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The Walworth Beauty
- Narrated by: Jenny Coverak
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
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The Walworth Beauty
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Summary
From the Booker-shortlisted author comes a sensuous, evocative novel exploring the lives of women in Victorian London, for fans of Sarah Waters, Emma Donoghue and Kate Atkinson.
2011: When Madeleine loses her job as a lecturer, she decides to leave her riverside flat in cobbled Stew Lane, where history never feels far away, and move to Apricot Place. Yet here too, in this quiet Walworth cul-de-sac, she senses the past encroaching: a shifting in the atmosphere, a current of unseen life.
1851: and Joseph Benson has been employed by Henry Mayhew to help research his articles on the working classes. A family man with mouths to feed, Joseph is tasked with coaxing testimony from prostitutes. Roaming the Southwark streets, he is tempted by brothels' promises of pleasure - and as he struggles with his assignment, he seeks answers in Apricot Place, where the enigmatic Mrs Dulcimer runs a boarding house.
As these entwined stories unfold, alive with the sensations of London past and present, the two eras brush against each other - a breath at Madeleine's neck, a voice in her head - the murmurs of ghosts echoing through time. Rendered in immediate, intoxicating prose, The Walworth Beauty is a haunting tale of desire and exploitation, isolation and loss, and the faltering search for human connection; this is Michele Roberts at her masterful best.
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What listeners say about The Walworth Beauty
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- LoveReading
- 14-04-23
Interesting idea
I’m really interested in London history, and liked the idea of a novel about Mayhew. I liked the linking of the modern and Victorian stories, the strong sense of place and some interesting characters.
The narration was okay but had lots of poor pronunciation and not enough differentiation between characters.
Although it’s written by a woman I felt it didn’t really get to grips with women’s lives, for example the depiction of Victorian prostitution was mainly from the perspective of a man who uses, and fantasises about, prostitutes. There was little sense of how dangerous those women’s lives were or how little power they had over their own lives. And the modern character of Madeline is stalked and threatened but doesn’t tell anyone about it, and the resolution of that part is unsatisfactory.
Overall, an interesting but disappointing novel.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Earthymama
- 25-06-17
Wonderful story
I love Michele Roberts' work.
I highly recommend this novel
I haven't given the reading 5* because my audible copy was muffled
The performance was great, I think it was something to do with the recording
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- MS REBECCA WARREN
- 13-07-18
I Did Try To listen To The Whole Book
To be honest I was not gripped or impressed. I did not particularly like the narration and maybe that put me off. I was hoping to be enthralled and I just got very bored with the story. Disjointed (I can usually do disjointed very happily) not quite up to the mark, a could do better.
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