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The Luminaries
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 29 hrs and 15 mins
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Publisher's summary
Longlisted – Baileys Women’s Prize 2014
Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2013
Canadian Governor General's Literary Award, 2013.
It is 1866 and Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of 12 local men, who have met in secret to discuss a series of unsolved crimes. A wealthy man has vanished, a whore has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely patterned as the night sky.
The Luminaries is an extraordinary piece of fiction. Written in pitch-perfect historical register, richly evoking a mid-19th-century world of shipping and banking and goldrush boom and bust, it is also a ghost story, and a gripping mystery. It is a thrilling achievement for someone still in her mid-20s, and will confirm for critics and listeners that Catton is one of the brightest stars in the international writing firmament.
Eleanor Catton was born in 1985 in Canada and raised in New Zealand. She completed an MA in Creative Writing at Victoria University in 2007 and won the Adam Prize in Creative Writing for The Rehearsal. She was the recipient of the 2008 Glenn Schaeffer Fellowship to study for a year at the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop in the US and went on to hold a position as Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing there, teaching Creative Writing and Popular Culture. Eleanor won a 2010 New Generation Award. She now lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
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Set against the colorful tumult of events that gave rise to our fledgling nation, this novel of romance and adventure introduces Phillipe Charboneau. The illegitimate son of an English nobleman, Phillipe flees Europe and, as Philip Kent, joins the men who set our course for freedom. The Bastard is the first volume in the Kent Family Chronicles, a series of novels that details one family's journey in the early years of the American nation.
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An Amazing Tale
- By will on 11-06-13
By: John Jakes
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Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance
- By: Gyles Brandreth
- Narrated by: Bill Wallis
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
London, 1889. Oscar Wilde, celebrated poet, wit, playwright, and raconteur is the literary sensation of his age. All Europe lies at his feet. Yet when he chances across the naked corpse of sixteen-year-old Billy Wood, posed by candlelight in a dark stifling attic room, he cannot ignore the brutal murder. With the help of fellow author Arthur Conan Doyle he sets out to solve the crime - but it is Wilde's unparalleled access to all degrees of late Victorian life, from society drawing rooms to the underclass, that will prove the decisive factor in their investigation....
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needs glue
- By connie on 11-13-11
By: Gyles Brandreth
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Cover Her Face
- By: P. D. James
- Narrated by: Penelope Dellaporta
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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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Warlock Holmes
- A Study in Brimstone
- By: G. S. Denning
- Narrated by: Robert Garson
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Sherlock Holmes is an unparalleled genius who uses the gift of deduction and reason to solve the most vexing of crimes. Warlock Holmes, however, is an idiot. A good man, perhaps; a font of arcane power, certainly. But he’s brilliantly dim. Frankly, he couldn’t deduce his way out of a paper bag. The only things he has really got going for him are the might of a thousand demons and his stalwart flatmate. Thankfully, Dr. Watson is always there to aid him through the treacherous shoals of Victorian propriety...
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Short on Clues--Heavy on Delightful Twists
- By Gillian on 01-10-17
By: G. S. Denning
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The Agency 1: A Spy in the House
- By: Y. S. Lee
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
In Victorian England, orphan Mary Quinn lives on the edge. Sentenced as a thief at the age of 12, she’s rescued from the gallows by a woman posing as a prison warden. In her new home, Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls, Mary acquires a singular education, fine manners, and a surprising opportunity. The school is a cover for the Agency — an elite, top secret corps of female investigators with a reputation for results — and at 17, Mary’s about to join their ranks.
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yes, it's YA-but credible for genre for any age
- By connie on 02-25-11
By: Y. S. Lee
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Jack Maggs
- By: Peter Carey
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
With scars on his back and silver in his pocket, the huge figure of Jack Maggs strides across the rich landscape of 19th century London. As this enigmatic man moves through its streets and houses, his single-minded quest to find his son will engender love, deceit, and vengeance in the lives around him.
