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A Far Cry from Kensington
- Narrated by: Pamela Garelick
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
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Publisher's summary
Set on the crazier fringes of 1950s literary London, A Far Cry from Kensington is a delight, hilariously portraying love, fraud, death, evil, and transformation.
Mrs. Hawkins, the majestic narrator of A Far Cry from Kensington, takes us well in hand and leads us back to her threadbare years in postwar London. There, as a fat and much admired young war widow, she spent her days working for a mad, near-bankrupt publisher (“of very good books”) and her nights dispensing advice at her small South Kensington rooming house.
At work and at home, Mrs. Hawkins soon uncovered evil: shady literary doings and a deadly enemy; anonymous letters, blackmail, and suicide. With aplomb, however, Mrs. Hawkins confidently set about putting things to order, little imagining the mayhem that would ensue.
Now decades older, thin, successful, and delighted with life in Italy—quite a far cry from Kensington—Mrs. Hawkins looks back to all those dark doings and recounts how her own life changed forever. She still, however, loves to give advice: “It’s easy to get thin. You eat and drink the same as always, only half…. I offer this advice without fee; it is included in the price of this book.”
A Far Cry from Kensington has been hailed as “outstanding” (Observer), “wickedly and adroitly executed” (New York Times), and “a comedy that holds a tragedy as an eggcup holds an egg.” (Philadelphia Inquirer).
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Graham Greene’s evocative analysis of the love of self, the love of another, and the love of God is an English classic that has been translated for the stage, the screen, and even the opera house. Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, A Single Man) turns in an authentic and stirring performance for this distinguished audio release.
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Colin Firth Kills It
- By Em on 05-09-12
By: Graham Greene
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The Best Man to Die
- An Inspector Wexford Mystery
- By: Ruth Rendell
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Who could have suspected that the exciting stag party for the groom would be the prelude to the murder of his close friend Charlie Hatton? And Charlie's death was only the first in a string of puzzling murders involving small-time gangsters, cheating husbands, and loose women. Now Chief Inspector Wexford and his assistant join forces with the groom to track down a killer....
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Classic who-dunnit
- By Kathi on 02-24-13
By: Ruth Rendell
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The Blood Doctor
- By: Barbara Vine
- Narrated by: Robert Powell
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The First Lord Nanther, expert in blood diseases, particularly the royal disease of Heamophilia, and favoured physician to Queen Victoria, clearly hoped to be the subject of an admiring posthumous biography. But when his great-grandson, Martin Nanther begins to research his life for a biography, the Martin comes to suspect that his great-grandfather’s old records conceal more than they reveal.
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clever, excellent storytelling
- By connie on 07-09-11
By: Barbara Vine
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Corduroy Mansions
- A Novel
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In London’s Pimlico neighborhood lies a tenement described in architectural guides as “a building of no interest whatsoever.” But the residents of Corduroy Mansions—including a literary agent, a wine merchant, a thoroughly unpleasant member of Parliament, and a vegetarian dog—are a rather fascinating lot.
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Oedipus Snark, MP
- By connie on 04-25-12
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Cakes and Ale
- By: W. Somerset Maugham
- Narrated by: James Saxon
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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When Cakes and Ale was first published in 1930 it roused a storm of controversy, since many people imagined they recognised portraits of literary figures now no more. It is the novel for which Maugham wished to be remembered.
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Delightful
- By RueRue on 04-22-16
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The Jewel in the Crown
- The Raj Quartet, Book 1
- By: Paul Scott
- Narrated by: Richard Brown
- Length: 22 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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The first volume in Paul Scott's historical tour-de-force opens in 1942 as the British fear both Japanese invasion and Indian demands for self-rule. In the Mayapore gardens, Daphne Manners, daughter of the provincial governor, leaves her Indian lover, who will soon be arrested for her alleged rape.
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Superb writing, subverted by spiritless narration
- By mgale on 10-13-10
By: Paul Scott
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Flesh Wounds
- By: Richard Glover
- Narrated by: Richard Glover
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family...Richard Glover's favourite dinner-party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?' It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed toy collector.
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Such a Meaningful Reflection
- By Awarenessing on 11-28-15
By: Richard Glover
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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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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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Beginning of a journey
- By Jerri C on 11-04-16
By: Angela Thirkell, and others
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The Body on the Beach
- A Fethering Mystery
- By: Simon Brett
- Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard
- Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Recently retired, Carole Seddon is residing in Fethering in the cottage she purchased with her ex-husband. There she maintains a quiet and sensible life with the companionship of Gulliver, her Labrador retriever. But everything changes when she and Gulliver, while taking their daily constitutional, find a corpse on the beach. What's more, there are two wounds on its neck. The body mysteriously disappears and the police dismiss Carole as a befuddled middle-aged woman.
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Reminds me of "Rosemary & Thyme" TV series
- By Crochetaway on 11-17-14
By: Simon Brett
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Cover Her Face
- By: P. D. James
- Narrated by: Penelope Dellaporta
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Headstrong and beautiful, the young housemaid Sally Jupp is put rudely in her place, strangled in her bed behind a bolted door. Coolly brilliant policeman Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard must find her killer among a houseful of suspects, most of whom had very good reason to wish her ill. Cover Her Face is P. D. James' electric debut novel, an ingeniously plotted mystery that immediately placed her among the masters of suspense.
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OK but...
