Sanditon

Jane Austen's Unfinished Masterpiece Completed

By: Jane Austen, Juliette Shapiro

Narrated by: Helen Lloyd

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Had Jane Austen lived to complete Sanditon, it would have been as treasured as her other novels. In the half-finished masterpiece, Austen fashions one of her classic heroines: Charlotte Heywood. The surviving fragment also sets the story well on its path as Charlotte begins an adventure to Sanditon where a full cast of characters becomes intertwined in various intrigues.

At first, Charlotte finds amusement enough standing at her ample Venetian window looking over the placid seafront. However, before long, Charlotte discovers that scandals abound. She becomes captivated by the romance of the seaside lifestyle. But is the town of Sanditon truly a haven and will Charlotte find happiness there?

Now, fully completed by respected author and Austen expert Juliette Shapiro, this new edition of Sanditon finishes the original story in a vivid style recognizable to any fan. Shapiro’s prose and plot twists stay true to Austen’s sensibilities at all times while capturing her romance, tragedy, humor, and sardonic wit.

©2009 Juliette Shapiro (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Great narration for a decent story

Story not bad. Has a feel of Jane Austen, but not exactly., of course. Narrator adds a lot of the humor and tone.

Austen it ain’t

Performance is great and it’s not the worst story I’ve ever heard, but it’s very clear where Austen’s writing ends. There’s no satire or humor in the additional writing, and it’s very introspective. I think it has more in common with the kind of works Austen satirized than the works she produced.

Thought it was the book from Marie Dobbs

Having read the 1975 version of Sanditon by Marie Dobbs, I was looking forward to that story and found this one imaginative but disappointing in comparison. Charlotte is the point of the first 11 chapters that Jane Austen crafted and to have her story concluded well prior to the story end was less than satisfying.

wonderful book

I love all books written by Jane Austen and this one was as wonderful as her as her other books that she was able to complete herself. whoever finished the book for her did an awesome job and the narrator did an excellent job as well

You Can Tell Where Austen Leaves Off

You can definitely tell around where Austen left off writing this novel due to illness and her eventual death, and where the contemporary author picks up. The last third of the novel sort of reads like the end of teen comedy movies where they cycle through every character and just provide the exposition of what happened to them after the main events of the story.

Just ok

I love Jane Austen's novels, but this one is hard to really get into. The word Sanditon is used so much that it becomes annoying & I feel like they develop the minor characters much more than Charolette Heywood or Sidney Parker. I may have missed something, but I don't understand why the maid Maisy (aka Jane) even writes a letter confessing her sins to Charlotte in the first place- were they close? The narrator was ok, but I did not find her very interesting. Her tone is soothing and it kind of puts me to sleep.

Almost Jane

As a lover of the work of Jane Austen, one must wonder about Sanditon. I'm glad I listened to it. However, I can only imagine that had Miss Austen lived to finish and edit this it would have been much better. The first third was not engaging at all.

Great job!

I thought this was wonderfully done. Could have been longer to draw out the story in more detail, but other than that I loved it. I couldn’t tell where Austen left off and Shapiro took over.

Loved it!

This book was thoroughly enjoyable. I couldn't tell where one author left off and then next began. I am left with a happy heart.

A Delight

Bravo to Ms. Shapiro for her masterful, flawless completion of Ms. Austin's final work. To hear the mother tongue spoken and written so perfectly is a delight to my ears. Romantics rejoice. This should be like a beautifully crafted meal for your ears.