New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, debutante Annabelle Worthington could be considered saintly, selfless, or spineless, depending on your point of view. Jay O. Sanders recounts Annabelle's life, starting with her marriage to her late father's business associate. Within two years, her husband divorces her, for mysterious reasons, and she flees to WWI Paris, where she is raped, has a child, and eventually becomes a doctor. Sanders reads Annabelle’s story in his usual soft tone, switching accents flawlessly and giving each character personality. Unperturbed by cruel words and violent actions, Sanders captures Annabelle's determination to overcome all the blows that life throws her way.
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2008
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance 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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