The King's General Audiobook By Daphne du Maurier cover art

The King's General

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The King's General

By: Daphne du Maurier
Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
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A classic work of historical fiction from the author of Rebecca and The Birds.

Honor Harris is only 18 when she first meets Richard Grenvile, proud, reckless - and utterly captivating. But following a riding accident, Honor must reconcile herself to a life alone. As the English Civil War is waged across the country, Richard rises through the ranks of the army, marries and makes enemies, and Honor remains true to him.

Decades later, an undaunted Sir Richard, now a general serving King Charles I, finds her. Finally they can share their passion in the ruins of her family's great estate on the storm-tossed Cornish coast - one last time before being torn apart, never to embrace again.

©1946 Daphne du Maurier (P)2014 Hachette Audio Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Romance Civil War

Critic reviews

"Daphne du Maurier is a magician, a virtuoso. She can conjure up tragedy, tension, suspense, the ridiculous, the vain, the romantic." (Good Housekeeping)
Compelling Storytelling • Historical Accuracy • Excellent Narration • Enduring Romance • Gripping Suspense
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First, Juliet Stevenson is an amazing performer that would elevate any book. But in this case, the book itself was fascinating. It covers a historical time frame — the British Civil Wars — that I, as an American, was not overly familiar with. The protagonist is a strong, principals woman. Some notions date and casual sexism and antisemitism do rub. But being both a product of the early 1960s and a historical novel they can be managed and not deter too much from enjoying the story. Mostly DuMaurier has created an engaging couple. A true love for the ages. And a perspective of warfare from the civilian perspective, which felt fresh. Highly recommended.

Fascinating

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We are told that the research was meticulous, and I believe it. The narrator is nevertheless absolutely tiresome and poor company after a chapter or two. She ticks reliably between sententious proclamations and an implausible devotion to the relentlessly malignant Grenville.

History yes, narrative interest no

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Excellent book. I really enjoyed it. I am becoming a Daphne du Maurier fan. I have enjoyed Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, Frenchman’s Creek and this.

History and mystery

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An enthralling and gripping book masterfully read by a very talented narrator. highly recommended book

Magnificent

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Juliet Stevenson does Daphne du Maurier justice and more. a gripping story, brought to life in vivid colour

brilliant

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An excellent audiobook with a talented narrator. Ms.du Maurier was one of the great writers of the 20th century and I am pleased that Audible offers works of this caliber.

A Classic

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Daphne du Maurier is the best. For the first time in a long time, I stayed up late to finish chapters

Amazing

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There was one reason why I stuck with this awful book till the bitter end —Juliet Stevenson’s amazing performance. She took this deadly boring story filled with uninteresting unsympathetic characters and made me believe something just around the corner would make me love this story. She fooled me. I hated it.

DuMaurier’s Dog

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I liked this book but didn't love it as much as other books by du Maurier. It's a piece of historical fiction and the characters are real and face many difficult obstacles. The crux of the story involves an enduring romance between Richard Grenville, the King's General, and Honor Harris, a woman from a gentrified family whom he meets when she is 18 and he is 10 years her senior. On the eve of their wedding, she suffers a terrible fall and becomes paralyzed. She does not want Richard to have to tend to her for the rest of her life so she turns away from him. Richard moves on with his life, marrying a woman for her money and bearing several children, but his first and only love is and always will be Honor.

We follow their relationship as Britain engages in a vile civil war, with Richard serving as the brains and brawn beside the King. But, as the war begins to go the way of the Parliamenters, Richard's life becomes even more endangered and Honor does what she can to protect him and keep him safe.

The book moves along apace and it's extremely well-written and informative (I had little knowledge of the British Civil War). I wish I liked Richard better as a character but he is so stiff and arrogant and even grumpy, that I often wondered why Honor ever fell in love with him in the first place, let alone remain in love with him through all the years of their lives.

The book ends without complete satisfaction for the reader. But, still, it was an involving adventure.

Juliet Stevenson is, as usual, fantastic. Her voice is so lilting and she does both male and female characters with confidence and care. I never have trouble understanding her. She makes everything better!

Engaging...but not my favorite du Maurier title

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I can't believe it took me 48 years to discover this classic! A must read and so brilliantly written! Daphne du Maurier weaves such a compelling story!

Outstanding

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