- By NoelleJ on 11-14-14
By: P. D. James
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please please try again
- By Consolation on 03-24-20
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creme de la creme
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"How wonderful to be an artist and a woman in the twentieth century," Fleur Talbot rejoices. Loitering about London in 1949, with intent to gather material for her writing, Fleur finds a job "on the grubby edge of the literary world", as secretary to the odd Autobiographical Association. Are they a group of mad egomaniacs, hilariously writing their memoirs in advance, or poor fools ensnared by a blackmailer? Rich material, in any case.
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As Good As Pym--Maybe Better!
- By Cariola on 10-27-11
By: Muriel Spark
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The Bachelors
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First found contentedly chatting in their London clubs and shopping at Fortnum's, the cozy bachelors are not set to stay cozy for long. Soon enough, the men are variously tormented - defrauded, stolen from, blackmailed, or pressed to attend horrid séances - and then plunged, all together, into the nastiest of lawsuits. At the center of that suit hovers pale, blank Patrick Seton, the medium.
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philosophical black comedy
- By connie on 04-22-09
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The Finishing School
- By: Muriel Spark
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College Sunrise is a vaguely disreputable finishing school in Lausanne, Switzerland. Rowland Mahler and his wife, Nina, run the school as a way to support themselves while he works, somewhat falteringly, on his novel. Into his creative writing class comes 17-year-old Chris Wiley, a literary prodigy whose historical novel-in-progress, on Mary Queen of Scots and the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, has already excited the interest of publishers.
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Short but Sweet
- By Blythe on 08-13-07
By: Muriel Spark
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Muriel Spark's blackly comic masterwork begins with a voice on the telephone warning, "Remember, you must die." The recipient of the grim message is elderly Dame Lettie Colston, but soon 10 of Lettie's oldest friends also become targets of Death's anonymous herald. A bizarre investigation lays bare an intricate network of deception and disloyalty that binds together the vulnerable group of aging eccentrics.
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By: Muriel Spark
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Overall
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"Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions." Thus begins Muriel Spark's tragic and rapier-witted portrait of a London ladies' hostel just emerging from the shadow of World War II. Like the May of Teck Club building itself - "three times window shattered since 1940 but never directly hit" - its lady inhabitants do their best to act as if the world were back to normal, practicing elocution and jostling over suitors and a single Schiaparelli gown.
-
-
please please try again
- By Consolation on 03-24-20
By: Muriel Spark
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The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
- By: Muriel Spark
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
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Overall
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In the classic work that launched a play, a movie, and a song, Muriel Spark tells the darkly intriguing story of an eccentric Edinburgh teacher and the intense relationship she develops with six of her students. The scandalously outspoken Miss Brodie makes big waves in the conservative Scottish school, preaching the value of art, passion, and daring.
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-
creme de la creme
- By Kathleen on 01-04-08
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"How wonderful to be an artist and a woman in the twentieth century," Fleur Talbot rejoices. Loitering about London in 1949, with intent to gather material for her writing, Fleur finds a job "on the grubby edge of the literary world", as secretary to the odd Autobiographical Association. Are they a group of mad egomaniacs, hilariously writing their memoirs in advance, or poor fools ensnared by a blackmailer? Rich material, in any case.
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As Good As Pym--Maybe Better!
- By Cariola on 10-27-11
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The Bachelors
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Overall
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Performance
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-
-
philosophical black comedy
- By connie on 04-22-09
By: Muriel Spark
-
The Finishing School
- By: Muriel Spark
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
College Sunrise is a vaguely disreputable finishing school in Lausanne, Switzerland. Rowland Mahler and his wife, Nina, run the school as a way to support themselves while he works, somewhat falteringly, on his novel. Into his creative writing class comes 17-year-old Chris Wiley, a literary prodigy whose historical novel-in-progress, on Mary Queen of Scots and the murder of her husband Lord Darnley, has already excited the interest of publishers.
-
-
Short but Sweet
- By Blythe on 08-13-07
By: Muriel Spark
What listeners say about A Far Cry from Kensington
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Joan
- 09-02-22
A Great Read
Truly enjoyed this book. Lots of twists and turns, but the narrator made it outstanding!
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- A & J Bradley
- 12-30-22
Lovely tale and reader
I didn’t want it to end, clever and unique narrative of remembrance with a great outlook
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- Denise
- 03-05-21
Just a perfect, diverting listen
Excellent narration and nice story. Will look for more like this. Not too demanding and very entertaining
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1 person found this helpful
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- Colleen Customer
- 04-12-22
This is an unconventional and fun read!
Entertaining- Strange- Unpredictable- Suspenseful- This beautifully
written novel is a fun vacation from the every day.
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- Kindle Customer
- 08-20-22
charming tale
loved this story set in the 50s in London. great characters with a very subdued British dtory. an enjoyable listen
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- Deborah 52
- 04-02-23
A bit quirky
I really enjoyed the book’s characters and wish it had gone on a bit longer.
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- Placeholder
- 04-11-23
Terrific
I’ve not read this author before so I was in for an unexpected treat. Hidden depths and fully realized characters make it a perfect choice for me. The look into book publishing in the 1950’s and 1960’s was a plus.
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- Kaye Liles
- 03-09-24
I liked it
Interesting story about post WWll. Narration was really good. Characters were interesting and quirky. Overall good read
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- LJStevie
- 12-16-18
Underwhelming.
I never quite understood the point of this story. There were several characters introduced though the book seemed to be a position of voyeur into a snippet of lives and no real reason for doing so. I think other readers enjoyed this but for me it was boring and never really presented a purpose.
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5 people found this helpful
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- S. Coats
- 06-22-21
A gem from Muriel Spark!
Hadn’t heard of this novel by one of my favorite authors, so it was a treat to discover it. The narrator did an excellent job and the story was fascinating and full of surprises. I highly recommend it.
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