Cranford
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Cranford
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Davina Porter
About this listen
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Wives and Daughters
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 646
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 498
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 494
Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centers on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister enters Molly's quiet life, the loveable, but worldly and troubling, Cynthia. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It's not about the ending!
- By Sandra on 07-25-05
-
North and South
- Penguin Classics
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Gemma Whelan
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 77
When her father leaves the Church, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the North of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. In North and South Gaskell skillfully fused individual feeling with social concern and in Margaret Hale created one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great story and narration
- By Tad Davis on 10-15-20
-
Ruth
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Eve Matheson
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 629
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 541
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 540
The orphaned heroine Ruth, apprenticed to a dressmaker, is seduced by wealthy Henry Bellingham who is captivated by her simplicity and beauty. Their affair causes her to lose her home and job to which he offers her shelter, only to cruelly abandon her soon after. She is offered a chance of a new life though shamed in the eyes of society by her illegitimate son. When Henry reappears offering marriage she must choose between social acceptance and her own pride.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fallen Woman Finds Redemption
- By Susan on 12-06-12
-
My Lady Ludlow
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Susannah York
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
Lady Ludlow's appalling snobbery, prejudice and bred-in-the-bone conviction as to the superiority of the English aristocracy and their feudal way of life are deliciously tested, and found wanting, in this gently radical tale of the collapse of a social system. Elizabeth Gaskell's My Lady Ludlow is a brilliant picture of the shift in power in a rural northern village, from the velvety feudal Ludlows to the glitter of the new money rattling through the system courtesy of the brazen baker from Birmingham.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A treat
- By Tad Davis on 03-04-20
-
Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- By: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,055
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,759
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,752
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Oddball Translation
- By Joel Jenkins on 05-11-17
By: Homer, and others
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,202
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,705
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,668
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
-
Wives and Daughters
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 646
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 498
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 494
Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centers on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister enters Molly's quiet life, the loveable, but worldly and troubling, Cynthia. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It's not about the ending!
- By Sandra on 07-25-05
-
North and South
- Penguin Classics
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Gemma Whelan
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 77
When her father leaves the Church, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the North of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. In North and South Gaskell skillfully fused individual feeling with social concern and in Margaret Hale created one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great story and narration
- By Tad Davis on 10-15-20
-
Ruth
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Eve Matheson
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 629
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 541
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 540
The orphaned heroine Ruth, apprenticed to a dressmaker, is seduced by wealthy Henry Bellingham who is captivated by her simplicity and beauty. Their affair causes her to lose her home and job to which he offers her shelter, only to cruelly abandon her soon after. She is offered a chance of a new life though shamed in the eyes of society by her illegitimate son. When Henry reappears offering marriage she must choose between social acceptance and her own pride.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fallen Woman Finds Redemption
- By Susan on 12-06-12
-
My Lady Ludlow
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Susannah York
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
Lady Ludlow's appalling snobbery, prejudice and bred-in-the-bone conviction as to the superiority of the English aristocracy and their feudal way of life are deliciously tested, and found wanting, in this gently radical tale of the collapse of a social system. Elizabeth Gaskell's My Lady Ludlow is a brilliant picture of the shift in power in a rural northern village, from the velvety feudal Ludlows to the glitter of the new money rattling through the system courtesy of the brazen baker from Birmingham.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A treat
- By Tad Davis on 03-04-20
-
Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- By: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,055
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,759
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,752
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Oddball Translation
- By Joel Jenkins on 05-11-17
By: Homer, and others
-
Middlemarch
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,202
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,705
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,668
Dorothea Brooke is an ardent idealist who represses her vivacity and intelligence for the cold, theological pedant Casaubon. One man understands her true nature: the artist Will Ladislaw. But how can love triumph against her sense of duty and Casaubon’s mean spirit? Meanwhile, in the little world of Middlemarch, the broader world is mirrored: the world of politics, social change, and reforms, as well as betrayal, greed, blackmail, ambition, and disappointment.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Audible book ever
- By Molly-o on 12-25-11
By: George Eliot
-
Lark Rise
- By: Flora Thompson
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 62
Lark Rise is Flora Thompson's childhood memories of a north Oxfordshire village, the people who lived and worked in it, and a way of life that has totally disappeared. The story is built around Laura and her brother Edmund, through whose eyes are seen 'old Sally', whose grandfather built the house she lived in before the enclosure of the heathland, children's games, the interaction of village and gentry, and the way in which the seasons governed life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A glimpse...
- By Shananiganians on 05-31-20
By: Flora Thompson
-
Cousin Phillis
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Joe Marsh
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 67
Cousin Phillis – a miniature masterpiece – is set in the 1840s, when the coming of the railway was changing the face of England, and quiet rural communities, coming into contact with the outside world, were changed forever. The story focuses on the effect these changes have on a naïve country girl, Phillis, as she encounters love, with all its pains and pleasures, for the first time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Delicate Story
- By Mama C on 01-08-11
-
Mansfield Park
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 890
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 774
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 779
Shy, fragile Fanny Price is the consummate "poor relation". Sent to live with her wealthy uncle Thomas, she clashes with his spoiled, selfish daughters and falls in love with his son. Their lives are further complicated by the arrival of a pair of witty, sophisticated Londoners, whose flair for flirtation collides with the quiet, conservative country ways of Mansfield Park.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Nicely narrated
- By SLB on 06-16-14
By: Jane Austen
-
Persuasion
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,911
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5,114
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,116
Anne Elliot has grieved for seven years over the loss of her first love, Captain Frederick Wentworth. But events conspire to unravel the knots of deceit and misunderstanding in this beguiling and gently comic story of love and fidelity.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Juliet Stevenson is Simply Amazing
- By Em on 04-15-12
By: Jane Austen
-
Sense and Sensibility
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,542
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,948
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,939
When Mrs. Dashwood is forced by an avaricious daughter-in-law to leave the family home in Sussex, she takes her three daughters to live in a modest cottage in Devon. For Elinor, the eldest daughter, the move means a painful separation from the man she loves, but her sister Marianne finds in Devon the romance and excitement which she longs for.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superb - Justice to Jane Austen and Emma Thompson
- By Jo on 11-19-06
By: Jane Austen
-
Innocent Traitor
- A Novel of Lady Jane Grey
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Stina Nielsen, Davina Porter, Bianca Amato
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,867
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,971
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,975
The child of a scheming father and ruthless mother, Lady Jane Grey is born during a time when ambition dictates action. Cousin to Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, she is merely a pawn in a political and religious game in which one false step means a certain demise. But Lady Jane has remarkable qualities that help her to withstand the constant pressures of the royal machinery far better than most expect.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Superior listen!
