A Company of Swans

By: Eva Ibbotson

Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh

Weekly ballet classes are Harriet Morton's only escape from her intolerably dull life. So when she is chosen to join a corps de ballet which is setting off on a tour of the Amazon, she leaps at the chance to run away for good.

Performing in the grand opera houses is everything Harriet dreamed of, and falling in love with an aristocratic exile makes her new life complete. Swept away by it all, she is unaware that her father and intended fiance have begun to track her down. . .

©1985 Eva Ibbotson (P)2009 Macmillan Digital Audio

Abridged

Loved reading the book but the audible version is very abridged. I've gone back to read parts to make sure I wasn't mistaken about what happens in the story.

didn't realize this version was abridged...

I love this novel and have read it many times. It has a whimsical and innocent/ mysterious feel to it with its period romance approach with such a refreshinly resilient character. I was very disappointed with this voice actor and the abridged version but couldn't make myself rate it less just because I am so fond of the story.

Well told but missing many parts of the book

The story was very well told and I think the narrator did an excellent job, but I’m familiar with this book and I was disappointed at how much of the book was not in this audio. So much of their relationship is cut out and many beautiful details on the location and people were cut out. The relationship felt incomplete and didn’t make sense because of how much was cut out, it was aggravating

love it!!

I love this book. I have a physical copy but I don't have time to read it and just needed to hear this story. So I bought the audio so I can at least listen to it. Yes that is how amazing the story is.

A friend’s recommendation

I liked the story well enough, a friend had recommended it a while back. But the reading was excellent! She balanced all the voices and accents perfectly, giving each character a lovely depth. I’m not sure if I am an Eva Ibston fan, but I am now definitely a fan of Adjoa Andoh!

abridgement choppy but performance good

I love this story, and the performance of the audio was really good, though admittedly the abridgement chops out some of the BEST parts, including what's probably the funniest two scenes in the entire book.

I mean is it REALLY still the same book if we don't have Harriet's father getting turned on by his own students or ballet dancers trying to act like they've had a religious calling to trick Edward? Sigh.

Still wonderful, though.

No

I love this book and was excited that it was on here. when I started to listen to it I noticed that it seemed like there were somethings being left out. I got my hard copy out and followed along with the narrator and noticed that at least 6 pages worth of text in the first 10 pages were left out! I'm very disappointed!