The Flame and the Flower

The Birmingham Family, Book 1

De: Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Narrado por: Ashford McNab

Duración: 18 h y 46 m

Resumen del Editor

New York Times best-selling author Kathleen E. Woodiwiss's debut romance....

The Flower

Doomed to a life of unending toil, Heather Simmons fears for her innocence—until a shocking, desperate act forces her to flee...and to seek refuge in the arms of a virile and dangerous stranger.

The Flame

A lusty adventurer married to the sea, Captain Brandon Birmingham courts scorn and peril when he abducts the beautiful fugitive from the tumultuous London dockside. But no power on Earth can compel him to relinquish his exquisite prize. For he is determined to make the sapphire-eyed lovely his woman...and to carry her off to far, uncharted realms of sensuous, passionate love.

©2009 Kathleen E. Woodiwiss (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

They did this audio book justice

I first read this book back in the 1970s and absolutely loved it. I have reread it several times and it will always be a favorite. When I learned it was coming out in audible format I was so excited but concerned that the narration would not be good. But it was great! I bought several other of the audiobooks by this author now to listen to and I hope you will all enjoy them as well.

Performance ruined it for me

As a southerner, I was greatly offended by the southern accents. Egregious. Hard to get through a well-loved classic because of narration.

Perfect

Just as I remembered so many years ago. Ashford McNab, and Cassandra York brought the characters to life.

Yes !!!!!!;!!!

I loved this book !!! It was worth the wait. listening was joy. I'm so happy !

Nope

Read this book when it first came out years and years ago. Actually read all of Woodiwiss’ books. Loved them! So…you can imagine my excitement when I saw them available on Audible. The content of the book can be disturbing however it was written accurately for era…shameful that it was.

I hate to be unkind but the narration of this book is HORRIBLE. Brandon sounds like a prissy dandy, and Hattie does not sound at all black. When I read a book, I perform all the voices in my head as I think they might sound or how I want them to sound. Brandon (in my head) sounds more like Jack Reacher or James Reece, with a slight southern accent. Both of these fictional characters are bad asses as is Brandon. Whoever is responsible for choosing narrators really missed the mark on this one…big time!

One of my favorites.

Such a beautiful historical Romance. Woodiwiss is one of my favorite authors & this one doesn’t disappoint.

Sweeping Romance

I loved filling the love story of the Birmingham’s. The historical setting makes this books a wonderful historical romance… highly recommended

Worth the wait

Such an amazing author. Better than I remembered. Can’t wait to listen to more of her books!

The forward is fantastic

Please ignore reviews complaining about the foreword, which is fascinating and respectful of both Woodiwiss and her readers. While it’s totally fair to not want to think that deeply about the books, there are plenty of people who will want to just that. Just skip the forward if you’re not interested.

Jayashree Kamblé situates the books in their 20th-century context, which is important for readers unfamiliar with Woodiwiss and the genre she helped define. Of course the gender politics are somewhat dated, but her point is that for their time these books were revolutionary in their depiction of women’s desire and agency. It’s very cool to know how much Woodiwiss was invested in portraying women as sexual agents rather than objects. Critique does not equal denigration. And the same goes for pointing out that Woodiwiss’ books set in the Americas have a weird way of depicting slavery that reflects our still-extant difficulties reckoning with our slave-holding past. She’s not taking Woodiwiss to task, she’s telling readers that yes, it is weird that all of Brandon Birmingham’s slaves are referred to as servants even though other people’s slaves are just called slaves. You’re not the only one who noticed and isn’t it interesting to think about what it means to have a romantic hero participate in a racist and inhumane system?

All that said, the book, despite its outdated depiction of gender and racial dynamics remains compelling. The characters are sharply drawn and the writing retains its energy. The narrator is great too (although I dislike her portrayal of Thomas Hint because he doesn’t sound threatening enough for me).

This is one of the first romance novels I ever read and one that my late mother and I loved together. We even at one point bought ourselves (fake) pearl necklaces with ruby pendants in honor of the connection we shared over this book. My mother even named me after the heroine in Ashes in the Wind. So, needless to say, I will always love this novel and all of Woodiwiss’ work. The added context just makes my enjoyment richer.

I waited for this for months!

Let me say that I read this first in the 70's when I watched the older camp counselors all reading it at every meal at Summer Camp. How my Mother let me read it, I'm still not sure , but the romance bug hit me and never left! I loved this book & read her other books,but none was like "The Flame & the Flower". I loved the story , but performance so-so ( not sure about Heather and Hattie's accents) .I have to say that I listened in the car, on my kindle , at lunch at work, doing the house cleaning.... you name it I was listening! For those who say Brandon's behavior was suspect , I remind that this book was written at a very different time for male/female relationships and that those relationships were even more different in the 19th century; take the book for the enjoyable story it is and the precursor to all the romance books we love today and not look at it through 21st century eye. Enjoy! I'm now going on to my next Woodiwiss favorite " A Rose in Winter"