Juliet Stevenson has narrated 69 audiobooks on Listento.it by 55 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 1,122 ratings. The most-rated is The Signature of All Things.
The Little Red Chairs
Summary
A woman discovers that the foreigner she thinks will redeem her life is a notorious war criminal. Vlad, a stranger from Eastern Europe masquerading as a healer, settles in a small Irish village where the locals fall under his spell. One woman, Fidelma McBride, becomes so enamored that she begs him for a child. All that world is shattered when Vlad is arrested, and his identity as a war criminal is revealed. Fidelma, disgraced, flees to England and seeks work among the other migrants displaced by wars and persecution. But it is not until she confronts him - her nemesis - at the tribunal in The Hague that her physical and emotional journey reaches its breathtaking climax. The Little Red Chairs is a book about love and the endless search for it. It is also a book about mankind's fascination with evil and how long, how crooked, is the road toward home.
©2016 Edna O'Brien (P)2016 Hachette Audio
The Portrait of a Lady
Summary
The Portrait of a Lady tells the compelling and ultimately tragic tale of a beautiful young American woman's encounter with European sophistication. Set principally in England and Italy, the story follows Isabel Archer's fortunes as a variety of admirers vie for her hand. Her choice will be crucial, and she is not wanting for advice, whether from the generous-spirited Ralph Touchett or the charming Madame Merle. The Portrait of a Lady was an immediate success upon publication; it remains the most popular of James' longer works and is generally regarded as the masterpiece of his early period. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
Public Domain (P)2016 Naxos AudioBooks
Hedda Gabler
Summary
Hedda Gabler, the daughter of a deceased general, marries dull George Tesman and foresees a life of middle-class tedium stretching ahead when they return from their honeymoon. Increasingly she is drawn into the clutches of her admirer, Judge Brack, who seeks to establish a ménage à trois. Then the brilliant but dissolute Eilert Lovborg, a former flame, arrives to rival her husband for an academic post. This new audio production, with Juliet Stevenson giving an unforgettable performance as the passionate Hedda, brings this classic drama to life. Translated by William Archer and Edmund Gosse.
Public Domain (P)2002 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.
Florence Adler Swims Forever
Summary
“The perfect summer read” (USA Today) begins with a shocking tragedy that results in three generations of the Adler family grappling with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets across the course of one summer. “Rachel Beanland is a writer of uncommon wit and wisdom, with a sharp and empathetic eye for character. She’ll win you over in the most old fashioned of ways: She simply tells a hell of a story.” (Rebecca Makkai, Pulitzer Finalist for The Great Believers) Atlantic City, 1934. Every summer, Esther and Joseph Adler rent their house out to vacationers escaping to “America’s Playground” and move into the small apartment above their bakery. Despite the cramped quarters, this is the apartment where they raised their two daughters, Fannie and Florence, and it always feels like home. Now Florence has returned from college, determined to spend the summer training to swim the English Channel, and Fannie, pregnant again after recently losing a baby, is on bedrest for the duration of her pregnancy. After Joseph insists they take in a mysterious young woman whom he recently helped emigrate from Nazi Germany, the apartment is bursting at the seams. Esther only wants to keep her daughters close and safe but some matters are beyond her control: there’s Fannie’s risky pregnancy - not to mention her always-scheming husband, Isaac - and the fact that the handsome heir of a hotel notorious for its anti-Semitic policies, seems to be in love with Florence. When tragedy strikes, Esther makes the shocking decision to hide the truth - at least until Fannie’s baby is born - and pulls the family into an elaborate web of secret-keeping and lies, bringing long-buried tensions to the surface that reveal how quickly the act of protecting those we love can turn into betrayal. Based on a true story and told in the vein of J. Courtney Sullivan’s Saints for All Occasions and Anita Diamant’s The Boston Girl, Beanland’s family saga is a breathtaking portrait of just how far we will go to in order to protect our loved ones and an uplifting portrayal of how the human spirit can endure - and even thrive - after tragedy.
