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The Mayor of Casterbridge
- Narrated by: Tony Britton
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
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A Masterpiece of writing and narration!
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When peddler John Durbeyfield learns that he may be a descendant of a noble family, he sends his oldest child, Tess, to “claim kin.” Blindly ushered into harm’s way, the strong-willed yet untinctured peasant girl is not prepared for the blighted course her life will take. Nor for those whose destructive desires will determine her fate, and force Tess to make only the most desperate of choices. From her tragic loss of innocence through betrayal and revenge, Tess’s struggle for survival challenged the era’s mores and the cruel indifference shown women in Victorian society.
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Fantastic narration, compassion inducing tale
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Overall
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Bad Blood
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In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the next Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with its breakthrough device, which performed the whole range of laboratory tests from a single drop of blood. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.5 billion.
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Extreme retaliation against former employees
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Hard Times is Dickens's most political novel. Set in the industrial north of England, in Coketown, he examines the lives of working people, who are taught by the capitalists Gradgrind and Bounderby to think only of the facts of life and not to indulge in imagination. Gradgrind’s own children have been so educated and as a result are dysfunctional and disconnected from their feelings. Only the travelling circus company of Sleary seems to offer any hope of humanity in Coketown.
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Very glad I kept going!
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Publisher's summary
Exclusively from Audible
This audiobook is about the rise and fall of Michael Henchard. While out-of-work he gets drunk at a fair and impulsively sells his wife and baby for five guineas to a sailor. Eighteen years later he is reunited with his wife and daughter, who discover that he has gained wealth and respect and is now the most prominent man in Casterbridge. Though he attempts to make amends he is no less impulsive and once again loses everything due to bad luck and his violent, selfish and vengeful nature.
In this dramatic audiobook, Hardy sympathetically portrays a deeply flawed tragic hero, searching for love and acceptance from his community. It poses the question: do we shape our own fate or is the outcome inevitable? This tragic tale is played out against the vivid backdrop of a close-knit Dorsetshire town.
Thomas Hardy was an English writer and one of the most significant novelists and poets of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was greatly influenced by Charles Dickens and William Wordsworth.
Narrator Biography
In 1952, Tony Britton came to major attention after his role as Rameses in The Firstborn at London's Winter Garden Theatre. A renowned classical stage star, he has also appeared in numerous British films since the 1950s; most notably Operation Amsterdam (1959), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) and The Day of the Jackal (1973). In 1975, he won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Nearly Man. From 1983-1990, he starred in the long running BBC sitcom Don't Wait Up alongside Nigel Havers and Dinah Sheridan. In 2013 he performed in a Gala Performance of King Lear at the Old Vic, London. Over the years Tony has lent his soothing voice to a huge collection of audio productions including Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn and Anthony Trollope's An Old Man's Love.
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Ethan Frome
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Ethan Frome, a poor, downtrodden New England farmer, is trapped in a loveless marriage to his invalid wife, Zeena.When Zeena's young cousin Mattie arrives to help care for her, Ethan is immediately taken by Mattie's warm, vivacious personality. They fall desperately in love as he realizes how much is missing from his life and marriage.
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Slow is smooth and smooth is Fast until it isn't
- By Darwin8u on 05-29-13
By: Edith Wharton
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The Best Ghost Stories Ever Told
- Best Stories Ever Told
- By: Stephen Brennan - editor
- Narrated by: J. M. Badger, Imelda Pot
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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A big, brilliant, spooky collection of classic and contemporary ghost stories that will make you hesitate before turning off that light.
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A very mixed review
- By Michael Mayer on 08-05-15
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Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe 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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Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
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Anna of the Five Towns
- By: Arnold Bennett
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in stifled, industrial Staffordshire in the late 19th century, against a strong evangelical background, Anna of the Five Towns tells of the courting of hard businessman Ephraim Tellright's daughter by prosperous and accomplished Henry Mynors. As her father's fortune grows, so does Anna understanding. She realises her legacy and responsibility for the possible ruination of her father's tenants, Titus Price and his son, Willie, who also loves her.
