Avoth portrays the troubled rich with understanding and feeling.
Narrator Justin Avoth delivers the upper-crust accents and supercilious manner of the characters in this final novel by master storyteller James. This witty comedy critiques social status, the whims of the very rich, and the debate over what constitutes art and who should own certain masterpieces—the wealthy or the public. Avoth’s portrayal of Lord Theign, a man forced to save his daughter, Kitty, from financial ruin after a string of unsuccessful gambles, is empathetic and moving. He decides to sell his prized painting, Duchess of Waterbridge, but public opinion ultimately forces him to choose between selling it or displaying it in a public gallery.
Avoth portrays the troubled rich with understanding and feeling.Pub Date: April 21, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 7 mins
DD ISBN: 9781781986158
Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2026
Published in 1927, this lost gem connects the gilded voice of the Edwardian age with the devastation and carnage of WWI.
Justin Avoth has the voice of England. He just does. And herethat voice embodies a literary world lost between Hardy and Hemingway, when an orphaned adolescent is left with a dour, very Victorian aunt and a grim, miserly grandfather. Clare goes on to find true love, suffer a devastating loss, and carve out her own identity surrounded by melodramatic in-laws, horseless carriages, and prying clergy. Avoth is at his best narrating the detailed, breathless descriptions of the West Midlands, and he is especially vivid when he gives voice to Clare’s maturation as a woman of means and mother of a son wounded in battle.
Published in 1927, this lost gem connects the gilded voice of the Edwardian age with the devastation and carnage of WWI.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2025
Duration: 29 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781781985588
Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2026
Booth delivers an engaging version of a historically significant work that still deserves attention.
Jonathan Booth’s performance of these essays on political and military science clearly and ably presents Machiavelli’s arguments. Machiavelli’s ideas, while based on examples from ancient and Renaissance history, are often still valid and applicable today. Booth’s tone mirrors Machiavelli’s: serious but friendly, thoughtful, and deeply interested in his topic and in conveying it to his audience. Booth’s performance is unobtrusively precise, and he matches his expression, inflection, and emphasis to the meaning of the text. His pace is on the quick side of comfortable, but his energy and his understanding of the material draw the listener along through the occasional dry patch.
Booth delivers an engaging version of a historically significant work that still deserves attention.Pub Date: Dec. 31, 2025
Duration: 15 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781781985762
Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks
Review Posted Online: March 25, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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