Narrator Robin Miles doesn't miss a nuance in this passionate fictionalization of Jessie Redmon Fauset's life (18821961). W.E.B. Du Bois, founder and editor of the NAACP's magazine THE CRISIS, hired Fauset as literary editor, a prestigious appointment unheard of for a woman, particularly a Black woman, in her time. Fauset's unprecedented work finding and first publishing soon-to-be literary giants such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKay, giving birth to the Harlem Renaissance, is a little-known story deserving attention. Recounting details of Fauset's long-term relationship with Du Bois, Miles handles Jessie's personal revelations with clarity and dignity. Miles is so convincing that listeners will deeply feel Jessie's pain, elation, and strength of purpose. Don't miss the informative author's notes following this captivating novel.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
Duration: 15 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780593950982
Publisher: Penguin 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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