Certain Personal Matters
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Certain Personal Matters
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Narrated by:
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Gary Appleton
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By:
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H. G. Wells
About this listen
Certain Personal Matters is an 1897 collection of essays selected by H. G. Wells from among the many short essays and ephemeral pieces he had written since 1893. The book consists of thirty-nine pieces ranging from about eight hundred to two thousand words in length. The essays in Certain Personal Matters rely on stock characters that Wells developed in his early days as a writer. This vein was inspired by his reading of When a Man's Single, an 1888 novel by J.M. Barrie, in which a character explains that saleable articles can be devised from everyday things like pipes, umbrellas, and flower pots. According to biographer David C. Smith, one character is "probably based on his father (and perhaps partly on his older brothers), another based on his mother apparently (although the character is always referred to as an 'aunt', which may be somewhat symbolic), and a third character, 'Euphemia'. This last is usually thought to be a portrait of Jane Wells, though the figure may have some traits of Isabel (Wells's cousin and first wife) as well."
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 92
This classic novel by the brilliant G. K. Chesterton tells the rollicking tale of Innocent Smith, a man who may be crazy - or possibly the most sane man of all. Arriving at a dreary London boarding house accompanied by a windstorm, Smith is an exuberant, eccentric, and sweet-natured man. Smith has a positive effect on the house - he creates his own court, brings a few couples together, and falls in love with a paid companion next door. All seems to be well with the world.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Mixed feelings on reading performance
- By TS on 09-23-18
By: G. K. Chesterton
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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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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,365
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,135
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,135
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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5 out of 5 stars
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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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The Shuttle
- By: Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Narrated by: Tabi That
- Length: 19 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
Rosalie Vanderpoel, the daughter of an American multimillionaire marries an impoverished English baronet and goes to live in England. She all but loses contact with her family in America. Years later her younger sister Bettina, beautiful, intelligent and extremely rich, goes to England to find what has happened to her sister. She finds Rosalie shabby and dispirited, cowed by her husband's ill-treatment. Bettina sets about to rectify matters.
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5 out of 5 stars
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More than Lovely
- By jTacy67 on 01-17-18
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The House of Mirth
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Eleanor Bron
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,645
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,436
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,429
Beautiful, sophisticated and endlessly ambitious Lily Bart endeavours to climb the social ladder of New York's elite by securing a good match and living beyond her means. Now nearing 30 years of age and having rejected several proposals, forever in the hope of finding someone better, her future prospects are threatened. A damning commentary of 20th-century social order, Edith Wharton's tale established her as one of the greatest British novelists of the 1900s.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Like Henry James but more accessible
- By Merlin on 08-19-12
By: Edith Wharton
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Jude The Obscure
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 254
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 206
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Story4 out of 5 stars 205
This is the story of a young country workman obsessed by his ambition to become an Oxford student, interwoven with his fraught relationships with two women.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Staggering
- By Tad Davis on 02-16-10
By: Thomas Hardy
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Cakes and Ale
- By: W. Somerset Maugham
- Narrated by: James Saxon
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 151
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 132
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Story4 out of 5 stars 131
When Cakes and Ale was first published in 1930 it roused a storm of controversy, since many people imagined they recognised portraits of literary figures now no more. It is the novel for which Maugham wished to be remembered.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Delightful
- By RueRue on 04-22-16
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Plain Tales from the Hills
- By: Rudyard Kipling
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 72
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4 out of 5 stars 40
An intimate, evocative, often funny, and always vital portrait of India at the peak of the British Raj. Written at the age of 22, they immediately show Kipling's natural and prodigious talent. Timeless, they can be listened to forever.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Gentle irony
- By Simon Bowler on 01-25-06
By: Rudyard Kipling
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The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas
- By: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
- Narrated by: Edoardo Camponeschi
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4 out of 5 stars 32
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839-1908) was the greatest writer ever to come from Brazil and one of the masters of nineteenth-century fiction. Susan Sontag calls him "the greatest writer ever produced in Latin America", surpassing even Borges. Harold Bloom says that Machado is "the supreme black literary artist to date". And Allen Ginsburg calls him "another Kafka". And The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas is his masterpiece, a dazzling, tragic, and profound novel that belongs next to the greatest works of his contemporaries Melville and Dostoevsky.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A hidden masterpiece
- By C. Park on 08-09-18
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Howards End
- By: E. M. Forster
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 271
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 245
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 238
Howards End is a beautifully subtle tale of two very different families brought together by an unusual event. The Schlegels are intellectuals, devotees of art and literature. The Wilcoxes are practical and materialistic, leading lives of "telegrams and anger". When the elder Mrs. Wilcox dies and her family discovers she has left their country home - Howards End - to one of the Schlegel sisters, a crisis between the two families is precipitated that takes years to resolve.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic Narration in Delightful Story
- By Wren on 05-05-18
By: E. M. Forster
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Lady Audley's Secret
- By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 104
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4 out of 5 stars 86
A fast-paced Victorian thriller that will delight audiences today as it did 100 years ago, Lady Audley's Secret has subterfuge, kidnapping, jealousy, and fraud, all thrown into the mix and shaken up for good measure.
A mystery which keeps a listener guessing until the last moments, this production is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys playing detective.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Narrator creates the listen
- By connie on 02-06-12
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
- By: Oscar Wilde
- Narrated by: Russell Tovey
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,816
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,925
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,892
A disturbing tale of a young man's uncanny ability to remain both young and beautiful while descending into a life of heartless debauchery, The Picture of Dorian Gray was considered proof of both Wilde's genius and his perversion. Oscar Wilde's scandalous best seller of 1891 was one of the most damning pieces of evidence used against him in the trial that brought about his downfall.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A twisted tale of vanity and poisonous people
- By Shantastic on 10-02-19
By: Oscar Wilde
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The Young Clementina
- By: D. E. Stevenson
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 94
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 92
Charlotte Dean enjoys nothing more than the solitude of her London flat and the monotonous days of her work at a travel bookshop. But when her younger sister unceremoniously bursts into her quiet life one afternoon, Charlotte's world turns topsy-turvy. Beloved author D. E. Stevenson captures the intricacies of post-World War I England with a light, comic touch that perfectly embodies the spirit of the time. Alternatively heartbreaking and witty, The Young Clementina is a touching tale of love, loss and redemption through friendship.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Miss Dean's Dilemma
- By Jerri C on 05-02-18
By: D. E. Stevenson
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Ethan Frome
- By: Edith Wharton
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 3 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 343
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 260
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Story4 out of 5 stars 264
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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5 out of 5 stars
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Slow is smooth and smooth is Fast until it isn't
- By Darwin8u on 05-29-13
By: Edith Wharton