The real little girl who inspired the children's classics about Alice in Wonderland was as provocative and almost as mysterious as the character in the books. In this well-researched novel, Melanie Benjamin uses the freedom of fiction to explore the complicated relationship between Alice Liddell Hargreaves and the man who created her alter ego, Oxford professor Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll). Samantha Eggar provides a sympathetic, enlightening narration throughout. Her wonderfully warm, crisp British voice sounds right, and she varies pace and tone beautifully to sustain our interest throughout the book's captivating, if occasionally overwrought, narrative. Eggar also changes her pitch just enough to let us know when Alice the child versus Alice the adult is speaking—important in this circuitous tale. An altogether beautiful read of an intriguing novel.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2010
Duration: 12 hrs
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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