A Great and Terrible Beauty

By: Libba Bray

Narrated by: Josephine Bailey

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls, and their foray into the spiritual world, lead to?

©2003 Libba Bray (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

A New York Times Bestseller
A Publishers Weekly Bestseller
A Book Sense Bestseller
A Reader's Digest Best Book for Teens of All Time!
ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2004
Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Nominee, 2005
Iowa High School Book Award
Garden State Teen Book Award
Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award
Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List

“A delicious, elegant gothic.”—PW, Starred

“A true boarding-school drama, full of cattiness, Victorian repression, and steamy schoolgirl dreams of being ravished by virile gypsies.”—The Bulletin, Recommended

“A Gothic novel touched by modern conceptions of adolescence, shivery with both passion and terror.” —Kirkus Reviews

“There’s no doubt the mystical elements, along with a touch of forbidden romance, will draw a large, enthusiastic audience.” —Booklist

Favorite

This series is one of my favorites as a young adult! So glad I can listen to it since I’ve read and re-read the hardbacks many times already.

A Great and Never Terrible Book!

Read this back in high school and wanted to see if it lived up to my memories. I was not disappointed. I loved the "about the author" tid bit at the end. It made me feel as though I now knew the author.

literally my favorite series

do yourself a favor and start the series its juicy af, beautiful story telling, hints of romance that dont overtake the entire plot with mushy shit and so much beautiful fictional world building :)

More Details, please!

Libba Bray gives us a strong, determined heroine in this gothic fantasy/mystery. Gemma seldom shrinks from bullies, a challenge, or her own desires, and this is refreshing, especially so in a young woman in an 1895 setting. Quite a nice departure from most angst-ridden teens. Not all of Gemma's friends are likeable, but she does the best with what she has.

What I found lacking was a sense of place and flow. Characters drive this novel, but the settings deserved more detail, and action often takes leaps that leave gaps in the imagination, making it hard to follow, especially towards the end. Younger readers may appreciate the fast flow but it can be frustrating to an adult.

Josephine Bailey as narrator sparkles. If only all readers were so talented! Her voices are singular and easy to recognize, despite Felicity's voice slipping into a Gilligan's Island Mrs. Howell in the beginning. Overall she's a joy to listen to.

Ms. Bray's portrayal of Victorian society and its expectations on girls is both honest and rebellious and strikes a modern chord that in too many instances still plays today. This novel does much to underline this without detracting from the story whatsoever, showing the personal implications for each girl rather than preaching.

Four stars for being an easy listen, good historical depiction, strong characters, and appropriate for the intended audience.

Perfectly voiced!

One of my favorite books as a teenager and still over 10 years later. Narrator is AMAZINGLY PERFECT! Easily the best audio book I've ever listened to after already reading it myself! Bravo!

slow to start,but worth it in th end

this book will fool you, the start is a bit dull but it is just setting the stage for the end game. the last 50% of the book is very good.

:)

I read this series a few years back in high school and I loved it. i enjoy the story. i feel like the narration takes something away from the book tho.

Great Story; Narrator Sucks

Love this story! It’s original and intriguing. However, they need a new narrator. This one is boring and has no emotion in her voice.

Astonishing!

The narration is perfection. I already loved this book in print, but, oh man, Josephine Bailey does a beautiful job with all these characters. Love love love!!!

Couldn't put it down/glad to learn there were2more

Where does A Great and Terrible Beauty rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The best! But it was my first...

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Great and Terrible Beauty?

The friendship growing between the girls

Have you listened to any of Josephine Bailey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was the first

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES

Any additional comments?

I was so sad when the book ended only to learn there were 2 more books!!