©2020 Rachel Beanland (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Brimstone Wedding
Summary
Unlike the other residents of Middleton Hall, Stella is elegant, smart, and in control. Only Jenny, her care assistant, knows that she harbours a painful secret, and only she can prevent Stella from carrying it to the grave. As the women talk, Jenny pieces together the answers to many questions that arise: Why has she kept possession of a house that her family don’t know about? What happened there that holds the key to a distant tragedy? As Jenny uses the house to meet her lover, she makes some unusual discoveries, but only when Stella leaves Jenny her tape recorder, into which she has recorded the true events of the past, can the truth be finally - and shockingly - revealed.
©1995 Kingsmarkham Enterprises Ltd (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Little Dorrit
Summary
This Audible Exclusive production revisits Charles Dickens’ tragi-comic novel Little Dorrit. Written during the Crimean War, it a story of fortunes won and lost and a masterly portrayal of the failings of Victorian Society, with the ever-present spectre of law enforcement and imprisonment looming over a fearful population. One of his later works, Dickens’ maturity shines through this masterpiece and a uniquely powerful and touching love story ensues from amongst scenes of heart-wrenching injustice. About the book Following the death of his beloved father, Arthur Clennam returns to his home in London in order to reunite with his wheelchair-bound mother. Narrowly escaping from the clutches of his former fiancée, Flora Finching, Arthur finds solace in the company of his mother’s new seamstress, the innocent and sweet Little Amy Dorrit. The youngest of three children, Amy works hard to support her father, who, as Arthur learns, has been imprisoned in Marshalsea debtors’ prison since before her time. Without a mother to care for them, Little Dorrit and her siblings reside with Mr Dorrit, and she, being the most caring of them all, takes it upon herself to pay off his debts through her needlework. Wishing to find out more about their serendipitous connection and how such a girl could possibly have ended up in his mother’s well-to-do household, Arthur sets out to help Amy and uncover the Clennam’s long-held family secrets, a journey which will inevitably alter the course of both of their lives. About the author Like Mr William Dorrit, Dickens’ father was held at Marshalsea debtors’ prison, the memory of which haunted Dickens for years to come and eventually inspired him to transform his childhood recollections into a book entitled Little Dorrit. At a young age, Charles Dickens had to abandon his studies and set to work in a factory so as to support himself. Despite his short-lived education, Dickens went on to write 15 novels and various articles, novellas and short stories. He lectured and led campaigns for children's rights and education and arguably became the ultimate self-made man. About the narrator Juliet Stevenson CBE is an Olivier award-winning actress known for her career spanning theatre, film and television. Her film credits include Bend It Like Beckham (2002) and Truly Madly Deeply (1990). Juliet starred in Robert Icke’s 2017/2018 adaptation of Mary Stuart (Almeida & Duke of York’s Theatre) where she played not only the titular role but also the role of Elizabeth I consecutively, swapping parts at the literal flip of a coin between herself and Lia Williams. Most recently she appeared in series 2 of Riviera. Juliet’s versatility knows no bounds, and she recently collaborated with both Ruby Wax and Deborah Frances-White on a series of new comedy sketches.
Public Domain (P)2019 Audible, Ltd
The Girls of Slender Means
Summary
It is 1945; a time of cultural and political change, and also one of slender means. Spark's evocative and sharply drawn novel focuses on a group of women living together in a hostel in Kensington who face new challenges in uncertain times. The novel is at once dramatic and character-based, and shows Muriel Spark at the height of her literary powers. Juliet Stevenson reads with her customary wit and intelligence this powerful masterpiece. Rediscover The Girls of Slender Means in audiobook on the 100th anniversary of Muriel Spark's birth.
