What's Bred in the Bone
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Narrated by:
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Frederick Davidson
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By:
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Robertson Davies
About this listen
Francis Cornish was always good at keeping secrets. From the well-hidden family secret of his childhood to his mysterious encounters with a small-town embalmer, an expert art restorer, a Bavarian countess, and various masters of espionage, the events in Francis' life were not always what they seemed.
This wonderfully ingenious portrait of an art expert and collector of international renown is told in stylish, elegant prose and endowed with lavish portions of Davies' wit and wisdom. Robertson Davies (1913 - 1995) was an internationally acclaimed author, actor, publisher, and, finally, professor at the University of Toronto. The author of 12 novels and several volumes of essays and plays, he was the first Canadian to be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. ©1985 by Robertson Davies (P)1996 by Blackstone AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Narrator!
- By Murasaki on 12-03-06
By: Honoré de Balzac
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High Rising
- A Virago Modern Classic
- By: Angela Thirkell, Alexander McCall Smith - introduction
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Successful lady novelist Laura Morland and her boisterous young son, Tony, set off to spend Christmas at her country home in the sleepy surrounds of High Rising. But Laura's wealthy friend and neighbor, George Knox, has taken on a scheming secretary whose designs on marriage to her employer threaten the delicate social fabric of the village.
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Beginning of a journey
- By Jerri C on 11-04-16
By: Angela Thirkell, and others
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Where Angels Fear to Tread
- Penguin English Library
- By: E. M. Forster
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
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E. M. Forster's first novel is a witty comedy of manners that is tinged with tragedy. It tells the story of Lilia Herriton, who proves to be an embarrassment to her late husband's family as, in the small Tuscan town of Monteriano, she begins a relationship with a much younger Italian man - classless, uncouth, and highly unsuitable. A subtle attack on Edwardian values and a humanely sympathetic portrayal of the clash of two cultures, Where Angels Fear to Tread is also a profound exploration of character and virtue.
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Stephen Fry + E.M. Forster = Audio Kismet
- By Megasaurus on 08-20-12
By: E. M. Forster
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The Way We Live Now
- By: Anthony Trollope
- Narrated by: Timothy West
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In this world of bribes, vendettas, and swindling, in which heiresses are gambled and won, Trollope's characters embody all the vices: Lady Carbury is 'false from head to foot'; her son Felix has 'the instincts of a horse, not approaching the higher sympathies of a dog'; and Melmotte - the colossal figure who dominates the book - is a 'horrid, big, rich scoundrel...a bloated swindler...a vile city ruffian'. But as vile as he is, he is considered one of Trollope's greatest creations.
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Finally!
- By Laurene on 06-05-10
By: Anthony Trollope
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Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was, at first, afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household.
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balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
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Swann's Way
- By: Marcel Proust
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 21 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Swann’s Way is the first of seven volumes in Remembrance of Things Past. It sets the scene with the narrator’s memories being famously provoked by the taste of that little cake, the madeleine, accompanied by a cup of lime-flowered tea. It is an unmatched portrait of fin-de-siècle France.
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Not a book one reads but inhabits & floats through
- By Darwin8u on 02-24-13
By: Marcel Proust
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I Am a Cat
- By: Soseki Natsume, Aiko Ito - translator, Graeme Wilson - translator
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 21 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Soseki Natsume's comic masterpiece, I Am a Cat, satirizes the foolishness of upper-middle class Japanese society during the Meiji era. With acerbic wit and sardonic perspective, it follows the whimsical adventures of a world-weary stray kitten who comments on the follies and foibles of the people around him. A classic of Japanese literature, I Am a Cat is one of Soseki's best-known novels. Considered by many as the greatest writer in modern Japanese history, Soseki's I Am a Cat is a classic novel sure to be enjoyed for years to come.
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Great performance!
- By mz on 04-03-20
By: Soseki Natsume, and others
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Maurice
- By: E. M. Forster
- Narrated by: Peter Firth
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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'Ah for darkness...not the darkness of a house which coops up a man among furniture, but the darkness where he can be free!' Maurice Hall knows he must choose between living life in the shadows or denying himself a chance at love and fulfilment. Aware of his attraction to the same sex, in a time where it was considered unlawful and immoral to have homosexual desires, Maurice must decide whether to battle or submit to a prejudiced 20th-century English society.
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Finally!!! It's past time!
- By Christopher P. on 11-18-10
By: E. M. Forster
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The Yellow Wallpaper
- By: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Narrated by: Jo Myddleton
- Length: 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Instructed to abandon her intellectual life and avoid stimulating company, she sinks into a still-deeper depression invisible to her husband, who believes he knows what is best for her. Alone in the yellow-wallpapered nursery of a rented house, she descends into madness.
