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The Reef
- Narrated by: Kristen Underwood
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
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The Reef
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Publisher's summary
The affair becomes the reef on which four lives are in danger of foundering: two of them innocent and two of them burdened with experience and tinged with desperation. This is a story of the drastic effects of a casual sexual betrayal and a clear-eyed assessment of the possibilities and limitations of human love.
Critic reviews
"The novel...was most enthusiastically admired by Henry James, and one can see why, for it is most Jamesian....It marks the peak of her most brilliant period of creativity....And for us it is a chance to see what can be achieved in the pursuit of moral truths." (Anita Brookner)
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-
Story5 out of 5 stars 18,192
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
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The Ambassadors
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 18 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 64
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4 out of 5 stars 58
Lambert Strether, a mild, middle-aged American of no particular achievements, is dispatched to Paris from the manufacturing empire of Woollett, Massachusetts. The mission conferred on him by his august patron, Mrs. Newsome, is to discover what, or who, is keeping her son Chad in the notorious city of pleasure and to bring him home. But Strether finds Chad transformed by the influence of a remarkable woman.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Henry James can be hard to follow but worth it
- By Patricia on 01-29-13
By: Henry James
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Beware of Pity
- By: Stefan Zweig
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 234
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 207
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 204
In the twilight of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a young cavalry officer is invited to a dance at the home of a rich landowner. There - with a small act of attempted charity - he commits a simple faux pas. But from this seemingly insignificant blunder comes a tale of catastrophe arising from kindness and of honour poisoned by self-regard. Beware of Pity has all the intensity and the formidable sense of torment and of character of the very best of Zweig's work. Definitive translation by the award-winning Anthea Bell.
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5 out of 5 stars
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One of my favorite authors
- By Adeliese Baumann on 03-21-18
By: Stefan Zweig
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Howards End
- By: E. M. Forster
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 256
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 231
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 224
Howards End is a beautifully subtle tale of two very different families brought together by an unusual event. The Schlegels are intellectuals, devotees of art and literature. The Wilcoxes are practical and materialistic, leading lives of "telegrams and anger". When the elder Mrs. Wilcox dies and her family discovers she has left their country home - Howards End - to one of the Schlegel sisters, a crisis between the two families is precipitated that takes years to resolve.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic Narration in Delightful Story
- By Wren on 05-05-18
By: E. M. Forster
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Letter from an Unknown Woman
- By: Stefan Zweig
- Narrated by: Heather Wood, K. Anderson Yancy
- Length: 1 hr and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 76
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
Immediately following the death of her young son, distraught and heartbroken, a woman sends a heart-wrenching letter to the only man she has ever loved, chronicling their love affair, opening with, "To you, who have never known me."
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3 out of 5 stars
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Tough 2 Hear With Background Music & Sound Effects
- By DK on 09-19-15
By: Stefan Zweig
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The Woman in White
- By: Wilkie Collins
- Narrated by: Andrea Giordani
- Length: 25 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story5 out of 5 stars 38
Through a series of calculated moves that involve death and a large inheritance, a small community is rocked and shrouded in mystery at the hands of the conniving Sir Percival Glyde, who is interested only in making himself wealthy at the hands of others.... Celebrated as one of the first popular mystery novels, The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins, skillfully incorporates the twisting and turning of more than a few plot lines that all manage to converge beautifully at the end of the work.
