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The Luminaries
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 29 hrs and 15 mins
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Publisher's summary
Longlisted – Baileys Women’s Prize 2014
Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2013
Canadian Governor General's Literary Award, 2013.
It is 1866 and Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of 12 local men, who have met in secret to discuss a series of unsolved crimes. A wealthy man has vanished, a whore has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely patterned as the night sky.
The Luminaries is an extraordinary piece of fiction. Written in pitch-perfect historical register, richly evoking a mid-19th-century world of shipping and banking and goldrush boom and bust, it is also a ghost story, and a gripping mystery. It is a thrilling achievement for someone still in her mid-20s, and will confirm for critics and listeners that Catton is one of the brightest stars in the international writing firmament.
Eleanor Catton was born in 1985 in Canada and raised in New Zealand. She completed an MA in Creative Writing at Victoria University in 2007 and won the Adam Prize in Creative Writing for The Rehearsal. She was the recipient of the 2008 Glenn Schaeffer Fellowship to study for a year at the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop in the US and went on to hold a position as Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing there, teaching Creative Writing and Popular Culture. Eleanor won a 2010 New Generation Award. She now lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
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Set against the colorful tumult of events that gave rise to our fledgling nation, this novel of romance and adventure introduces Phillipe Charboneau. The illegitimate son of an English nobleman, Phillipe flees Europe and, as Philip Kent, joins the men who set our course for freedom. The Bastard is the first volume in the Kent Family Chronicles, a series of novels that details one family's journey in the early years of the American nation.
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An Amazing Tale
- By will on 11-06-13
By: John Jakes
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Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance
- By: Gyles Brandreth
- Narrated by: Bill Wallis
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Overall
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Performance
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London, 1889. Oscar Wilde, celebrated poet, wit, playwright, and raconteur is the literary sensation of his age. All Europe lies at his feet. Yet when he chances across the naked corpse of sixteen-year-old Billy Wood, posed by candlelight in a dark stifling attic room, he cannot ignore the brutal murder. With the help of fellow author Arthur Conan Doyle he sets out to solve the crime - but it is Wilde's unparalleled access to all degrees of late Victorian life, from society drawing rooms to the underclass, that will prove the decisive factor in their investigation....
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needs glue
- By connie on 11-13-11
By: Gyles Brandreth
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The Agency 1: A Spy in the House
- By: Y. S. Lee
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Story
In Victorian England, orphan Mary Quinn lives on the edge. Sentenced as a thief at the age of 12, she’s rescued from the gallows by a woman posing as a prison warden. In her new home, Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls, Mary acquires a singular education, fine manners, and a surprising opportunity. The school is a cover for the Agency — an elite, top secret corps of female investigators with a reputation for results — and at 17, Mary’s about to join their ranks.
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yes, it's YA-but credible for genre for any age
- By connie on 02-25-11
By: Y. S. Lee
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Jack Maggs
- By: Peter Carey
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
With scars on his back and silver in his pocket, the huge figure of Jack Maggs strides across the rich landscape of 19th century London. As this enigmatic man moves through its streets and houses, his single-minded quest to find his son will engender love, deceit, and vengeance in the lives around him.
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Jack Maggs
- By Kathleen on 04-04-05
By: Peter Carey
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Mortal Mischief
- By: Frank Tallis
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
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Performance
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Story
Vienna, 1902: A beautiful medium has been found shot dead, and Dr Max Liebermann, a young disciple of Sigmund Freud, is called upon to help his friend Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt investigate her death. The room containing the body has been locked from the inside, and a cryptic note suggests a malevolent supernatural power is at work. Using the new science of psychoanalysis, Liebermann probes the minds of the suspects in an attempt to unravel this bewildering crime.
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Ho-hum Victorian mystery
- By Nancy E Day on 09-17-12
By: Frank Tallis
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Blindspot
- By a Gentleman in Exile and a Lady in Disguise
- By: Jane Kamensky, Jill Lepore
- Narrated by: John Lee, Cassandra Campbell
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Set in boisterous, rebellious Boston on the eve of the American Revolution, Blindspot ingeniously weaves together the fictional stories of Stewart Jameson, a Scottish portrait painter and notorious libertine, and Fanny Easton, a fallen woman from one of Boston's most powerful families who disguises herself as a boy to become Jameson's defiant and seductive apprentice. Together with an African-born doctor, they investigate the death of the famous revolutionary leader Samuel Bradstreet.
