The Jane Austen Book Club
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The Jane Austen Book Club
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Narrated by:
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Kimberly Schraf
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By:
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Karen Joy Fowler
About this listen
Six Californians join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens. With her finely sighted eye for the frailties of human behavior and her finely tuned ear for the absurdities of social intercourse, Fowler has never been wittier nor her characters more appealing. The result is a delicious dissection of modern relationships.
Dedicated Austenites will delight in unearthing the echoes of Austen that run through the novel, but most readers will simply enjoy the vision and voice that, despite two centuries of separation, unite two great writers of brilliant social comedy.
©2004 Karen Joy Fowler (P)2004 Listen and Live Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 371
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In 1822, a secret family moves into a secret cabin some thirty miles northeast of Baltimore, to farm, to hide, and to bear ten children over the course of the next sixteen years. Junius Booth—breadwinner, celebrated Shakespearean actor, and master of the house in more ways than one—is at once a mesmerizing talent and a man of terrifying instability. One by one the children arrive, as year by year, the country draws frighteningly closer to the boiling point of secession and civil war.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Meet the Cooke family: Mother and Dad, brother Lowell, sister Fern, and Rosemary, who begins her story in the middle. She has her reasons. “I was raised with a chimpanzee”, she explains. “I tell you Fern was a chimp and already you aren’t thinking of her as my sister. But until Fern’s expulsion...she was my twin, my funhouse mirror, my whirlwind other half and I loved her as a sister”. As a child, Rosemary never stopped talking. Then, something happened, and Rosemary wrapped herself in silence.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This was totally worth the credit.
- By Amber on 10-04-13
By: Karen Joy Fowler
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Lessons in Chemistry
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36,720
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 32,113
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Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Making my 3 adult daughters read this
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Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best narration
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12,420
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11,245
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Britt-Marie can't stand mess. She eats dinner at precisely the right time and starts her day at six in the morning because only lunatics wake up later than that. And she is not passive-aggressive. Not in the least. It's just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention. But at 63, Britt-Marie has had enough. She finally walks out on her loveless 40-year marriage and finds a job in the only place she can: Borg, a small, derelict town devastated by the financial crisis.
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The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome!
- By Amazon Customer on 05-24-22
By: Claudia Gray
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Booth
- By: Karen Joy Fowler
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 371
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 321
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 318
In 1822, a secret family moves into a secret cabin some thirty miles northeast of Baltimore, to farm, to hide, and to bear ten children over the course of the next sixteen years. Junius Booth—breadwinner, celebrated Shakespearean actor, and master of the house in more ways than one—is at once a mesmerizing talent and a man of terrifying instability. One by one the children arrive, as year by year, the country draws frighteningly closer to the boiling point of secession and civil war.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating
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By: Karen Joy Fowler
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- By: Karen Joy Fowler
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- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,941
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,726
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,730
Meet the Cooke family: Mother and Dad, brother Lowell, sister Fern, and Rosemary, who begins her story in the middle. She has her reasons. “I was raised with a chimpanzee”, she explains. “I tell you Fern was a chimp and already you aren’t thinking of her as my sister. But until Fern’s expulsion...she was my twin, my funhouse mirror, my whirlwind other half and I loved her as a sister”. As a child, Rosemary never stopped talking. Then, something happened, and Rosemary wrapped herself in silence.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This was totally worth the credit.
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By: Karen Joy Fowler
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Lessons in Chemistry
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- Narrated by: Miranda Raison, Bonnie Garmus, Pandora Sykes
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36,720
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 32,113
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32,037
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Making my 3 adult daughters read this
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By: Bonnie Garmus
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The Rachel Incident
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- Narrated by: Tara Flynn
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 630
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 580
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 580
Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best narration
- By LG on 01-12-24
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Britt-Marie Was Here
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- Narrated by: Joan Walker
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12,420
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11,245
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11,215
Britt-Marie can't stand mess. She eats dinner at precisely the right time and starts her day at six in the morning because only lunatics wake up later than that. And she is not passive-aggressive. Not in the least. It's just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention. But at 63, Britt-Marie has had enough. She finally walks out on her loveless 40-year marriage and finds a job in the only place she can: Borg, a small, derelict town devastated by the financial crisis.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Gem
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 546
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 481
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Story4 out of 5 stars 481
The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome!
