He Knew He Was Right Audiobook By Anthony Trollope cover art

He Knew He Was Right

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He Knew He Was Right

By: Anthony Trollope
Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
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When Louis Trevelyan's young wife meets an old family acquaintance, his unreasonable jealousy of their friendship sparks a quarrel that leads to a brutal and tragic estrangement.

Often considered to be his masterpiece, Anthony Trollope's 1869 novel explores the themes of marriage, love, and the rights of women in 19th-century England.

With a cast of independent, forceful characters and lively subplots, Trollope creates a penetrating and often comic dissection of the mores of Victorian society.

Public Domain (P)2016 Nigel Patterson Classics Drama & Plays European World Literature Marriage
Engrossing Storylines • Complex Characters • Pleasant Voice • Multiple Subplots • Insightful Writing
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I’ve been reading Trollope for 45 years, so I consider myself a super fan, but this study in sexual jealousy is tedious and dreary. There is little plot and the love stories are all predictable. There is a tiny bit of excellent comic relief. I only finished this because I’m stubborn. The narration was very good.

Tedious!

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I enjoy Trollope ' s storytelling style. Complex characters and always a mix between tragedy and a happy ending.
Well made recording. Very enjoyable.

real life

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The first time I encountered Anthony Trollope’s most popular work, He Knew He Was Right, was in a BBC production. My teen aged children and I enjoyed it. I had not read the book that the mini-series was based on. When I was offered the opportunity to review the book narrated by Nigel Patterson, I was happy to finally get a chance at the source.


He Knew He Was Right was written in 1869. It is very important that the listener keep that in mind. It was a very different world, especially for women. The book follows Louis Trevelyan, a wealthy gentleman, who while traveling in one of the Empire’s colonies (it is a fictitious colony)
meets the girl of his dreams, Emily Rowley. Although Emily has been raised outside of England, she does come from a good family as her father is the governor of the colony. Emily and her family travel back to England for the wedding. The first two years of marriage are wonderful complete with a baby boy. Then Louis begins to take exception to an old family friend, a man her father’s age, visiting Emily. He demands she no longer see the man because he suspects infidelity. Emily digs her heels in and refuses to end her harmless friendship. Louis takes it as proof that he wife is not faithful.


There are several subplots to this book, which is over 300 pages in print and 30 hours in audio. The subplots involve other couples including Emily’s sister, Nora. Each couple has their own challenges to overcome, several involving social standing or economic position. While the subplots are interesting, it is Louis and Emily’s story that is the main attraction.


I did have to keep reminding myself of the 1869 publication date because I had a persistent and overwhelming need to slap Louis. Emily never, in deed or word, gives him cause to doubt her but he is so insecure he cannot trust her. It is a combination of Emily’s stubbornness and Louis’s insecurity that cause this to blow up into a major disaster involving both families and dividing friends. That being said, it really is a great book and worth the impulse to slap Louis.


Mr. Patterson does a great job narrating this book. He captures the characters and their emotions. He also handles the language well. Sometimes narrators can allow the more formal language of the 19th century to sound stilted but Mr. Patterson does not. He makes the language flow naturally. I have not had a disappointing listen from Mr. Patterson yet. If you are going to invest in He Knew He Was Right as an audiobook, get the right one with Nigel Patterson as the narrator.

Nigel Patterson as the narrator is great

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I love a good, meaty novel. With this run time, that’s what I expected. Instead, it just droned on and on with nothing happening. Or rather, it was the same thing over and over. The characters were not likable and though I stuck with it, I kept looking at the time remaining (ANOTHER 9 hours of this?!), I wish I hadn’t.

So long…

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Written in 1869, He Knew He Was Right, tells about life in England in "the good ole days". Nigel Patterson does his usual superb job narrating. When Patterson reads you can be assured that it will be marvelous!

Life in Another Time

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This is one of Trollope's best known novels, and for good reason (even though he supposedly considered it a failure). A powerful and tragic story of a marriage gone off the rails. My only complaint is of the narrator's dreadful attempt at an American accent for the American characters.

A masterwork by a master

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I'm so glad I delved into this - seemingly - little known Trollope treasure. Such a modern book for its time. Despite reaching a climax in the story several times with the same unfortunate resolution, the power of the writing sustains. Excellent narration from Nigel Patterson.

A great feminist novel

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I confess that I like to get my money's worth from Audible (at least every other book) and, although some of Trollope's tomes have obvious padding, this one did not so much. To weave so many stories so well, with such insight and wit was impressive and very entertaining. The narration was,for the most part, excellent, failing only slightly to render the American dialect believable. This improved as the book progressed, however, which helped.[ I just wish the narrator would not represent same by dropping his timbre into a male range when relating American women.]

Clever, Amusing and Witty

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I like Trollope stories for their ability to give me many different stories rolled into one. This one delivers that as usual. An argument between two fools who never learned to communicate becomes tedious however. Neither one willing to give an inch leads to a tragic and completely predictable outcome. Thank god for the other stories woven into this book because they are what kept me reading. I honestly couldn’t care less about Louis and his wife after a few hours. That kind of pigheadedness has no redemptive qualities. Nigel Patterson does a fair job of narrating, but he’s no Timothy West.

Trollope delivers again

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Most of his books delve deeply
into the relationship between
men and women often exploring
laws attitudes passions beliefs
literally tearing people apart

Sympathy for human dilemma

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