A Woman of the World Audiobook By Rebecca Gilman cover art

A Woman of the World

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A Woman of the World

By: Rebecca Gilman
Narrated by: Kathleen Chalfant
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About this listen

Meet Mabel Loomis Todd, an inspired conversationalist who routinely invites scandal and ignores the rules of 19th century society. Now in her 70s and living on Hog Island in Maine, the outspoken writer and editor is holding court, entertaining us with musings on her colorful life, spilling secrets, and revealing the truth about how she turned Emily Dickinson into a household name. In an intriguing performance, Obie Award winner Kathleen Chalfant embodies the spirit of a fascinating woman whose legacy is forever linked to one of America’s most celebrated poets.

A Woman of the World was originally produced by the Acting Company in association with Miranda Theatre Company. Written with the support of an artist residency at Hog Island Audubon Camp.

Written by Rebecca Gilman
Performed by Kathleen Chalfant
Directed by Valentina Fratti

©2020 Rebecca Gilman (P)2020 AO Media LLC
Drama & Plays United States World Literature Funny Inspiring Heartfelt
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Our favorite moments from A Woman of the World

You have all gathered here.
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11,000 copies were sold.
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Maybe that’s all I deserve.
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  • A Woman of the World
  • You have all gathered here.
  • A Woman of the World
  • 11,000 copies were sold.
  • A Woman of the World
  • Maybe that’s all I deserve.

About the Creator

Rebecca Gilman is an artistic associate at Goodman Theatre. Her plays include Luna Gale; Twilight Bowl; A True History of the Johnstown Flood; Dollhouse; Boy Gets Girl; Spinning Into Butter; Blue Surge (all of which were originally produced by the Goodman); Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976, and The Crowd You’re in With (also at the Goodman); The Glory of Living; The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Gilman is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, The Harper Lee Award, The Scott McPherson Award, The Prince Prize for Commissioning New Work, The Roger L. Stevens Award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, The Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright, The George Devine Award, The Theatre Masters Visionary Award, The Great Plains Playwright Award, a Global Connections Grant by Theatre Communications Group, an American Scandinavian Foundation Creative Writing Grant, and an Illinois Arts Council playwriting fellowship. Boy Gets Girl received an Olivier nomination for Best New Play. Gilman was named a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for The Glory of Living. She is a member of the Council of the Dramatists Guild of America. In 2016, she was inducted into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame.

About the Performer

Kathleen Chalfant has been performing for half a century. Her performances on stage, screen, and television have garnered her praise and acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Perhaps best known for her shattering portrayal of Vivian Bearing, a scholar battling cancer, in Wit, she received the Obie, the Drama Desk, the Los Angeles Drama critics Circle Award, and a host of other honors. Chalfant made her Broadway debut in Dance with Me, followed by M. Butterfly. She went on to star as Hannah Pitt and Ethel Rosenberg in the original cast of Angels in America, receiving nominations for both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award. Chalfant is also the recipient of the Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance, the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award, and the Sidney Kingsley Award, both for her body of work. Among her many performances on New York stages, Chalfant has starred in A Woman of the World, The Courtroom, Novenas for a Lost Hospital, For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday, Deadman's Cell Phone, Talking Heads (Obie Award), and Henry V (Callaway Award). Additionally, Chalfant has graced stages across the US, including the Long Wharf, the McCarter, The Guthrie, the Hartford Stage, and Sundance. Her film work includes appearances in Class Rank, Kinsey, Duplicity, Random Hearts, and Last Days of Disco. Chalfant has appeared extensively on television, including, most recognizably for her role as Margaret Butler on the Showtime series, The Affair. Other series work includes: The Guardian, Rescue Me, House of Cards, The Strain, Book of Daniel, Madame Secretary, Elementary, and Law & Order (all flavors). Chalfant is a founding member of The Women's Project and she helped establish Playwrights Horizons in Manhattan in 1975. She was an artist-in-residence at several universities, including Cornell and Yale, and serves on the faculty of the graduate acting program at The New School.

What listeners say about A Woman of the World

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting tale

I rather enjoyed this story told is if it were the reminiscences of a neighbor of Emily Dickenson. The tone is chatty and wanders just enough to allow the story teller to include bits and pieces of Emily's life in a friendly way, The narrator interprets the occasional poem very well.

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Totally enjoyable

I totally enjoyed this little piece which revealed fascinating and previously unknown (by me) details of the life of Mabel Loomis Todd and her relationship with the famously enigmatic Emily Dickinson. The performance was deliciously witty and entertaining-A+ Audible!

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Hilarious

I read the other reviews and expected this to be pretty bad. I listened to the sample and I think some readers don’t understand the humor of the author. She invites you into the world of a complete narcissist. Satirical and nutty...it’s just short enough not to be overdone.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

So beautiful and so sad!

So manny adventures had so many losses. Life ... unfairly beautiful and sad...a love story that will shock and ultimately leave you wanting for in her joy you see the beauty and in her loss you feel the pain...but that is life...

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Exquisite listening.

This original draws you in deeper with every word. Beautifully performed, fabulous story. I want more!

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Very good.

l truly enjoyed the story and the performance so much that I am sorry it is over.
In my case it was a freebie and I am glad it was, because otherwise I would never have come across to it and I would have missed out a lot.

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Wonderful

This was a wonderful little book. Very well narrated, I found myself googling the characters to get a deeper understanding of the facts surrounding them. Highly Recommended.

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Oh my!

This was a very different take on a time that gets so much romanticized about. Not your average view of the times of Emily Dickinson, but amazingly constructed. Well done! Excellent performance!

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quick and interesting

great voice actress and a very ineteresting story. I enjoyed listening on several lunch walks

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Loved it!

This wasnt' quite what I was suspecting, but I absolutely adored it. I felt I was a part of the audience she referred to, and I loved the way it was conversational. Loved it!

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