- By Amazon Customer on 05-24-22
By: Claudia Gray
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The Lions of Fifth Avenue
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It's 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn't ask for more out of life - her husband is the superintendent of the New York Public Library, allowing their family to live in an apartment within the grand building, and they are blessed with two children. But headstrong, passionate Laura wants more, and when she takes a leap of faith and applies to the Columbia Journalism School, her world is cracked wide open.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Exhilarating
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Northanger Abbey
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 262
Jane Austen's first major novel, a parody of the popular literature of the time, is an ironic tale of the romantic folly of men and women in pursuit of love, marriage, and money. The humorous adventures of young Catherine as she encounters "the difficulties and dangers of a six weeks' residence in Bath" lead to some of Austen's most brilliant social satire.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Austen Stretching Her Wings
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By: Jane Austen
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Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price - and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone.
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4 out of 5 stars
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7 Narrators, But That's Not a Good Thing
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She used to work for the US government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Listened all night!
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The Host
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12,338
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Earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. But Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great story in a genre only touched upon before
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Without Remorse
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12,519
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11,167
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Now a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan - watch now on Prime Video! From Tom Clancy, the celebrated author of the Jack Ryan series, comes the number one New York Times best seller that puts CIA operative John Clark front and center...His code name is Mr. Clark. His work for the CIA is brilliant, cold-blooded. and efficient...But who is he really? In a harrowing tour de force, Tom Clancy shows how an ordinary man named John Kelly crossed the lines of justice and morality to become the CIA legend, Mr. Clark.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Start here if you are new to Jack Ryan.
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Priceless F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts stolen in a daring heist; a young woman recruited to recover them, and a beach-resort bookseller who gets more than he bargained for - all in one long summer on Camino Island.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Grisham wrote this?
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 9,142
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8,306
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Story4 out of 5 stars 8,278
En route to London from New York, Flight 305 suddenly loses power and crash-lands in the English countryside, plunging a group of strangers into a mysterious adventure that will have repercussions for all of humankind. Struggling to stay alive, the survivors soon realize that the world they've crashed in is very different from the one they left. But where are they? Why are they here? And how will they get back home?
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3 out of 5 stars
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TODAY'S DECISIONS ARE TOMRROWS REALITY
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Persuasion
- By: Jane Austen
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- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 28
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Persuasion has certain similarities with Emma, another late novel by Jane Austen. In both stories, the heroine is a young woman who lives with her widowed father, and who has an enduring attachment to her eventual spouse from the opening of the action. Persuasion also incorporates certain elements common to Austen's earlier novels, such as characters from the military, visits to Bath and calculating and cynical suitors. In the end, Anne Elliot successfully combats the destructive vanity of her father and the machinations of her villainous cousin William.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Didn’t like the voice actors
- By Sarah on 05-31-19
By: Jane Austen
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The Lost Apothecary
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- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,906
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10,518
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Story4 out of 5 stars 10,488
Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious 12-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Fell short
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By: Sarah Penner
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The Invisible Hour
- A Novel
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- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 382
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 349
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Story4 out of 5 stars 349
One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?
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5 out of 5 stars
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An exquisite story about love and libraries.
- By Lori A Benson on 09-26-23
By: Alice Hoffman
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Mansfield Park (Naxos Edition)
- By: Jane Austen
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,385
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,205
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,207
At the tender age of 10, Fanny Price is 'adopted' by her rich relations and is removed from the poverty of her home in Portsmouth to the opulence of Mansfield Park. The transplantation is not a happy one. Dependent, helpless, neglected and forgotten, Fanny struggles to come to terms with her new life until, tested almost to the limits of endurance, she assumes her rightful role....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Comments from a Jane Austen Novice
- By Ilana on 10-22-11
By: Jane Austen
Critic reviews
"This exquisite novel is bigger and more ambitious than it appears. It's that rare book that reminds us what reading is all about." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Sly wit, quirky characters, and digressive storytelling....Like Austen, Fowler is a subversive wit and a wise observer of human interaction of all stripes." (Publishers Weekly)
What listeners say about The Jane Austen Book Club
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Shel
- 08-07-06
It passed the time
I have lower expectations for audiobooks. I expect them to help me pass the time driving, cleaning, sorting laundry, running on the treadmill, etc. This book did a good job of that. I didn't have to think too hard and the story was benign. I don't think I'd ever recommend it to anyone as a book they must read as there wasn't much story, the characters were underdeveloped, and there wasn't near enough Jane Austen. However, it was pleasant, I kept listening, and it didn't last too long. If you put it in the 'light read/listen' category instead of with the likes of Jane Austen it is missable but decent. There were times that the narrator was irritating but not enough to avoid anything else read by her.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Lisa
- 06-02-04
well written; not well read
The Jane Austin Book Club is beautifully crafted. Interwoven stories of the club members construct a community that is compelling for me as a reader to enter into. Their stories are framed by Jane Austin's to make a socially and historically textured world. The characters are eccentric and the author's descriptive sensibilities are surprising at times and hip. However, the narrator's sing song inflection and high pitch is annoyingly inappropriate for the text. I had to fight against it to enjoy the book.
