Du Maurier's great-great-grandmother, Mary Anne Clarke, was mistress to the Duke of York during the Napoleonic Wars. In a sometimes cumbersome combination of fact and fiction, du Maurier chronicles the rags-to-riches tale of her bright, ambitious, amoral ancestor, who, overwhelmed by youthful passion, marries at 16. After her husband drinks himself into insensibility and is institutionalized, she passes as a widow, attracting the attention of the duke. Carole Boyd creates an appealing, headstrong Mary Anne. Her attitude is whimsical, often mischievous, as the young woman recognizes her taste for luxury and power. In intimate tones, she reveals the skilled courtesan who finally overreaches herself. However, in the sections recreating the House of Commons investigation into the duke's activities, not even Boyd's performance can keep things from bogging down.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2002
Duration: 12 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
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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