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A Visceral Reaction
- By Em on 05-02-12
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Burr
- A Novel (Narratives of Empire, Book 1)
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is an extraordinary portrait of one of the most complicated - and misunderstood - figures among the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice president, Aaron Burr fought a duel with his political nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, and killed him. In 1807, he was arrested, tried, and acquitted of treason. In 1833, Burr is newly married, an aging statesman considered a monster by many. But he is determined to tell his own story, and he chooses to confide in a young New York City journalist. Burr is the first novel in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series.
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Finally! Vidal's Great Take on the Life of Burr
- By John Norton on 06-12-19
By: Gore Vidal
What listeners say about What's Bred in the Bone
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- connie
- 04-05-08
Classic Can Lit
Recently I had the opportunity to listen to dozens of novels as I convalesced. This was one of my favorites as both novel and listening experience, undertaken just after a marathon of George Eliot,Trollope, & Galsworthy. Although Frederick Davidson is one of my favorite narrators, I was at first disappointed that a Brit was reading Can Lit, but he turned out to be almost perfect. His "almost British accent" while narrating suited perfectly a novel set in a time when Canada was emerging slowly from its colonialist ties to England. Some of Davidson's "Canadian" voices sounded a little "south of the border" to my ears, and I cringed when he at first anglicized the pronunciation of "Prime Minister Laurier," but overall, the narration was delightful, and the accents no more artificial than when a North American takes a stab at British dialects, I suppose.
Bred in the Bone is both a traditional novel and contemporary - A tale told traditionally but by an author with contemporary social and psychological insight and delightful wit. I wish Audible featured more of Davies' novels! And more classic Can Lit!
If you're looking for a clever read but without too much postmodern angst, this may be for you.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Sydney Wolf
- 12-15-22
Fascinating
Amazingly well told. Beautiful prose and intriguing plot. The narrator is perfectly paired with the writing!
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- Marjorie Thompson
- 01-19-15
Twists and Turns
If you could sum up What's Bred in the Bone in three words, what would they be?
Twisted, Intriguing, Layered
Who was your favorite character and why?
The House Servants that care for the unfortunate sibling.
Have you listened to any of Frederick Davidson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I would have enjoyed listening to it all in one sitting. There was never a good point to lay it down as there were characters introduced or another event unfolding that I wanted to discover.
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- Catlaw71
- 01-01-21
Literate, witty and totally human
I love Davies but this book is particularly wonderful, speaking of everything from music to war. His books would be with me on that desert island.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- dallas
- 12-08-10
wonderful book and the perfect narrator for it.
I was so very sad to reach the end of this book, it was the sort you hope will go one forever. I've always been a Robertson Davies fan, and had the privilege of attending a reading by him which just increased my admiration ten fold. What made this book so exceptional was the narrator who perfectly captured the brilliant dialog but also the subtly of the emotions behind the words. I cried at the end because I felt like I had lost a friend.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- GLENN
- 09-25-08
Living with the past
This is a novel of man who learns to live with who he is. He has the kind of haunted, rarified, occasionally brutal life that many Davies' characters endure, and enjoy from time to time. It is a tale worth telling.
Davies has a profound gift for characterization. Frank Cornish is as fully realized as any figure from biography. Davies is always sympathetic with his characters, and this sympathy lets us understand them in depth. Some of them turn out to be scoundrels, but he does not gloat over their downfalls, or rail at their triumphs. They are who they are, and his business is to reveal them.
Davies' prose as always is as clean and graceful as fine music. The story is darker than his "Rebel Angels" or the comic "Tempest Tost" and lacks the high drama of the Deptford Trilogy, but still a thoroughly rewarding read.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Christa South
- 05-19-21
Elevated Language and Great Writing
Robertson Davies is one of the most talented contemporary writers in the English language. He is high brow without being highbrow. Here he takes the often drippy and tedious story of the wealthy, old-monied family and kicks it up a notch with unusual characters and unexpected twists. I was sad the book ended, and am going right on to escape with another of his books. The art of conversation is not dead with Professor Davies at the pen!
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Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 01-10-15
Great work read admirably
A classic novel by Davies read engagingly by one of the best of narrators. A good introduction to one our greatest modern writers
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Overall
- Nancy
- 04-20-04
More Fabulous Robertson Daview
I loved this book (including the reader) and only wish it would go on and on. Less humerous and a bit darker than some of Robertson Davies' others (Salterton Tril, for example) but equally as entertaining. With Davies' superb subtlety and attention to detail and his extraordinary characters and their surroundings, the story of Francis Cornish takes us through the first half of the 20th century and two world wars almost as an aside. The Francis, the story and the words are the thing, well read and exquisitely crafted. A really brilliant, thought provoking work.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Janet C. Walker
- 06-13-03
Quirky enough for anyone.
I read this several months ago, and remember it as a pseudo anglophilic saga of Francis Cornish overwatched by his personal gods, muses or recorders and has lots of interesting twists.
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3 people found this helpful