey
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By:
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Alan Judd
About this listen
After Edward, a rising young author, pens a savage review of the new novel by the world-famous O.M. Tyrell, he is surprised to receive an invitation to visit the old man at his villa in the south of France. The night of their meeting, Tyrell dies, and soon after, Edward's career mysteriously starts to soar as he earns fame, fortune and critical acclaim. But despite his achievements, Edward seems haunted, even tormented. His friend, the narrator, begins to put together the pieces of the story: an ancient, inscrutable manuscript, a beautiful, ageless woman who attaches herself to any writer who possesses it, and a bargain to achieve success at a terrible price....
Winner of Britain's prestigious Guardian Fiction Prize, Alan Judd's modern classic The Devil's Own Work (1991) is, as Owen King writes in the new introduction to this edition, "a perfect novel about the demonic possession that is literary ambition." This edition also features a new afterword by the author, in which he reveals the inspirations for this haunting tale.
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Critic reviews
"At once moral fable, cautionary ghost story and inspired attack on the whole hellbent drift of modern letters, this is a splendid tale, splendidly told, which Ford or Henry James would have been glad to have written." - Robert Nye, Guardian
"Wry and insightful...toys with the notion of demonic possession but becomes a thoroughly realistic and highly original story of revenge; a chilling cautionary tale." - Elaine Kendall, Los Angeles Times
"A brief return to the world of Faust, Mephistopheles and the Devil pact. Mr. Judd...achieves a deep polish." - Robert Grudin, The New York Times Book Review
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Story
Author Anna Wulf attempts to overcome writer’s block by writing a comprehensive "golden notebook" that draws together the preoccupations of her life, each of which is examined in a different notebook. Anna’s struggle to unify the various strands of her life – emotional, political, and professional – amasses into a fascinating encyclopaedia of female experience in the ‘50s.
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Transcendent narration of a masterpiece.
- By @vmarinelli on 07-03-12
By: Doris Lessing
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Reading Like a Writer
- By: Francine Prose
- Narrated by: Nanette Savard
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In her entertaining and edifying New York Times bestseller, acclaimed author Francine Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and the tricks of the masters and discover why their work has endured. Written with passion, humor, and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire listeners to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart.
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Practical, literate, generous
- By Gare on 04-13-08
By: Francine Prose
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Thus Bad Begins
- A Novel
- By: Javier Marias, Margaret Jull Costa
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Madrid, 1980. Juan de Vere, nearly finished with his university degree, takes a job as personal assistant to Eduardo Muriel, an eccentric, once-successful film director. Urbane, discreet, irreproachable, Muriel is an irresistible idol to the young man. But Muriel's voluptuous wife, Beatriz, inhabits their home like an unwanted ghost, and on the periphery of their lives is Dr. Jorge Van Vechten, a family friend implicated in unsavory rumors that Muriel now asks Juan to investigate.
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Fascinating plot, superb performance, psychological depth
- By Doctor George on 12-05-16
By: Javier Marias, and others
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Asylum
- By: Patrick McGrath
- Narrated by: Sir Ian McKellen
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 1959 Stella Raphael joins her psychiatrist husband, Max, at his new posting - a maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane. Stella soon falls under the spell of Edgar Stark, a brilliant sculptor who has been confined to the hospital for murdering his wife in a psychotic rage. But Stella's knowledge of Edgar's crime is no hindrance to the volcanic attraction that ensues -a passion that will consume Stella's sanity and destroy her and the lives of those around her.
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So enjoyed this book!
- By Mebythesea on 10-07-08
By: Patrick McGrath
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If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
- By: Italo Calvino
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Italo Calvino imagines a novel capable of endless mutations in this intricately crafted story about writing and readers. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler turns out to be not one novel but 10, each with a different plot, style, ambience, and author, and each interrupted at a moment of suspense. Together they form a labyrinth of literatures, known and unknown, alive and extinct, through which two readers, a male and a female, pursue both the story lines that intrigue them and one another.
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The position of the feet during reading...
- By literate rose on 02-09-18
By: Italo Calvino
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Three Daughters of Eve
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Alix Dunmore
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Set across Istanbul and Oxford, from the 1980s to the present day, Three Daughters of Eve is a sweeping tale of faith and friendship, tradition and modernity, love and an unexpected betrayal. Peri, a wealthy Turkish housewife and mother, is on her way to a dinner party at a seaside mansion in Istanbul when a beggar snatches her handbag. As she wrestles to get it back, a photograph falls to the ground - an old polaroid of three young women and their university professor.
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Review 3 daughters of Eve
- By CA on 04-28-18
By: Elif Shafak
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Amsterdam
- By: Ian McEwan
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The best-selling author of Atonement and Enduring Love, Ian McEwan is known as one of contemporary fiction’s most acclaimed writers. This Booker Prize-winning novel by McEwan finds two men connecting at the funeral of their ex-lover. Distressed by how she was slowly destroyed by an illness, the two make a pact to save each other from enduring such a fate.
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Make something, and die.