By: Arnold Bennett
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The Woman in White
- By: Wilkie Collins
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey, Simon Prebble
- Length: 25 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the greatest mystery thrillers ever written, Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White was a phenomenal best seller in the 1860s, achieving even greater success than works by Charles Dickens. Full of surprise, intrigue, and suspense, this vastly entertaining novel continues to enthrall audiences today.
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Gripping novel, excellent production
- By David on 01-18-11
By: Wilkie Collins
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Lady Audley's Secret
- By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- Narrated by: Olivia Poulet
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of The Christmas Hirelings comes this Audible Exclusive production of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s classic sensation novel Lady Audley’s Secret. English actress Olivia Poulet gives an assured and captivating narration; a cornerstone of the genre and a scandal at the time of its publication, Lady Audley’s Secret is an entertaining and shocking tale of high drama and shifting perceptions.
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Classic 19th Century “sensation novel”
- By Susan on 08-20-19
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A Room with a View
- By: E. M. Forster
- Narrated by: Rebecca Hall
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In this rich new audio production, acclaimed British American actress Rebecca Hall brings one of E. M. Forster's most admired works to life in this classic tale of human struggle. A charming young Englishwoman, Lucy Honeychurch, is wooed by both free-spirited George Emerson and wealthy Cecil Vyse while vacationing in Italy. Though attracted to George, Lucy becomes engaged to Cecil despite twice turning down his proposals. On hearing of the news, George confesses his love, leaving Lucy torn between marrying the more socially acceptable Cecil or George, the man she knows would bring her true happiness. Should Lucy choose social acceptance or true love?
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A lovely performance, and a wonderful story
- By Robert on 01-19-19
By: E. M. Forster
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Like Henry James but more accessible
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'If life had no love in it, what else was there for Maggie?' The Mill on the Floss, first published in 1860, is considered one of George Eliot's most autobiographical works. Having formed a complex bond with her own family, George Eliot, now known to the public as Mary Ann Evans, depicts the loving yet volatile relationship between the Tulliver siblings and their doting father. Spanning over a period of 10 years, The Mill on the Floss follows the coming of age of the beautiful and idealistic Maggie.
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Magnificent reading
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When John Durbeyfield discovers a family connection to the ancient Norman family, the D'Urbervilles, the fate of daughter Tess is transformed. Sent by her ambitious parents to visit her wealthy D'Urberville cousins, Tess attracts the attention of the unscrupulous Alec. Seduced and discarded by him and alone in the world, she finds work as a milkmaid and the love of Angel Clare. Yet his love cannot accept the truth about Tess's past.
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Peter Firth gets this book
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A Perfect Pairing
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Thomas Hardy lesser known work
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Like Henry James but more accessible
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'If life had no love in it, what else was there for Maggie?' The Mill on the Floss, first published in 1860, is considered one of George Eliot's most autobiographical works. Having formed a complex bond with her own family, George Eliot, now known to the public as Mary Ann Evans, depicts the loving yet volatile relationship between the Tulliver siblings and their doting father. Spanning over a period of 10 years, The Mill on the Floss follows the coming of age of the beautiful and idealistic Maggie.
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Magnificent reading
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When John Durbeyfield discovers a family connection to the ancient Norman family, the D'Urbervilles, the fate of daughter Tess is transformed. Sent by her ambitious parents to visit her wealthy D'Urberville cousins, Tess attracts the attention of the unscrupulous Alec. Seduced and discarded by him and alone in the world, she finds work as a milkmaid and the love of Angel Clare. Yet his love cannot accept the truth about Tess's past.
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Peter Firth gets this book
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The greatest novel I'll ever read
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Loved it
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Excellent book and excellent performance
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Two on a Tower
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Two on a Tower is Hardy's ninth novel and contains perhaps his most complete use of the theme of love across the class and age divide, to beautifully depict Hardy's reverence for science and astronomy. The unhappily married Lady Constantine breaks all the rules of social etiquette when she falls in love with young Swithin St. Cleeve, an astronomer and her social inferior. Despite their differences that society deems unacceptable, together, from an astronomical observatory, the lovers 'sweep the heavens'.
