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The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

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The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

By: Susanna Clarke
Narrated by: Davina Porter, Simon Prebble
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Following the enormous success of 2004 bestseller and critics' favorite Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke delivers a delicious collection of ten stories set in the same fairy-crossed world of 19th-century England. With Clarke's characteristic historical detail and diction, these dark, enchanting tales unfold in a slightly distorted version of our own world, where people are bedeviled by mischievous interventions from the fairies. With appearances from beloved characters from her novel, including Jonathan Strange and Childermass, and an entirely new spin on certain historical figures, including Mary, Queen of Scots, this is a must-have for fans of Susanna Clarke and an enticing introduction to her work for new listeners.

 Anthologies & Short Stories Classics Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction Short Stories Feel-Good Paranormal
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Critic reviews

“Ravishing...superb...combines the dark mythology of fantasy with the delicious social comedy of Jane Austen into a masterpiece of the genre that rivals Tolkien.” —Time on Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

“Clarke welcomes herself into an exalted company of British writers--not only, some might argue, Dickens and Austen, but also the fantasy legends Kenneth Grahame and George MacDonald--as well as contemporary writers like Susan Cooper and Philip Pullman.” —The New York Times Book Review on Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

“There's no better way to experience the material than to hear it performed by such a consummate actor.” —Publishers Weekly on Simon Prebble's narration
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Excellent stories, in the vein of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Some of the editing spoils it, with gaps of 5-10 seconds at various points, and some of the chapters not being correctly divided, such a Mr Simonelli running into The Fairy Bridge. My personal highlight was the Charcoal Burner, closely followed by On Lickerish Hill, both clearly inspired by fairy tales, the likes of which my grandparents would recite to us.

Magic

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the book is great, there's an issue with the recording halfway through what is labelled tom brightwind

brilliantly funny

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If you loved the world of Jonathon Strange & Mr Norrell, then you will feel at home here. Returning is like visiting an old friend. The compendium of short stories however all feel a little unfinished and there's very little connection between them either. Ultimately when it ends you find yourself thinking-- 'Is that it? I was watching that.'

Big mistake to change the narrator from those used on Strange & Norrell.

An appendix to Strange & Norrell

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It's an excellent book, the historical voices employed are wonderful, it's marvellous to get glimpses of the world of Jonathan Strange at different points in it's history.

I have a beef with the title story, the 'heroines' are so utterly unlikeable, snotty, deceitful, workshy, privileged, ignorant and self satisfied, they seem a poor choice for a story that seems to champion women taking hold of their own lives, but maybe I'm missing something?

The rest of the stories are just marvellous, don't be put off by my niggling, this book is pure entertainment and deep scholarship, enjoy 🙂

A pageant of wonders

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I downloaded this book after listening to 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell'. JS&MN is a long story with single plot running through the book, with little subplots and stories of faerie woven in. 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu' is a collection of shorter stories, all which have the same charm as those in the former book. Whilst this collection does not lead to as fulfilling an experience, it is still a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

Not quite as good as JS&MN- but still good

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