- By Darwin8u on 02-07-17
By: Ian McEwan
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The Testament of Gideon Mack
- By: James Robertson
- Narrated by: Tom Cotcher
- Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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For Gideon Mack, faithless minister, unfaithful husband, and troubled soul, the existence of God, let alone the Devil, is no more credible than that of ghosts or fairies - until the day he falls into a gorge and is rescued by someone who might just be Satan.
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Fantastic
- By Christopher on 07-06-08
By: James Robertson
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The Enchanted April
- By: Elizabeth von Arnim
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a journey of both escape and discovery for four exquisitely different women, a month of bliss and privacy for four weary souls. Their refuge on the Italian Riviera provides the perfect backdrop for a story about the search for spiritual harmony within and without.
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Excellent book, excellent narrator
- By Amazon Customer on 02-26-05
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Wicked Autumn
- Booktrack Edition
- By: G. M. Malliet
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Max Tudor has adapted well to his post as vicar of St. Edwold's in the idyllic village of Nether Monkslip. The quiet village seems the perfect home for Max, who has fled a harrowing past as an MI5 agent. But this new-found serenity is quickly shattered when the highly vocal and unpopular president of the Women's Institute turns up dead at the Harvest Fayre. The death looks like an accident, but Max's training as a former agent kicks in, and before long he suspects foul play.
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Just OK
- By Jeanne on 08-05-21
By: G. M. Malliet
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The Girls of Slender Means
- By: Muriel Spark
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 3 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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"Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions." Thus begins Muriel Spark's tragic and rapier-witted portrait of a London ladies' hostel just emerging from the shadow of World War II. Like the May of Teck Club building itself - "three times window shattered since 1940 but never directly hit" - its lady inhabitants do their best to act as if the world were back to normal, practicing elocution and jostling over suitors and a single Schiaparelli gown.
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please please try again
- By Consolation on 03-24-20
By: Muriel Spark
What listeners say about The Devil's Own Work: Valancourt 20th Century Classics
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ad n' Audie
- 10-18-17
Beautifully written!
This is a beautifully written short story and it achieves what many short stories are unable to achieve; a natural unhurried flow to a satisfying ending. It doesn't need to be any longer or any shorter than it is - the length is just right. I would have liked to have learned a bit more about the demonic girlfriend/muse character but overall I thought the character development was good. Additionally the author, Alan Judd, provides many thoughtful insights about life and the human experience in general while telling the story. Moments that have leave the reader stopping and thinking, "yeah, he's right about that" or "I hadn't thought about it in that way, but what an elegant way to put it". All told, it's actually quite remarkable how much the author is able to pack into this compact novel. The reader did a very nice job with this story as well. His British accent was truly unique and remarkably similar to a theater professor I once had many years ago. This particular professor was born in the UK but had lived all over the world before finally settling in the US. I found the accent very applicable given that this character had also lived in a couple different places after starting out in England. As always, Matt Godfrey's voice is totally soothing, even whilst reading thrillers/horror novels. An added surprise bonus at the end was the author's post notes in which he described his own life experiences that ultimately inspired this story. Thank you Audiobook Boom, Alan Judd, and Matt Godfrey for a complimentary version of this audiobook in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.
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- Valerie M. Jones
- 11-19-19
Unexpected pleasure
I've not read this author, had no expectations, but was eng as God by the story, which, despite its calm narration, I suspect will haunt me.
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- Bill
- 05-15-19
Subtle, sinister and brooding
Valancourt Books is turning out some truly great older forgotten or neglected works of fiction. Major kudos to them for brining back some of these rarer works that I may have otherwise missed.
I listened to this one on audio and as usual, Matt Godfrey nailed it. I don’t think I have ever listened to anything narrated by Matt that wasn’t done supremely well. Of course, it helps when the story is great as well but sometimes narration can elevate the experience. Well done, sir.
As far as the story itself, I loved it. It was subtle and sinister and brooding and much darker than the words on the page. Plus, I’m a sucker for stories about nefarious old book and manuscripts.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Bambalamba
- 02-24-20
Short but great
It's a retelling of Faust from the perspective of an admiring onlooker. The writing itself was absolutely excellent and the narrator does it credit. The only drawback is that it is fairly short. For better or worse, I got wrapped up in it and finished it in a single listen.
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- Max Garrison
- 04-09-20
Interesting Novella
Interesting premise of a writer who sells his artistic soul for success. It's pretty short, eerie, and easy to get through.
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- Tyson
- 10-30-20
Great performance of captivating novella!
Another outstanding performance by Godfrey. As for the story itself, it is a spooky Henry James style tale involving the seemingly supernatural side of artistic inspiration. The opening premise is outstanding, though I felt the second half meanders a bit. Solid conclusion, however. Recommended overall.
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- Stephanie
- 03-30-24
Great performance mediocre story
Perhaps I’m too jaded, but as an avid fan of horror and all things scary and supernatural, this book was a ticket on the slow train to Dullsville. I kept waiting for something utterly chilling to happen only to be left wanting. Luckily this book was inexpensive. Nevertheless, if I had known it was going to be so dull I would have spent my money elsewhere.
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