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Two in a Lovely Lovely Tower Looking at Stars
- By Joseph R on 01-31-09
By: Thomas Hardy
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Old New York
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Spanning four decades in the mid-19th century, the interconnected novellas of Old New York lay out in vivid detail the complex and inscrutable codes, customs, and taboos of New York society in classic Wharton style.
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narration
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The Mayor of Casterbridge
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One of the great novelists of British literature, Thomas Hardy caused quite a stir when this powerful novel was first published. Michael Henchard, down on his luck and drunk, sells his wife and child to a sailor for five guineas. As time goes by, Henchard becomes Mayor of Casterbridge—but he cannot escape the tragedy of his past.
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Hardy--consummate teller of stories!
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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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The Best Narration, One of the Greats
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Silas Marner
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For 15 years the weaver Silas Marner has plied his loom near the village of Raveloe, alone and unjustly in exile, cut off from faith and human love, he cares only for his hoard of golden guineas. But two events occur that will change his life forever; his gold disappears and a golden-haired baby girl appears. But where did she come from and who really stole the gold? This moving tale sees Silas eventually redeemed and restored to life by the unlikely means of his love for the orphan child Eppie.
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amazing
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Nicholas Nickleby
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One of Dickens' early works, Nicholas Nickleby combines comedy and tragedy in a tale of triumph over adversity that is interspersed with Dickens' moving condemnation of society's mistreatment of children and the cruelty of the educational system. Young Nickleby struggles to seek his fortune in Victorian England, yet succeeds despite social injustice, in a story that mirrors Dickens' own rise from poverty to great success.
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Wonderful tale, wonderful reader
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Tess of the d'Urbervilles
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Tess Durbeyfield has become one of the most famous female protagonists in 19th-century British literature. Betrayed by the two men in her life - Alec D’Urberville, her seducer/rapist and father of her fated child; and Angel, her intellectual and pious husband - Tess takes justice, and her own destiny, into her delicate hands. In telling her desperate and passionate story, Hardy brings Tess to life with an extraordinary vividness that makes her live in the heart of the reader long after the novel is concluded.
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Davina Porter Does It Again!
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By: Thomas Hardy
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Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Michael Henchard, drunk at a country fair, sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas. The following day, in despair and remorse, he forswears alcohol and sets out to redeem himself. In time, he becomes a respected merchant and eventually the mayor of the town. But Fate is not to be so easily appeased, and Henchard finds his past actions resonate through and destroy his plans for the future.
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Superb
- By Tad Davis on 12-17-10
By: Thomas Hardy
What listeners say about The Mayor of Casterbridge
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- James A. Hose
- 11-28-22
great story and narration
an engrossing novel with beautiful prose in the hands of a great narrator enjoyed every minute
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Overall
- Joseph R
- 12-22-09
Tangled Webs
Tony Britten did a bang-up job as narrator with this book. He has the voice of a crusty old English butler holding forth after work regaling the staff at the kitchen table. Michael Henchard led a rough and tumble life so "The Mayor of Casterbridge" is a rough and tumble story. I hadn't read this book since the seventies so while I knew the story, the details were hazy. Britten's narration refreshed my memory and illuminated details which eluded me when I only read. So I must say, as my eyesight deteriorates, there are compensating benefits in this age of audio books.
Many books written at this time were about the ruling classes, the landed and educated. The characters in this book like many other Hardy works are working folk, tradesmen and farmers...men and women with dirt under their fingernails. There is scarce a member of the gentry to be found. There are enough twists, turns and setbacks in the plot to even satisfy the modern sensibilities. The hero is a man who sold his wife and daughter to a sailor. No lords or ladies here. Yet, the hero is a likable and good man...hard but almost noble...and he pays a price. When the wife and daughter return, the tale becomes complicated with truths told; truths untold; truths at long last revealed; promises made and promises both kept and not kept. At the end the day, Thomas Hardy makes me feel I know these folks; have a kind of understanding of their ways which along with spending several pleasant hours is all that one can demand from a novelist.