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26 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- E
- 12-24-04
So-so
I love Jane Austen, and I've been in a book group, and so I looked forward to this book. I did not enjoy it. I found that I cared little for the characters - I just wasn't interested in their lives - I guess I didn't want to know them. Having said that, the author has a wonderful, wry humor - I just wish her characters were different.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Kim
- 06-23-04
Tried to like it, but couldn't
I'm a big Jane Austen fan and I thought this book would bring her works into a more contemporary setting. The book started out slow, but I figured it would get better as it progressed. Unfortunately it didn't. There were snippets of each Jane Austen book and the themes were reflected in each chapter, but the whole concept didn't mesh very well. Too choppy at times as each character's story was being told. I had a hard time keeping everything straight. The narrator's voice didn't help either. She sounded condescending at certain points and just plain annoying the rest of the time. I'd like to give it another try, so I'll probably read it rather than listen to it.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 08-04-04
Book good, narration not so much
I like the story, but I think the narrator's tone is much too arch for the material. Her reading distracts from the story, alas.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Geraldine
- 06-06-04
Don't--unless you REALLY love Jane Austin's books
Typical Jane Austin stuff. Not funny, hard to follow and contrived.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Jae Williams
- 11-30-15
Eh-- so so
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Yes, it was a good story...a bit too much backstory that went into every new chapter
How did the narrator detract from the book?
Her voice was monotone
Could you see The Jane Austen Book Club being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
I did see the movie and LOVED it ten time better the book
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nancy Ehounou
- 09-05-22
Jane Austen Book Club
I am a Jane Austen fan both books and films. When I first started reading The Jane Austen Book Club I couldn’t get into it. After seeing the film I thought I should give the book another try. I liked it better for having seen the film.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 05-03-07
Disappointing
I was pulled in by the Jane Austen name; I thought the writing would be at least "Austenish." I found myself in a hurry to be finished with it instead of enjoying the process.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Joseph R
- 12-31-09
Austen and Romance in the 21st Century
Kimberly Schraf tells this story as she was gossiping about some absent acquaintances and their doings. She sounds a bit like a gossipy old cat. I am a bit puzzled at myself: I like her. Maybe that is what the book is, a scandal sheet. Yes, I enjoyed it. After all, for years I have had my own little Jane Austen fan club with a membership of one. Ok, I am not going to tell anybody that I actually enjoy books based on Jane Austen and her works to say nothing of her books. I am a big, tough, guy from somewhere along the bayous of Louisiana who has actually read "Lover's Vows", the play that wasn't performed in "Mansfield Park". Just between us, I am a sucker for anything Austen. Like Griggs and Catherine Morland, I have finished "The Mysteries of Udolpho" as well as "The Italian" and even a synopsis of the books in the Northanger Canon. Along with Marianne Dashwood and Anne Eliot, I am qualified to give an opinion on whether "The Lady of the Lake" or "Marmion" is superior. One wouldn't want that kind information getting out, if one has to live here you know.
Now, I wouldn't be caught dead in public with this book but on my Zune...who will ever know? One doesn't have to be a complete Austen nutcase to enjoy this book but it doesn't hurt. It took a while to write a review because the author was hard to pin down. As the synopsis states, the author is very witty but her book is not about Austen. It is cute stories about divorce, marriage, jobs, romance, kids, dogs and whatever comes out of the hat. At the same time, one is surprised how relevant Austen can be after 200 years. I even enjoyed the adventures of the lesbian member of this club. Tender homosexual love scenes are book closers for me but that is not what Karen Joy Fowler did here. She went for lesbian sky diving, rock climbing, broken bones incidents. PS, the movie isn't bad either but the book is better.
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5 people found this helpful