©2012 Canongate Books (P)2012 Canongate Books
The Golden Notebook
Summary
One of the most important books of the growing feminist movement of the 1950s, The Golden Notebook was brought to the attention of a wider public by the Nobel Prize award to Doris Lessing in 2007. Author Anna Wulf attempts to overcome writer’s block by writing a comprehensive "golden notebook" that draws together the preoccupations of her life, each of which is examined in a different notebook: sources of her creative inspiration in a black book, communism in a red book, the breakdown of her marriage in a yellow book, and day-to-day emotions and dreams in a blue book. Anna’s struggle to unify the various strands of her life – emotional, political, and professional – amasses into a fascinating encyclopaedia of female experience in the ‘50s. In this authentic, taboo-breaking novel, Lessing brings the plight of women’s lives from obscurity behind closed doors into broad daylight. The Golden Notebook resonates with the concerns and experiences of a great many women and is a true modern classic, thoroughly deserving of its reputation as a feminist bible. A notoriously long and complex work, it is given a new life by this – its first unabridged recording. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©1962 Doris Lessing (P)2010 Naxos Audiobook
Noonday
Summary
Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Noonday by Pat Barker, read by Juliet Stevenson, Stephen Boxer, John Sackville, Anne Reid & Finlay Robertson. London, the Blitz, autumn 1940. Ambulance drivers Elinor Brooke and Kit Neville ferry injured survivors from bomb sites to hospitals while Elinor's husband, Paul, works as an air-raid warden. Once fellow students at the Slade School of Fine Art, before the First World War destroyed the hopes of their generation, now all three find themselves caught in another war. And as the bombing intensifies, old loves and obsessions resurface until Elinor is brought face to face with an almost impossible choice. Completing the story of Elinor, Paul and Kit that began with Life Class and continued with Toby's Room, Noonday is both a standalone novel and the climax of a trilogy. Pat Barker brings the besieged and haunted city of London into electrifying life in her most powerful novel since the Regeneration trilogy.
©2015 Pat Barker (P)2015 Penguin Books Limited
Man and Superman
Summary
Man and Superman was the first drama to be broadcast on the BBC's Third Programme on October 1, 1946. To celebrate Radio 3's 50th anniversary, the play was directed by Sir Peter Hall, and preserved for all time in this lush audio dramatization. 'A comedy and a philosophy', Man and Superman is based on the Don Juan theme, and using all the elements from Mozart's Don Giovanni, Shaw reordered them so that Don Juan becomes the quarry instead of the huntsman. Boasting an outstanding cast including Ralph Fiennes, Juliet Stevenson, Dame Judi Dench, John Wood, Nicholas Le Prevost, and Paul Merton, this release includes an exclusive interview with director Sir Peter Hall.
©2012 AudioGO Ltd (P)1998 AudioGO Ltd
Night and Day
Summary
Written before she began her experiments in the writing of fiction, Virginia Woolf's second novel, Night and Day, is a story about a group of young people trying to discover what it means to fall in love. It asks all the big questions: What does it mean to fall in love? Does marriage grant happiness? What is happiness? Night and Day is a conventional novel; however, it maps out for us the world of Virginia Woolf in its wondrous prose: For her it was the beginning, leading on to a prolonged engagement with her search for the means to express the "inner life".
Public Domain (P)2014 Naxos AudioBooks
The Wings of the Dove
Summary
Milly Theale is a young, beautiful, and fabulously wealthy American. When she arrives in London and meets the equally beautiful but impoverished Kate Croy, they form an intimate friendship. But nothing is as it seems: materialism, romance, self-delusion, and ultimately fatal illness insidiously contaminate the glamorous social whirl.
Public Domain (P)2017 Naxos AudioBooks
The Voyage Out
Summary
The Voyage Out is Virginia Woolf's haunting tale about a naïve young woman's sea voyage from London to a small resort on the South American coast. In symbolic, lyrical, and intoxicating prose, her outward journey begins to mirror her internal voyage into adulthood as she searches for her personal identity, grapples with love, and learns how to face life intellectually and emotionally. Its wit and exquisiteness and its profound depth and insight into humanity will capture the imagination of the listener.