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14 people found this helpful
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- W Perry Hall
- 03-07-17
Happiness..occasional..in a general drama of pain
"Happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain."
"Life is an oasis which is submerged in the swirling waves of sorrows and agonies."
Never have I found a couple of lines in a novel that so perfectly sum up the writer's oeuvre for me. To those, I'd add, "Gloom, despair and agony on me" from an old TV song.
This was my first Hardy novel, reading it last July. In the six-plus months since, I've made myself a Hardy punching bag: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Return of the Native, and Far from the Madding Crowd.
I may need Treatment.
This Hardy tragic novel, published in 1886, was set in the first half of the 19th Century. Still, the set up is far-fetched compared to the other three. Here we have a drunken Michael Henchard who sells his wife and baby girl Eliza-Jane to a sailor.
You think that's bad.... If anyone can transform bad into worse, blue into black, it's Hardy.
After recovering from his hangover, Henchard repents and desperately searches for his family to no avail. He gives up booze cold turkey, becomes a successful merchant farmer and is elected Mayor of Casterbridge. The former Mrs. Henchard returns with daughter Eliza-Jane years later when the girl is 18. The story takes S-curves and turnabouts until Henchard's pride gets the best of him, he returns to booze and he's ruined emotionally and publicly.
I'd say this story has a few morals:
1. Drink in moderation.
2. No matter how bad things get, never sell your wife or children.
3. "Pride goeth before destruction; and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18, Bible, KJV
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- Jenny
- 03-24-23
Wonderful Book!
This amazing writing by Thomas Hardy kept me spellbound until. the end. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it as the beginning seemed almost ludicrous: a man selling his wife! But it was intricately woven into a fascinating tale that I will always remember.
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-17-19
Brilliant rendering of a masterpiece
I have listened to scores of audiobooks
and have established a list of favorite readers. Tony Britton goes straight to the top three or so. His vocal dexterity brings to life the large cast of characters, each with their own unique voices, and his narration is measured and musical without aiming for unnecessary effects. The whole book was wondrously enjoyable, and Hardy’s genius shone out throughout with an impact I was unable to appreciate fully when I read the book many years ago. This is the audiobook experience at its best.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Eileen
- 05-29-19
Terrific though plodding after the halfway point
If you love a good Thomas Hardy story, this won’t disappoint. Masterfully read, it unfolds with one Hardy-esque twist after another that has you silently shouting, “Don’t do it!” while eagerly listening to hear what with unfold as the result. Only criticism is that it lags and seems to go on a bit too long, but that is doubtless a modern reader’s impatience. Overall, it is definitely worth the listen.
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- Kenneth
- 11-21-11
One of my Favorites
I absolutely adore Thomas Hardy. His story telling is just so real. His characters are multidimensional and so vibrant. He takes a look at the working class with an eye of sincerity that most authors simply lack. This was one of my favorite books. Unlike in many of his other books, Hardy starts right out with the meat of the story and keeps the number of characters to a minimum. The story moves along with many twists and turns and completely kept my attention.
The narrator was delightful as well. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book and highly recommend it to anyone who has ever liked classical literature.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Belvedere
- 04-26-16
Great reading
A beautiful narration of a great book. Thoroughly enjoyable. I had forgotten so much since my first reading.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Julie
- 06-24-17
Excellent narration of a beautiful novel
Although not my favourite Hardy novel, I was still as entranced as always by his prose and plot line. This particular narration is fantastic, dramatic and very well executed, as Tony Britton brought considerable life and liveliness to all the characters. I highly recommend this audiobook!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Claudelle Lyall
- 05-15-24
Beautifully written and brilliantly read.
Wish it had a happier ending but characters were well developed and had an interesting plot.
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