At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
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At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
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Narrated by:
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Paul Hecht
About this listen
Von Igelfeld is quite pleased with his role as a visiting scholar at Cambridge, even if his English colleagues can be difficult to comprehend. They frequently speak in metaphors and make peculiar assumptions, saying such odd things as, "I take it your journey went well," when that is not the case at all. But von Igelfeld settles in the best he can, and is soon deeply embroiled in some shady political scheming at the university. After returning to the comfort of his perfectly rational Germany, von Igelfeld is invited to Columbia for a special fellowship. But while there, he gets caught up in some decidedly unscrupulous behavior.
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,135
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,134
Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I like cozy
- By Sheryl on 05-21-12
By: Charles Finch
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The Good Liar
- A Novel
- By: Nicholas Searle
- Narrated by: Matthew Brenher
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 163
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Story4 out of 5 stars 148
Veteran con artist Roy spots an obvious easy mark when he meets Betty, a wealthy widow, online. In no time at all, he's moved into Betty's lovely cottage and is preparing to accompany her on a romantic trip to Europe. Betty's grandson disapproves of their blossoming relationship, but Roy is sure this scheme will be a success. He knows what he's doing. As this remarkable feat of storytelling weaves together Roy's and Betty's futures, it also unwinds their pasts.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Hope the movie is better than the book?
- By S. Smith on 10-17-19
By: Nicholas Searle
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The Complete Mapp and Lucia, Volume 1
- By: E. F. Benson
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton
- Length: 26 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Story5 out of 5 stars 78
Sharply observant and wickedly funny, E.F. Benson's six Mapp and Lucia novels satirize the upper-middle-class social climbers in 1920s and '30s rural England. Games of bridge and cups of tea fuel hilarious gossip and vindictive plots a-plenty. It is a masterfully sustained spotlight on the minutiae of village life - a clever and ultimately heart-warming series that seems tailor-made for audio. Volume 1 contains the first three books.
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5 out of 5 stars
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At last!
- By Grace M-T on 06-15-21
By: E. F. Benson
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In the Light of What We Know
- By: Zia Haider Rahman
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 21 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 82
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Story4 out of 5 stars 82
One September morning in 2008, an investment banker approaching forty, his career in collapse and his marriage unraveling, receives a surprise visitor at his West London townhouse. In the disheveled figure of a South Asian male carrying a backpack the banker recognizes a long-lost friend, a mathematics prodigy who disappeared years earlier under mysterious circumstances. The friend has resurfaced to make a confession of unsettling power.
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1 out of 5 stars
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dreadful
- By sam on 06-05-15
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Mrs. Tim of the Regiment
- By: D. E. Stevenson
- Narrated by: Christine Rendel
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 128
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 115
Vivacious, young Hester Christie tries to run her home like clockwork, as would befit the wife of British Army officer, Tim Christie. However hard Mrs Tim strives for seamless living amidst the other army wives, she is always moving flat-out to remember groceries, rule lively children, side-step village gossip and placate her husband with bacon, eggs, toast and marmalade. Left alone for months at a time whilst her husband is with his regiment, Mrs Tim resolves to keep a diary of events large and small in her family life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Life as a military wife
- By Jerri C on 03-09-13
By: D. E. Stevenson
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Passenger to Frankfurt
- By: Agatha Christie
- Narrated by: Hugh Fraser
- Length: 6 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 189
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 172
A classic from the queen of mystery: Agatha Christie.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Not the usual Agatha Christie
- By Jim & Julie on 12-18-18
By: Agatha Christie
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The P.G. Wodehouse Collection
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 946
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 838
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 837
This title includes not only the entire audiobook of Right Ho, Jeeves, but also all of the P.G. Wodehouse titles in the current Classic Tales library. It also includes a Jeeves short story only available in the collection: "Extricating Young Gussie". The complete running time is over 15 hours. All titles have been remastered, and have never sounded better!
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1 out of 5 stars
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Don't buy this version of the wonderful Wodehouse stories
- By K Bell on 11-05-16
By: P. G. Wodehouse
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Amerika
- The Missing Person: A New Translation by Mark Harman Based on the Restored Text
- By: Franz Kafka
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 105
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4 out of 5 stars 82
A Brilliant new translation of the great writer's least Kafkaesque novel, based on a German-language text that was produced by a team of international scholars and that is more faithful to Kafka's original manuscript than anything we have had before. With the same expert balance of precision and nuance that marked his translation of Kafka's The Castle, the award-winning translator Mark Harman now restores the humor and particularity of language to Amerika.