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Disappointing
- By Cariola on 03-06-09
By: Jane Kamensky, and others
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Dust and Shadow
- An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson
- By: Lyndsay Faye
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Overall
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Breathless and painstakingly researched, this is a stunning debut mystery in which Sherlock Holmes unmasks Jack the Ripper. Lyndsay Faye perfectly captures all the color and syntax of Conan Doyle’s distinctive nineteenth-century London.
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Excellent!
- By Wadie on 01-07-11
By: Lyndsay Faye
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Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
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In this carefully crafted novel, Dickens reveals the complexity of London society in the enterprising 1840s as he takes the listener into the business firm and home of one of its most representative patriarchs, Paul Dombey.
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Perfect pair
- By Philip on 03-25-08
By: Charles Dickens
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The Lost World (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Arthur Conan Doyle
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong
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There’s only one way for Professor George Edward Challenger to prove that dinosaurs still roam the earth. He invites skeptical journalist Edward Malone to accompany him and a group of adventurers to see the creatures with his own eyes. But when they arrive at the fantastic volcanic plateau in the Amazon where time stands still, their expedition quickly becomes one of survival. With its cliff-hanging escapes, rousing humor, and nailbiting suspense, The Lost World is a pioneering work of fantasy-adventure that paved the way for every thrill ride to follow.
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Wonderful book!
- By Arron on 03-07-21
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The King's Return
- By: Andrew Swanston
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
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- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
The king's coronation brings hope. Until a murderer strikes. Spring 1661: After years of civil war followed by Oliver Cromwell's joyless rule as Lord Protector, England awaits the coronation of King Charles II. The mood in London is one of relief and hope for a better future. But when two respectable gentlemen are found in a foul lane with their throats cut, it becomes apparent that England's enemies are using the newly re-established post office for their own ends.
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More please
- By tara souther on 12-22-22
By: Andrew Swanston
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The Whiskey Rebels
- By: David Liss
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
At his most desperate moment, Ethan Saunders is recruited to find his ex-fiancée's missing husband. Meanwhile, Joan Maycott and her Revolutionary War veteran husband distill whiskey on the western Pennsylvania frontier. As their causes intertwine, Joan and Saunders - both patriots in their own way - find themselves on opposing sides of a daring scheme that will forever change their lives and their new country.
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In My Top 10 - Maybe Top 5 At Audible
- By Lulu on 10-31-12
By: David Liss
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The Cater Street Hangman
- By: Anne Perry
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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When a maid in the upper class Ellison household is strangled, Inspector Pitt is called in to investigate. He finds a world ruled by strict manners and social customs, where the inhabitants of the Ellison's neighborhood appear to be more outraged by the thought of scandal than they are by murder. Inspector Pitt finds a most unlikely ally in Charlotte, the Ellison's spirited daughter. But as the murders continue, Charlotte and Pitt find themselves drawn together by more than the investigation.
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I really like this book but it's not for everone
- By Ancient Warrior on 03-14-11
By: Anne Perry
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Dying in the Wool
- A Kate Shackleton Mystery, Book 1
- By: Frances Brody
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
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Bridgestead is a peaceful spot: a babbling brook, rolling hills, and a working mill at its heart. Pretty and remote, nothing exceptional happens...until the day that Master of the Mill Joshua Braithwaite goes missing under dramatic circumstances, never to be heard of again. Now Joshua's daughter is getting married and wants to make one last attempt at finding her father. Kate Shackleton has always loved solving puzzles. So who better to get to the bottom of Joshua's mysterious disappearance?
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Fluff & Nonsense
- By Sara on 01-03-15
By: Frances Brody
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What listeners say about The Luminaries
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ian C Robertson
- 01-09-14
Literally Dickensian
This is an outstanding second novel from this young woman. It has all the hallmarks of a Dickensian novel; complex plot, numerous characters, intrigue, a Court case, coincidence, violence and era. The characters are well developed caricatures; Carver is the malevolent villain, Lydia the scheming widower, Anna the innocent girl gone astray and Moody the son stepping out of his father's dark shadow.
I agree with other reviewers that a List of Characters is essential (so I got myself a copy from the front of the printed text - it's not yet on Wiki), but I disagree that the diagrams in the text are at all helpful. The diagrams only make sense if you can read astrological charts (which I cannot) and I suggest are more confusing than enlightening.
I also agree that the tale is too long. It could easily have ended after the trial. Sure, there would have been loose ends, but there were some anyway (what happened to Moody's father, for example). The conceit of the structure (very clever, admittedly) would have suffered, but not the novel. I read an extract of an interview with the author where she postulated that the structure-plot tension was part of an experiment to see if the former could be maintained without expense to the latter. On the evidence of this attempt, I would answer the question, "No".
