Mona of the Manor

A Novel (Tales of the City, Book 10)

De: Armistead Maupin

Narrado por: Mara Wilson

Duración: 5 h y 45 m

Resumen del Editor

Narrated by Mara Wilson

“Maupin is one of America’s finest storytellers.”—Neil Gaiman

Set in the early 1990s, the long-awaited tenth novel in Armistead Maupin’s beloved and enduring Tales of the City series follows the adventures of Mona Ramsey, now the widowed Lady of a glorious old manor in Britain’s golden Cotswolds, and her fabulous adopted son Wilfred, as they come to the aid of an American visitor with a troubling secret.

When Mona Ramsey married Lord Teddy Roughton to secure his visa—allowing him to remain in San Francisco to fulfill his wildest dreams—she never imagined she would, by age 48, be the sole owner of Easley House, Teddy’s grand, romantic country manor in the UK. She also didn't imagine that she’d need to open the manor’s doors to paying guests to afford the electric bill and repair the leaking roof. Yet somehow she and her young friend Wilfred—whom guests assume is serving as Easley’s charming-but-clumsy butler—and the loopy old gardener Mr. Hargis, are making it work.

This delicate equilibrium is upended when Americans Rhonda and Ernie Blaylock arrive for a weekend vacation at Easley, and Wilfred stumbles onto their terrible secret. Now, instead of being able to focus on the imminent arrival of her old friend Michael Tolliver and beloved parent Anna Madrigal, Mona will need to focus all of her considerable charm, willpower, and wiles—and the help of Wilfred and Mona’s girlfriend Poppy, the town’s postmistress and local calligraphy whiz—to set things right before the Midsummer ceremony when the whole town will descend on Easley’s historic grounds.

©2024 Armistead Maupin (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Nice to “see”old friends again.

Cute story of our old friends. Nice to know they are still going strong.Looking forward to the next chapter.

THE GREAT ARMISTEAD DID IT AGAIN!

This was a wonderful story with an excellent reader. I hope there will be many more sequels with our friends from Barbary lane!

He just keeps getting better!

I love the early Tales, but he just becomes a better and better writer, as the years speed by, now beginning to blur with their rapid rush. Okay, getting older has not prevented me from remaining dreadful, but his skill continues to improve. Thank you so much for the gift of your fine work, sir!

loved Monas life in UK

This was a fun way to get a load of Mona's life post Barbary Lane. I enjoyed it thoroughly

I love spending time with old friends

from the moment I was introduced to the menagerie on Barbary Lane, I was obsessed. Enthralled. in LOVE.

I'VE

Comfortable read

I liked the characters- the setting. The conflicts were relatable. I read all the Barbary Lane books. Maupin creates a great world and lets you inhabit the characters.

Just ok

I think I’m finally done with Maupin. Love his characters and the storylines have mostly been interesting but I feel like he’s just mailing the last few in. It has been great and you might really enjoy this one. For me I would rather go back and re-read some of his earlier books.

A Sweet Family Love Story

Complex, Layered. A story about people growing emotionally into their true selves. The reader didn’t do accents very well and used the same sugary register through out which was annoying.

I disliked the narrator- she didn’t capture the spirit of what I know as Barbary lane - she was too modern - boring

I thought too much time was spent on what I consider peripheral characters. But then again I have read the original series many many times and I missed my “friends”. I wanted Anna hijinks :)

Going through the motions

The length of this book is telling. Maupin’s heart clearly wasn’t in this one. Having killed off Mona and Anna previously, he has to go back in time to tell this story. This is not his forte. He does best work when he can use Michael as his alter ego in the current moment. This story is as two-dimensional as all memories. It is the first time I’ve been disappointed with a Tales of the City novel.