The Victorian and the Romantic
A Memoir, a Love Story, and a Friendship Across Time
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The Victorian and the Romantic
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Narrated by:
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Nell Stevens
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By:
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Nell Stevens
About this listen
In this tale of two writers, Nell Stevens interweaves her own life as a 20-something graduate student with that of the English author, Elizabeth Gaskell.
Although they are separated by more than 150 years, Nell finds herself drawn to the Victorian novelist by their shared experiences of unrequited love - Gaskell for an American critic she met in Rome, Nell for a soulful American screenwriter living in Paris. As Nell's romance founders and her passion for academia fails to materialize, she finds herself wondering if the indomitable Mrs. Gaskell might rescue her pursuit of love, family, and a writing career.
Lively, witty, and impossible to put down, The Victorian and the Romantic is a moving chronicle of two women, each charting a way of life beyond the rules of her time.
©2018 Nell Stevens (P)2018 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"A lover of research, Stevens falls under the spell of Elizabeth Gaskell, Victorian writer... Stevens alternates chapters between her own life and her discoveries of Gaskell’s, using the device to great effect... Such juxtapositions add up to a delightful read." (Booklist)
“Equal parts personal memoir and history, Stevens’s latest will appeal to anyone who has struggled with love, loss, and facing an uncertain future.” (Library Journal)
“Acutely observed and honest and melancholy. A truly lovely book.” (Jesse Greengrass, author of Sight)
What listeners say about The Victorian and the Romantic
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anne
- 08-19-18
So promising, but...
I love the idea of this book, particularly the connection the author feels with Mrs. Gaskell, more than a century away. But the suspicion that it was, essentially, just a long, sad story about the breakup of a romantic relationship and the difficulty of doing work you don't like very much grew to the point that I gave it up 2 hours before the end. Her field of interest, apparently so novel, given her attachment to Mrs. Gaskell, turns out to be mostly her sad romance and her failure to motivate herself to work on her doctoral dissertation. I just got tired of listening to her and wanted to suggest that she get some career counseling. Her prose is charming, however, and her narration is skilled.
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