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Jack Maggs
- By Kathleen on 04-04-05
By: Peter Carey
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Mortal Mischief
- By: Frank Tallis
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Vienna, 1902: A beautiful medium has been found shot dead, and Dr Max Liebermann, a young disciple of Sigmund Freud, is called upon to help his friend Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt investigate her death. The room containing the body has been locked from the inside, and a cryptic note suggests a malevolent supernatural power is at work. Using the new science of psychoanalysis, Liebermann probes the minds of the suspects in an attempt to unravel this bewildering crime.
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Ho-hum Victorian mystery
- By Nancy E Day on 09-17-12
By: Frank Tallis
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Blindspot
- By a Gentleman in Exile and a Lady in Disguise
- By: Jane Kamensky, Jill Lepore
- Narrated by: John Lee, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
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Overall
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Set in boisterous, rebellious Boston on the eve of the American Revolution, Blindspot ingeniously weaves together the fictional stories of Stewart Jameson, a Scottish portrait painter and notorious libertine, and Fanny Easton, a fallen woman from one of Boston's most powerful families who disguises herself as a boy to become Jameson's defiant and seductive apprentice. Together with an African-born doctor, they investigate the death of the famous revolutionary leader Samuel Bradstreet.
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Disappointing
- By Cariola on 03-06-09
By: Jane Kamensky, and others
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Dust and Shadow
- An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson
- By: Lyndsay Faye
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Breathless and painstakingly researched, this is a stunning debut mystery in which Sherlock Holmes unmasks Jack the Ripper. Lyndsay Faye perfectly captures all the color and syntax of Conan Doyle’s distinctive nineteenth-century London.
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Excellent!
- By Wadie on 01-07-11
By: Lyndsay Faye
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Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 36 hrs and 59 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this carefully crafted novel, Dickens reveals the complexity of London society in the enterprising 1840s as he takes the listener into the business firm and home of one of its most representative patriarchs, Paul Dombey.
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Perfect pair
- By Philip on 03-25-08
By: Charles Dickens
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The Lost World (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
There’s only one way for Professor George Edward Challenger to prove that dinosaurs still roam the earth. He invites skeptical journalist Edward Malone to accompany him and a group of adventurers to see the creatures with his own eyes. But when they arrive at the fantastic volcanic plateau in the Amazon where time stands still, their expedition quickly becomes one of survival. With its cliff-hanging escapes, rousing humor, and nailbiting suspense, The Lost World is a pioneering work of fantasy-adventure that paved the way for every thrill ride to follow.
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Wonderful book!
- By Arron on 03-07-21
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The King's Return
- By: Andrew Swanston
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
The king's coronation brings hope. Until a murderer strikes. Spring 1661: After years of civil war followed by Oliver Cromwell's joyless rule as Lord Protector, England awaits the coronation of King Charles II. The mood in London is one of relief and hope for a better future. But when two respectable gentlemen are found in a foul lane with their throats cut, it becomes apparent that England's enemies are using the newly re-established post office for their own ends.
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More please
- By tara souther on 12-22-22
By: Andrew Swanston
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The Whiskey Rebels
- By: David Liss
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
At his most desperate moment, Ethan Saunders is recruited to find his ex-fiancée's missing husband. Meanwhile, Joan Maycott and her Revolutionary War veteran husband distill whiskey on the western Pennsylvania frontier. As their causes intertwine, Joan and Saunders - both patriots in their own way - find themselves on opposing sides of a daring scheme that will forever change their lives and their new country.
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In My Top 10 - Maybe Top 5 At Audible
- By Lulu on 10-31-12
By: David Liss
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What listeners say about The Luminaries
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Beth Anne
- 11-16-13
fantastic novel, perfect narration. 5 STARS!