- By Jt on 03-05-07
By: Alison Weir
-
Lady Fortescue Steps Out
- The Poor Relation, Book 1
- By: M. C. Beaton
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,808
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,356
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,344
Life is not easy for the poor relations of England’s upper crust, but fate and clever schemes bring them together. Lady Fortescue and Colonel Sandhurst hatch a plan: What if they were to transform her decrepit Bond Street home into a posh hotel, offering their guests the pleasure of being waited upon by nobility? With the help of other down-and-out aristocrats, they do just that, and London’s newest hotel, The Poor Relation, is born. The establishment is an immediate hit with London’s most illustrious citizens, save the Duke of Rowcester....
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
sweet but overpriced trifle
- By connie on 06-20-12
By: M. C. Beaton
-
Agnes Grey
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Virginia Leishman
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
In her daring first novel, the youngest Brontë sister drew upon her own experiences to tell the unvarnished truth about life as a governess. Like Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte was a young middle-class Victorian lady whose family fortunes had faltered. Like so many other unmarried women of the 19th century, Bronte accepted the only "respectable" employment available - and entered a world of hardship, humiliation, and loneliness.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Unexpected love for this Novel
- By Rachel on 03-18-21
By: Anne Brontë
-
Shirley
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton
- Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
Set in a chaotic time in England, during the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Caroline Helstone's world is turned upside down when she meets the vivacious Shirley Keeldar. Shirley becomes a beacon of light for Caroline as the two become close friends. However, Caroline is soon shocked to discover that Shirley has won the affections of Robert Moore, the impoverished mill owner whom she loves. Fully representative of Yorkshire life at the time, Brontë's second novel is completely gripping, unrelenting and utterly wrenching in its portrayal.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Social Romance
- By Montcalm on 06-03-15
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
The Elizabeth Gaskell Collection
- A BBC Drama Collection Including North and South, Wives and Daughters & More
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell, Barry Campbell, Steve Wakelam, and others
- Narrated by: full cast, Jodie Comer, David Threlfall, and others
- Length: 23 hrs and 20 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Elizabeth Gaskell was one of Victorian England's pre-eminent female novelists. Admired by Charles Dickens, who described her as his 'dear Scheherazade', she mingled storytelling and social realism to superb effect in her highly acclaimed fiction. This comprehensive collection comprises dramas and readings of her finest works and some lesser-known pieces.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent stories
- By harvey on 06-28-23
By: Elizabeth Gaskell, and others
-
Daniel Deronda
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 36 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 460
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 425
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 424
Meeting by chance at a gambling hall in Europe, the separate lives of Daniel Deronda and Gwendolen Harleth are immediately intertwined. Daniel, an Englishman of uncertain parentage, becomes Gwendolyn's redeemer as she finds herself drawn to his spiritual and altruistic nature after a loveless marriage. But Daniel's path was already set when he rescued a young Jewess from suicide.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Give it a try!
- By Tucker LaPrade on 01-30-16
By: George Eliot
-
Northanger Abbey
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,841
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,341
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,337
When Catherine Morland, a country clergyman's daughter, is invited to spend a season in Bath with the fashionable high society, little does she imagine the delights and perils that await her. Captivated and disconcerted by what she finds, and introduced to the joys of "Gothic novels" by her new friend, Isabella, Catherine longs for mystery and romance. When she is invited to stay with the beguiling Henry Tilney and his family at Northanger Abbey, she expects mystery and intrigue at every turn.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Awesome
- By Johnny on 08-01-09
By: Jane Austen
Editorial reviews
Award-winning voice actor Davina Porter delivers a refined performance of Cranford a novel by Victorian writer Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. Porter’s enunciation is impeccable, allowing the story to unfold in a cultivated manner suited to the prose and subject matter. In a small parish in Cheshire, England, Mary Smith, her friends Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, and other upper class members of society pass their days by calling on neighbors, engaging in polite conversation, practicing elegant economy, and avoiding vulgarities of any sort.
Critic reviews
A lost age
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A Lovely Relaxing Listen
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very easy to listen to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you consider the audio edition of Cranford to be better than the print version?
I haven't read the book but love hearing it read. I always love hearing an English accent.What other book might you compare Cranford to and why?
Miss Read's "Thrush Green", Jan Karon's "Mitford" come to mind as they are small town settings and have quirky, loveable characters.What about Davina Porter’s performance did you like?
I love her voice quality - soothing and her inflection really brings out the meaning and emotion behind the words. Next to Gwen Watford narrating the Thrush Green books and Juliet Mills in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, she is my next favorite narrator.If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Ladies RuleAny additional comments?
I am so pleased with this purchase. I'll be listening to this again and again. Well, worth the money.Another Favorite Place
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Satisfying trip to another time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.