The Way We Live Now

Exclusively from Audible

In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.

Trollope's highly regarded satire is about the dishonest and villainous financier, Augustus Melmotte, who captivates and buys his way into the corrupt aristocratic society of London, throwing it into turmoil.

Described by The Guardian as 'the darkest of Trollope's 47 novels' it is also the longest with gloriously rich subplots. Inspired by the financial scandals of the 1870s, the novel is a dramatization of how greed and dishonesty permeated life during that era.

The Way We Live Now has become recognised as Trollope's masterpiece and was featured at Number 22 in The Guardian's 100 best novels.

Narrator Biography

Timothy West is prolific in film, television, theatre, and audiobooks. He has narrated a number of Anthony Trollope's classic audiobooks, including the six Chronicles of Barsetshire and The Pallisers series. He has also narrated volumes of Simon Schama's A History of Britain and John Mortimer's Rumpole on Trial.

Timothy West's theatrical credits include King Lear, The Vote, Uncle Vanya, A Number, Quarter, and Coriolanus and his films include Ever After, Joan Of Arc, Endgame, Iris, and The Day of the Jackal. On television, Timothy has appeared in Broken Biscuits (BBC), Great Canal Journeys (across 3 Series), and the regular role of Stan Carter on EastEnders (BBC).

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A tale of financial skulduggery reminiscent of recent city scandals." ( Daily Telegraph)

Timothy West is marvelous

Anthony Trollope just possibly could not find a better reader for any of his wonderful books. Timothy West makes the stories come to life. He is wonderful.

Trolllope's best

I've listened to six of Trollope's novels. I love them ll but I'd rate this the finest. It explore's with merciless humour the struggle between the bankrupt gentry who need to marry new money they despise, and the nouveau riche who want to buy themselves higher rank. At the centre of it is a great crook running a Ponzi scheme. The novel remains totally relevant to our times. The reading is excellent.

Simply Supreme

Anthony Trollope tells an intelligent and engaging story about plausible characters and Timothy West is one of my all-time favorite readers.

Surprisingly Good Trollope - Excellent Narration

I took a chance with this book due to other reviews and was very glad I did. The only other Trollope book I've read was Framely Passage and disliked that - couldn't finish. This one is nothing like that one (Nor like the one I'm listening to now - Can you Forgive Her? - which is more like FP, in that, the story is about one dimensional characters who do dumb things constantly and then are unhappy with their lives. boohoo. CYFH? is social commentary on bland-superficial people, while TWWLN is a broader, more interesting social commentary on that time - much more Dickens-like). This book is fairly rich but not overly complex story with some interesting characters. Because I liked this book so much, I was not put off by the extensive thought process detailed for some of the main characters. It seems this author wanted the readers to fully understand (to possibly relate to) a characters' thoughts on why they did what they did. This might turn off some readers, as it seemed redundant in some places, so I offer this as a caution.

The narration can't be overly praised - this is among the very best I've ever listened to. He went far beyond creating voices for the various characters, but acted them out as if he were on stage. This narrator is why I went on to listed to Can You Forgive Her?, and he is very good with that book, but nearly as good as a performance as with this one!

THE OUTSTANDING TIMOTHY WEST

As Trollope is beyond praise, it remains to be said that with audio the qualities of the narrator are as vitally important as a musician interpreting a great composer. Timothy West is a narrator whose performance does justice to the greatness of Trollope, and that is not easy for this novel is packed with male and female characters. West does a marvelous job interpreting them all, and is equally successful interpreting the novelist himself, for Trollope is an ever-present voice in all his works. I got enormous pleasure listening to this long, long novel.

Great Book, EXCELLENT READER

What made the experience of listening to The Way We Live Now the most enjoyable?

Timothy West is fantastic. I will look for other books read by him for sure. This story is great too. It's long, but well worth it. Repeatitive at times, but that's probably good because it's mostly recaps to remind the listener about the multitudes of characters. There are so many hilarious moments in this book that simply sneak up on the reader. You won't regret this purchase!

Timothy West is the complete best

I've loved Trollope for 50 years. Timothy West's narration makes me love him even more. He renders Trollope's wit and sympathy just right, and the variety of his accents is astonishing.

Enjoyed

Enjoyed very much.Well written though over long. This is in a class withVanit ity Fair, one of. favorite books. I look forward to other books by Mr Trollope I recommend highly to any one who likes book about Victorian England. It has interesting characters, has a satirical bend and is not full of over long insights. IOne can draw own insight to the characters with out long lectures One of my best spent credits

Really Enjoyed both Story and Narration

I loved every minute. Really gave me great insight into this time period and London society. Memorable characters.

One of the best audible books

I loved this story and this performance. Timothy West makes this story come alive and it is a great and long listen. Enjoy!