Grace Experience narrates the lion's share of this audiobook, with cameos from additional narrators who deliver the notes and observations that begin each chapter. Experience's high-pitched voice is suitable for the character of 24-year-old Mary Deerfield, who recounts the story of her life in 1662 Boston. Mary, the sometimes shrill second wife of the abusive Thomas Deerfield, sues for divorce after he beats her and stabs her in the hand. While Experience captures Thomas's cruelty and lack of empathy, the other women she portrays sound similar to Mary regardless of age and station. Nonetheless, Experience ensures that the novel's tongue-twisting period language flows smoothly throughout Mary's trial for divorce and witchcraft at a time when Boston is rife with mistrust, superstition, and rumors of devilry.
Pub Date: May 4, 2021
Duration: 14 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593348826
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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