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5 out of 5 stars
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ha ha ha this is terrific
- By tom on 01-29-14
By: Franz Kafka
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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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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 818
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 603
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 602
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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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent book, excellent narrator
- By Amazon Customer on 02-26-05
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The Queen's Corgi
- On Purpose
- By: David Michie
- Narrated by: David Michie
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 65
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
Rescued from unscrupulous breeders who plan to destroy him because of his floppy ear, when the Queen’s littlest corgi arrives at Windsor Castle, he finds himself in a world of red carpets, gilded chambers - and not a pile of dirty laundry to be seen. Charming his way into the affections of the royal household, Nelson offers a dog’s-eye view of life with the Queen. He eavesdrops on her encounters with celebrities, philanthropists and advisers, catching rare insights into the secrets of a purposeful life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thoughtful, observant, a light feel-good story
- By Diana on 01-15-21
By: David Michie
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Finale
- A Novel of the Reagan Years
- By: Thomas Mallon
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4 out of 5 stars 54
From the author of the acclaimed novel Watergate comes a galvanizing new novel about the tumultuous administration of the most consequential and enigmatic president of modern times - Ronald Reagan. Finale takes listeners to the political gridiron of Washington in 1986, the wealthiest enclaves of Southern California, and the volcanic landscape of Iceland, where the president engages in two almost apocalyptic days of negotiation with Mikhail Gorbachev.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Gore Vidal for the 21st Century
- By philip on 10-31-15
By: Thomas Mallon
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How It All Began
- By: Penelope Lively
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 459
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 392
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 390
When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful and beautifully written
- By Molly-o on 02-15-12
By: Penelope Lively
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Mortal Mischief
- By: Frank Tallis
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 102
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 81
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
Vienna, 1902: A beautiful medium has been found shot dead, and Dr Max Liebermann, a young disciple of Sigmund Freud, is called upon to help his friend Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt investigate her death. The room containing the body has been locked from the inside, and a cryptic note suggests a malevolent supernatural power is at work. Using the new science of psychoanalysis, Liebermann probes the minds of the suspects in an attempt to unravel this bewildering crime.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Ho-hum Victorian mystery
- By Nancy E Day on 09-17-12
By: Frank Tallis
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Excellent Women
- By: Barbara Pym
- Narrated by: Jayne Entwistle
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,408
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,263
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,261
Mildred Lathbury is a clergyman's daughter and a mild-mannered spinster in 1950s England. She is one of those excellent women - the smart, supportive, repressed women whom men take for granted. As Mildred gets embroiled in the lives of her new neighbors - anthropologist Helena Napier; Helen's handsome, dashing husband, Rocky; and Julian Malory, the vicar next door - the novel presents a series of snapshots of human life as actually, and pluckily, lived.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Still Waters Run Deep
- By Sara on 04-13-16
By: Barbara Pym
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Lord Peter Wimsey: Novels 1-3
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers
- Narrated by: Graham Scott
- Length: 26 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
The first three mysteries for Dorothy L. Sayers' aristocratic sleuth: first, a body is discovered in a Battersea bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of pince-nez, on the same night that financier Sir Reuben Levy disappears from his Park Lane home. Then, Wimsey returns to England when his brother, the Duke of Denver, is accused of murdering the fiance of their sister, Lady Mary, and a trial in the House of Lords looms; and finally, an overheard conversation in a restaurant begins an investigation of the strangely premature death of wealthy and terminally ill old lady Miss Agatha Dawson.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Love Lord Peter
- By Mav's mom on 10-16-24
What listeners say about At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- E. Pearson
- 09-30-09
Ridiculously Fun
I enjoyed this book as much as any of McCall Smith's others, though it was a bit over the top, even for Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. His stuffy self satisfaction and obliviously ethnocentric views somehow blend with an ultimately moral character and occassional display of feeling that leave him in mind as an infernal teddy bear. All of the previous books in this series have been fairly believable as to plot; this one not so much--perhaps it is McCall Smith's token work of Magical Realism? Regardless, I enjoyed the read/listen very much.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- C. Smith
- 05-15-24
Interesting series
This is an interesting book. The third one was better than the others. They are short, which is good. I will continue through the remainder of the series. I don’t find it as good as some of the other Alexander McCall series. I really enjoy Isabella dollhouses series.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Pat
- 04-13-23
not the best of Alexander McCall Smith
I am a big fan of all of his books, except this one. I guess I will just look forward to the next one.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kathryn R. Holcomb
- 09-30-15
Loved this book
I cried I was laughing so hard. You will throughly enjoy this book. I do recommend reading it in order.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rebuttal to your rebuttal
- 12-28-22
The best series by McCall Smith
This is so much fun! The author of Portuguese Irregular Verbs is charming especially because he’s so very wonderfully human. McCall Smith’s dry humour always makes me laugh but this one especially. The narration, too, is flawless!
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