FEBRUARY 2021 - AudioFile
Any fiction fan should listen to at least one Victorian novel every year. More the better if the primary narrator is the talented Nicholas Boulton, whose ability to mimic the elite and humble, and capture their cadence and tone is unrivaled. His subtle inflections shape this long but satisfying performance. The stalwart cast transports listeners to 1840s London and the countryside. Like his friend Dickens, Collins writes in torrents of descriptive prose and crafts a clever plot. Two orphaned heroines, Magdalen and Nora Vanstone, are central to the story, which concerns illegitimacy. The novel is filled with unforgettable characters; especially memorable are Horatio Wragge (Rag), an endearing scoundrel, and his long-suffering giantess wife, who figure prominently. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2021 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
"A relatively unknown masterpiece." —the Times
"Magdalen, a woman who resists the Victorian idea of the angel in the house and proves to be unscrupulous in her fight for survival against poverty and prejudice, employing disguise and deceit to win back what she believes is rightfully hers." —Observer
"Dizzyingly readable, with a feminist anti-heroine up to all sorts of deception and skulduggery, cheered along by the reader every step of the way." —Mail on Sunday
"Two dispossessed sisters fight for their inheritance, the narrative snaking compellingly around Victorian Britain." —Sunday Times
"Collins explores the iniquity of Victorian morality by damning the future of his resourceful heroine at an early stage with the discovery of her own illegitimacy. Deprived of her inheritance and even her name, Magdalen Vanstone sets out with frightening courage to reestablish her fortune and reputation. The ingenuity and guile she employs to achieve her end makes her a rare figure in Victorian literature and one of Collins' most subversive characters." —the Times
FEBRUARY 2021 - AudioFile
Any fiction fan should listen to at least one Victorian novel every year. More the better if the primary narrator is the talented Nicholas Boulton, whose ability to mimic the elite and humble, and capture their cadence and tone is unrivaled. His subtle inflections shape this long but satisfying performance. The stalwart cast transports listeners to 1840s London and the countryside. Like his friend Dickens, Collins writes in torrents of descriptive prose and crafts a clever plot. Two orphaned heroines, Magdalen and Nora Vanstone, are central to the story, which concerns illegitimacy. The novel is filled with unforgettable characters; especially memorable are Horatio Wragge (Rag), an endearing scoundrel, and his long-suffering giantess wife, who figure prominently. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2021 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
