Queen Lucia
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Queen Lucia
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Narrated by:
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Martin Clifton
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By:
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E. F. Benson
About this listen
"Queen Lucia" (1920) is the first volume of E. F. Benson’s "Mapp and Lucia" 6-novel series. It is a comedy of manners, set in provincial Riseholme (Lincolnshire). Emmeline Lucas rules local society with the help of her friend Georgie Pillson, a position she fiercely protects from her rival Daisy Quantock. But this very situation is at risk, as a scandal breaks out and a famous Prima Donna arrives in the sleepy old hamlet.
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Edward Frederic Benson (1867-1940) was a British archeologist and author, who wrote under the pen name E. F. Benson. Originally from Berkshire, he studied at Cambridge University and published his first novel "Dodo" in 1893. It was an instant success. He was a prolific novelist, and wrote in a blend of satire, science-fiction, supernatural and romantic melodramas, and has been admired by later authors such as H. P. Lovecraft. He was also a reputed memoirist, and wrote amongst others a biography of Charlotte Brontë. Benson was a very discreet character but it is widely assumed that he was homosexual, of which traces can be found in the circles he kept as well as in his fiction. He never married and passed away in 1940 at age 72.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
My absolute favorite book.
- By JKJanson on 06-19-18
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The Diary of a Provincial Lady
- By: E. M. Delafield
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
'Lady B. stays to tea. (Mem.: Bread-and-butter too thick. Speak to Ethel.) We talk some more about bulbs, the Dutch School of Painting, our Vicar's wife, sciatica, and All Quiet on the Western Front. (Query: is it possible to cultivate the art of conversation when living in the country all the year round?)' If the question suggests a qualified answer, there is no doubt that the art of diary writing is alive and well and very, very funny in Devonshire in the 1920s. At least in the hands of E. M. Delafield.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Pleasant and witty
- By Debbie Kirk on 10-09-18
By: E. M. Delafield
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The Diary of a Nobody
- By: George Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4 out of 5 stars 59
The Diary of Nobody (1892) created a cultural icon, an English archetype. Anxious, accident-prone, occasionally waspish, Charles Pooter has come to epitomize English suburban life. His diary chronicles encounters with difficult tradesmen, the delights of home improvements, small parties, minor embarrassments, and problems with his troublesome son. The suburban world he inhabits is hilariously and painfully familiar in its small-mindedness and its essential decency.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hilarious and Suprebly Read
- By Virginia Waldron on 10-15-08
By: George Grossmith, and others
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Spring Magic
- By: D. E. Stevenson
- Narrated by: Lesley Mackie
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 68
Young Frances Field arrives in a scenic coastal village in Scotland, having escaped her dreary life as an orphan, treated as little more than a servant by an uncle and aunt. Once there, she encounters an array of eccentric locals, the occasional roar of enemy planes overhead and three army wives - Elise, Tommy and Tillie - who become fast friends. Elise warns Frances of the discomforts of military life, but she’s inclined to disregard the advice when she meets the dashing and charming Captain Guy Tarlatan.
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5 out of 5 stars
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WWII Home Front
- By Jerri C on 06-05-19
By: D. E. Stevenson
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High Rising
- A Virago Modern Classic
- By: Angela Thirkell, Alexander McCall Smith - introduction
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 209
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 182
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 182
Successful lady novelist Laura Morland and her boisterous young son, Tony, set off to spend Christmas at her country home in the sleepy surrounds of High Rising. But Laura's wealthy friend and neighbor, George Knox, has taken on a scheming secretary whose designs on marriage to her employer threaten the delicate social fabric of the village.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Beginning of a journey
- By Jerri C on 11-04-16
By: Angela Thirkell, and others
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Father
- By: Elizabeth Von Arnim
- Narrated by: Penelope Freeman
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
Since her mother's death, Jennifer has devoted years of her life to her father, managing the family home. After the sudden announcement that he has taken a new wife, Jennifer, at 33, seizes the opportunity to lead an independent life. Quickly she secures the lease of Rose Cottage and turns her attention to her own interests. While Jennifer is desperate to experience life on her own terms within her reduced financial means, her neighbour, Alice, is pre-occupied with ensuring her position as head of her brother's household is never challenged.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Worse Audio Book I Have Ever Heard
- By Phyllis Woodford on 11-05-21
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Bel Ami
- By: Guy de Maupassant
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 180
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 157
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Story4 out of 5 stars 158
Guy de Maupassant is revered for his naturalistic fiction, which brilliantly captures flesh-and-blood characters as it evokes the most telling details of everyday life. Considered one of the finest French novels ever written, Bel Ami follows journalist Georges Duroy and his increasing stature among the Paris elite. With an immense thirst for power, Georges is not above an almost gleeful use of wealthy mistresses to achieve his ends.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bel Ami or how to socially climb in 1885 Paris
- By Neil Chisholm on 12-03-13
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The Lark
- By: E. Nesbit
- Narrated by: Anne Hancock
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
Orphaned cousins Jane and Lucilla, both 19, receive the exciting news that their guardian is at last allowing them to leave boarding school. But their rosy future is thwarted when they find he has made some bad investments and fled, leaving them with a cottage in the English countryside and a modest bank account.