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3 out of 5 stars
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horrible technically - echoes at most of the words
- By James D. Coburn on 12-30-15
By: Wilkie Collins
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The Four Feathers
- By: A. E. W. Mason
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 257
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 208
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 207
Just before his regiment sails off to war in the Sudan, British officer Harry Feversham quits the military. He is immediately given four white feathers as symbols of cowardice, one by each of his three best friends and one by his fiancée. To disprove this grave dishonor, Harry dons an Arabian disguise and leaves for the Sudan, where he anonymously comes to the aid of his three friends, saving each of their lives. Having proven his bravery, Harry returns to England, hoping to regain the love and respect of his fiancée.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Deep Realistic Story Masterfully Read
- By Kappavpi on 07-05-04
By: A. E. W. Mason
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North and South
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,223
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 6,424
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,428
Written at the request of Charles Dickens, North and South is a book about rebellion that poses fundamental questions about the nature of social authority and obedience. Gaskell expertly blends individual feeling with social concern and her heroine, Margaret Hale, is one of the most original creations of Victorian literature. When Margaret Hale's father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience she is forced to leave her comfortable home in the tranquil countryside of Hampshire....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Delightful
- By Sally on 01-04-10
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A Room with a View
- By: E. M. Forster
- Narrated by: Rebecca Hall
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,291
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,071
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,071
In this rich new audio production, acclaimed British American actress Rebecca Hall brings one of E. M. Forster's most admired works to life in this classic tale of human struggle. A charming young Englishwoman, Lucy Honeychurch, is wooed by both free-spirited George Emerson and wealthy Cecil Vyse while vacationing in Italy. Though attracted to George, Lucy becomes engaged to Cecil despite twice turning down his proposals. On hearing of the news, George confesses his love, leaving Lucy torn between marrying the more socially acceptable Cecil or George, the man she knows would bring her true happiness. Should Lucy choose social acceptance or true love?
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5 out of 5 stars
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A lovely performance, and a wonderful story
- By Robert on 01-19-19
By: E. M. Forster
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The Best Man
- By: Grace Livingston Hill
- Narrated by: Anne Hancock
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 99
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story5 out of 5 stars 84
Cyril Gordon, an intrepid Secret Service Agent, has completed part of his mission in obtaining a coded message vital to the nation's security. But desperate men are pursuing him and with the help of a handy cab and a disguise, he makes his escape. The cab deposits him at a church where, astoundingly, everyone seems to be waiting for him to complete a wedding party, certain he's the missing best man.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Art Deco Romance
- By Miss Right on 12-12-18
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Dawn of the Morning
- By: Grace Livingston Hill
- Narrated by: Paula Faye Leinweber
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story5 out of 5 stars 41
Dawn of the Morning is the story of a young woman coming of age in the early 1800s. Having never known a loving home, she is sent away to school by her hard and unfeeling father and stepmother, and a marriage is arranged for her to a man she dislikes and fears.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding!
- By MrsAlex on 05-07-19
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The Return of the Native
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Nicholas Rowe
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
In the remote wildness of Egdon Heath, the crossed love affairs and marriages of a small group of people are played out against the background of nature’s beauty and indifference to mankind. Through a series of vivid incidents and encounters, The Return of the Native moves in a relentless drive towards tragedy, as the plans and dreams of the lovers miscarry, defeated by chance, or destiny or self-deception. In their unhappy stories, Hardy gives us a powerful dramatization of his bleak philosophy, his belief in man’s helplessness before the malevolence of the universe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thomas Hardy
- By Jeff Lacy on 05-06-17
By: Thomas Hardy
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The Return of the Native
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Alan Rickman
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,661
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,496
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,466
Set on Egdon Heath, a fictional barren moor in Wessex, Eustacia Vye longs for the excitement of city life but is cut off from the world in her grandfather's lonely cottage. Clym Yeobright who has returned to the area to become a schoolmaster seems to offer everything she dreams of: passion, excitement and the opportunity to escape. However, Clym's ambitions are quite different, and marriage only increases Eustacia's destructive restlessness, drawing others into a tangled web of deceit and unhappiness.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Perfect Pairing
- By Mel on 11-04-12
By: Thomas Hardy
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What listeners say about The Reef
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Yennta
- 09-11-10
Wharton's Best?
I haven't read them all, but I've read many and for me, this is her very best. The characters are fascinating. The hero is a dolt, but Wharton makes him fascinating in his doltishness. The heroine was simply born at the wrong time, but she's touching and her fate involves you. Great narrator!
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Kenneth
- 03-20-09
Another compelling Wharton-style dilemma
I have always found the work of Edith Wharton deeply compelling, because I empathize so strongly with the characters and even as I watch them make disastrous mistakes, I can't help wishing there was some way they could avoid the inevitable tragic consequences of their mistakes. This was so with Ethan Frome and The House of Mirth, and it is equally so of The Reef. However, this book ends with an odd and surprising conclusion that to my mind was ambiguous. I felt this detracted from what was otherwise a complex and powerful story.
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6 people found this helpful