As for the performance, I thought Mark Meadows did a sterling job. His narrator's voice reminds me of Jack Davenport (from "Coupling"), or perhaps Arthur Dent's voice from the BBC version of "Hitchhiker's Guide", while his Lauderback was Roland Coleman-like (or perhaps more accurately, Don Adams mimicking Coleman). His female characterisations were good, too, but even he could not capture the difficult to credit transition of Anna from innocent to whore and back again.
Overall, the title is well worth the listen to about the end of Part 8 or 9. After that, I don't think you will miss much in the way of plot, except for the frustration of the summary being longer than the chapter that follows.
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- james d. thomas
- 10-28-13
Best of the Year
(At least so far). The book itself is epic, haunting and beautiful, filled with fascinating characters. The audio narration is surprisingly good considering the range of dialects, accents and ethnicities portrayed. Happily the narrator never loses focus from the suspenseful, convoluted and complex plot. I have read the novel twice now, and the audio is a worthy addition. Fast, fresh and funny. A memorable wallow in the "old west" of New Zealand.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Chelle
- 06-17-19
Beautifully crafted, but .....
4-*
I really liked this book until I got to the (seriously) waning portion, Part Nine, onwards. The first quarter of the book had shades of Wilkie Collins in it - an involved 19th century mystery with lots(!) of characters, a wronged woman (a prostitute), a fortune at stake, and some seriously shady bad guys -then the last quarter seemed to race towards a less than stellar ending for me. Perhaps if I was more au fait with the astrology thrust of the book, or had someone to explain that aspect clearly to me, I would have enjoyed it more.
I was tempted to give it 3*, but since I enjoyed three-quarters of the book I gifted it the extra star.
(Here's the 'but': It's so well written, just, for me, it felt like a "meh" way to end such a beautifully crafted book).
This is a clean read, for others that like to know things like that too: The story does have an opium taking, totally likeable, whore as one of the central characters. No gratuitous or steamy sex scenes, just an ambling along, loooong, read.
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- E
- 10-20-15
Terrific book, wonderfully woven tales
This is my second listening. The reader does an amazing job with the voices and this complex story unfolds like an origami box.
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- Jeremy
- 12-18-13
A captivating tale, beautifully written
I did enjoy this book. The narrator did a great job bringing it to life. Ms Catton has written a story that lingers in the memory after creating a vivid snap-shot of life on the 19th century New Zealand gold fields. It starts from small beginnings and gradually more and more characters and their stories (and perspectives/involvement) are added. It's really well written book and certainly has a poignancy to it.
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- Seth
- 07-19-20
A Dickensian tale of New Zealand gold rush confusion
A valiant attempt at the style of Charles Dickens (Tale of Two Cities) or evening Hugo but a dozen too many similar characters of white men, the cookie cutter female villainess and the obligatory dimwitted prostitute set against a zodiac calendar that was put in a blender = a need for a much needed editor.
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- Dutch
- 04-15-14
Enthralling
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This is richly detailed work of fiction with beautifully drawn characters and an elaborate plot.
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- Andrew
- 06-24-14
Good but not good enough...
...to justify overly complex structure of over-lapping plot lines. The ending wasn't so much an anticipated insight or understanding, but a relief I kinda sorta got what had happened.
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- Braden Batch
- 07-24-14
Catton is now a name I look for at the book store!
Would you consider the audio edition of The Luminaries to be better than the print version?
They are both excellent.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Luminaries?
I would rather not spoil any part of the book, people shouldn't answer this question.
Which character – as performed by Mark Meadows – was your favorite?
For different reasons I liked different characters, Gascoigne's accent had a great charm to it. That said, I really had trouble with Lidia Well's voice, but I cant tell if its the actor or the character herself that irked me.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
There is a couple of very sad moments that put me in a somber mood. There is real tragedy that befalls certain characters, and I reacted to that.
Any additional comments?
I had no real expectation of this book. The setting in 1800s New Zealand at first seemed so irrelevant, but after getting to know some characters I really started to appreciate the story telling. This book is, if nothing else, superb storytelling, and could be set anywhere. I will be a lifelong fan of Catton's, and I look forward to reading her other works.
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- ljcoug
- 07-29-16
All the accents
As this is quite a long book with many new characters thrust upon you at the beginning (think Game of Thrones), I found it helpful that the reader skillfully adopted different voices/accents to distinguish the characters. However, when he was doing a female voice, I found that I wanted to punch him in the face as it always came out like some bizarre, whining female caricature. I guess you win some, and you lose some.
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