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5 out of 5 stars
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It has that wonderful charm of the tales of old...
- By Lidia Chymkowska on 10-03-18
By: E. Nesbit
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Three Men in a Boat (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Jerome K. Jerome
- Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4 out of 5 stars 34
In 1889, satirist Jerome K. Jerome fully intended to write a serious travel guide when he and his two best friends embarked on a boating trip up the river Thames to Oxford. But his musings on landmarks and local history were soon hijacked by his own digressive, waggish voice. And so, what began as a peaceful and edifying two-week exploration soon floated upriver into farce - aided, quite naturally, by a portly ration of cheese, some very bad weather, and a dog named Montmorency.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hilarious and lovable!!
- By Erika C. on 03-23-21
By: Jerome K. Jerome
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The Forsyte Saga
- By: John Galsworthy
- Narrated by: Fred Williams
- Length: 42 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 724
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 488
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 488
The three novels that make up The Forsyte Saga chronicle the ebbing social power of the commercial upper-middle class Forsyte family through three generations, beginning in Victorian London during the 1880s and ending in the early 1920s. Galsworthy's masterly narrative examines not only their fortunes but also the wider developments within society, particularly the changing position of women.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A delight
- By Kay in DC on 03-02-06
By: John Galsworthy
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The Lodger
- A Tale of the London Fog
- By: Marie Belloc Lowndes
- Narrated by: Lorna Raver
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 347
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 226
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 227
An elderly couple living in Victorian London struggle against despair as their small resources dwindle. When an eccentric and mysterious gentleman answers their advertisement for a lodger, they celebrate. But as women begin dying at the hands of "The Avenger", they start to suspect something too horrific for words.
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3 out of 5 stars
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enjoyable
- By Pamela on 06-10-04
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The Pursuit of Love
- Radlett and Montdore Trilogy Series, Book 1
- By: Nancy Mitford
- Narrated by: Bessie Carter
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 95
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
Mitford's most enduringly popular novel, The Pursuit of Love, is a classic comedy about growing up and falling in love among the privileged and eccentric. Mitford modeled her characters on her own famously unconventional family. We are introduced to the Radletts through the eyes of their cousin, Fanny, who stays with them at Alconleigh, their Gloucestershire estate. Uncle Matthew is the blustering patriarch; Aunt Sadie is the vague but doting mother; and the seven Radlett children, despite the delights of their unusual childhood, are recklessly eager to grow up.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unlistenable
- By Michael on 10-17-21
By: Nancy Mitford
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The Belly of Paris
- By: Émile Zola, Ernest Alfred Vizetelly - translator
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 60
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Story4 out of 5 stars 59
Although it is little known in this country, The Belly of Paris is considered one of Émile Zola’s best novels. Set in the newly built food markets of Paris, it is a story of wealth and poverty set against a sumptuous banquet of food and commerce. Having just escaped from prison after being wrongfully accused, young Florent arrives at Paris’ food market, Les Halles, half starved, surrounded by all he can’t have, and indignant at his world, which he now knows to be unjust. He finds that the city’s working classes have been displaced to make way for bigger streets and bourgeois living quarters, so he settles in with his brother’s family.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not keen on Davidson’s voice
- By Jeff Lacy on 05-08-21
By: Émile Zola, and others
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William - The Pirate
- By: Richmal Crompton
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story5 out of 5 stars 28
William Brown, the loveable rogue created by Richmal Crompton in the 1930s, is as well-received and enjoyed today as he was almost 80 years ago. Martin Jarvis has long been the voice of William, and brings a youthful sense of joy and a childlike excitement to the reading.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best William Book
- By RNS on 12-24-13
By: Richmal Crompton
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Crome Yellow
- By: Aldous Huxley
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 170
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Story4 out of 5 stars 137
One of the greatest prose writers and social commentators of the 20th century, Aldous Huxley here introduces us to a delightfully cynical, comic, and severe group of artists and intellectuals engaged in the most free-thinking and modern kind of talk imaginable. Poetry, occultism, ancestral history, and Italian primitive painting are just a few of the subjects competing for discussion among the amiable cast of eccentrics drawn together at Crome, an intensely English country manor.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bloomsbury in a blender, 1922
- By Adeliese Baumann on 01-02-17
By: Aldous Huxley