I LOOOVVVEEED THIS BOOK!!!
how did this novel only take 2 years to write? and how was eleanor catton only 27 years old when it was published??? i feel like the amount of detail about astrology and historical realism in this book would have...should have...taken 10 years to research and work out. never mind the way the the waning of the chapters, following the moon cycles grow progressively longer and then extremely short. the chapter introductions,...growing progressively longer and longer and longer. the astrological star titles given to each character, and astrological house given to each location, all switching prominence and even switching moods as their charts change. the layers of discovery...stories within stories...how each chapter breaks the belief i had in different character's motives and actions.
even WITHOUT the structural complexity of this novel, it's a winner in my eyes. even WITH the structural complexity, it seemed like an easy read, and it didn't seem as long as it is. and i must admit...i think some of the structural complexity was lost to me!!!
the novel offers up theatrical settings with secrets and sex and drugs and mystery. lively characters, even without much depth, tromp in and out of the chapters....tangling a web that you think is going to be unraveled. but keeps getting even more twisted.
so many people have said this book is a 'difficult' read...but i did not find even one page of it difficult. this really is a book that is pure joy to read. PURE JOY.
i am so excited to revisit this novel again and again throughout the rest of my life...to me, it's one of those books i will never ever forget and never ever just leave on the shelf.
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- Puce
- 01-12-15
Excellent reading
Fantastic story and really, really excellent narration. So easy to follow an recognise character as they all had their own voice.
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- Hervé DuThé
- 10-07-18
Art vs. Artifice
I listened to the whole thing. And at no time did I ever even BEGIN to invest my emotions with ANY character. This is an extremely clever book, amazingly well read, but it lacks heart. In terms of "artifice" I give it top marks. In terms of "art" (you know, a thing that grabs you, a thing that you become emotionally invested in) I give it low marks. I remember slogging through the 30 hours of this book during my many long walks earlier this year. I am on to other books now but I am still reminded of passages from "The Luminaries" when I walk by a certain landmark. These are not happy memories. The book was a chore. A very clever chore.
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- Linda P
- 04-03-14
A masterpiece!
Would you listen to The Luminaries again? Why?
Yes, I loved the author's use of words and style.
What did you like best about this story?
The well-rounded characters and humor, along with the mystery story and unexpected twists.
Have you listened to any of Mark Meadows’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No, but I will again --he is amazing; his use of accents and tone are awe-inspiring.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Too many to mention.
Any additional comments?
If you love stories with interesting characters and slow-developing but well reasoned plots read this!
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- Kysha
- 02-19-15
Great story
A great story read by a fantastic narrator. I loved the complexity and the way that the character development was woven into the unravelling thread of the mystery.
The build up was a little slow to start and the denouement was somewhat unnecessary since the author did such a great job of telling the story and developing the characters that a discerning reader should have already known all that was revealed in the denouement.
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-10-16
Loved the book and the narration
i cannot imagine a better narrator for this beautiful, intricate jewel of a book.
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- Peregrine
- 03-15-14
A great read, but falls apart at the end
The Luminaries is a great read for anyone who enjoys 19th-century British novels. Catton's prose is of a decidedly Victorian bent, beautiful descriptions spilling out as a Wilkie Collins-type plot unfolds. Now, I read the Woman in White recently and ended up angry at its cheap coincidences, but The Luminaries doesn't have any of those. For most of the book it's very funny and a real page turner, even with its formal prose style. There's also a fascinating portrayal of early New Zealand society, which indeed was the author's aim.
What it does have is a weird structure in which little pieces of the whole plot drip out for 800pp., followed by a rush to the finish that doesn't even answer all the reader's questions. Upon finishing I went online and was both relieved and annoyed to find that the unexplained pieces of the plot are just that. There's also an astrological theme throughout that I confess I couldn't follow (even looking at the charts at the head of each section in the print book, which the audiobook of course omits).
Mark Meadows may be the very best narrator I've ever listened to, as he switches effortlessly through a variety of British, Scottish and Irish accents.
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- Alexandra Hannum
- 06-02-16
Wonderful Narration
Mark Meadows is a fantastic narrator! His differing voices for each character were remarkable and made for a splendid listen.
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- Janeal
- 03-08-21
Loved the story
The time jumps confused at first, the ending is a bit abrupt. But I like it.
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- Elein
- 03-30-19
Stick with it to be pulled in
Complex interesting story with many almost full characters. Could not find a protagonist. Took a couple of hours before I had a grip of the complicated mix of characters and plotline(s). The tumbled state of colonized New Zealand was reflected in the tale, including racism and sexism of the era.
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