Public Domain (P)2015 Naxos AudioBooks
Miss Austen
Summary
"In a cultured, melodious voice, narrator Juliet Stevenson becomes Miss Cassandra Austen, older sister to Jane and keeper of her memory." (AudioFile magazine, Earphones Award winner) For fans of Jo Baker’s Longbourn, a witty, poignant audiobook about Cassandra Austen and her famous sister, Jane. Whoever looked at an elderly lady and saw the young heroine she once was? England, 1840. For the two decades following the death of her beloved sister, Jane, Cassandra Austen has lived alone and unwed, spending her days visiting friends and relations and quietly, purposefully working to preserve her sister’s reputation. Now in her 60s and increasingly frail, Cassandra goes to stay with the Fowles of Kintbury, family of her long-dead fiancé, in search of a trove of Jane’s letters. Dodging her hostess and a meddlesome housemaid, Cassandra eventually hunts down the letters and confronts the secrets they hold, secrets not only about Jane but about Cassandra herself. Will Cassandra bare the most private details of her life to the world, or commit her sister’s legacy to the flames? Moving back and forth between the vicarage and Cassandra’s vibrant memories of her years with Jane, interwoven with Jane’s brilliantly reimagined lost letters, Miss Austen is the untold story of the most important person in Jane’s life. With extraordinary empathy, emotional complexity, and wit, Gill Hornby finally gives Cassandra her due, bringing to life a woman as captivating as any Austen heroine. A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books "A deeply imagined and deeply moving novel. Reading it made me happy and weepy in equally copious amounts." (Karen Joy Fowler) "A delightfully astute reimagining of Jane Austen’s life that offers a shrewd take on Regency gender roles.... Ms. Hornby enlivens the exhumation with inspired touches of social comedy and a cast of appealing eccentrics." (Wall Street Journal)
©2020 Gill Hornby (P)2020 Macmillan Audio
Lady Audley's Secret
Summary
A fast-paced Victorian thriller that will delight audiences today as it did 100 years ago, Lady Audley's Secret has subterfuge, kidnapping, jealousy, and fraud, all thrown into the mix and shaken up for good measure. A mystery which keeps a listener guessing until the last moments, this production is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys playing detective.
©2007 CSA Word (P)2007 CSA Word
The King's General
Summary
Exclusively from Audible When the skeleton of a young cavalier was found by William Rashleigh at Daphne du Maurier's beloved mansion, Menabilly, she once again found inspiration in her surroundings. Putting pen to paper, Daphne created The King's General, a historical tale which takes place during the English Civil War and introduces one of du Maurier's greatest heroines: Honor Harris. Honor is a beautiful, brave and kind protagonist, a true embodiment of the name by which she goes. Her journey proves challenging as her hopes for marrying the man she loves are dashed when she is left incapacitated. Unwilling to let life pass her by, Honor decides to educate herself in order to gain a true understanding of England's political climate and the devastating impact it would come to have. Steadfast, caring and intelligent, this heroine embodies female empowerment and resilience in a war-torn England. Having finished the story during the Second World War, parallels are often drawn between Honor and du Maurier herself. Not only was the author describing the frustration of having to stay at home while men fought, through first-hand experience, but much like Honor's love interest, Daphne's husband was a general in the military. An artful and escapist tale, The King's General reveals a gothic side to Daphne du Maurier's writing which constantly leaves the listener wanting more. Narrator Biography Whether she's up on stage, behind the microphone or in front of the camera, Juliet Stevenson never fails to charm her audience. Her acting roles have cemented her status as one of the great British actresses of our time. Her popular performances of hits such as Apple Tree Yard, the book that was turned into a TV series that people just couldn't stop talking about, have earned her an overwhelming amount of well-deserved praise for her spoken word talents Juliet graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and later became a member of its artistic council. Her theatre experience is vast and includes parts in Measure for Measure, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Burn This and Death and the Maiden. She is also known for her film career in works such as Bend It Like Beckham, Emma, Truly Madly Deeply and Mona Lisa Smile. Juliet Stevenson has been BAFTA-nominated and been the winner of a Laurence Olivier Award. In 1999, she was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, for her services to Drama. Juliet's other audiobook narrations include Sense and Sensibility, North and South, The Portrait of a Lady and Madame Bovary. These and many more can be found at Audible.
©2008 Daphne Du Maurier (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Catching Life by the Throat
Summary
Here is an audiobook of the hugely successful Josephine Hart Poetry Hours at the British Library. Actors such as Roger Moore and Juliet Stevenson read poetry from Auden to Eliot and from Larkin to Plath.
©2006 Joesphine Hart (P)2006 Hachette Audio and British Library
Peter Pan
Summary
When Peter Pan flies through the Darling Children's nursery window one night, he is nearly captured and makes a hasty escape, leaving behind his shadow. Returning with the fairy Tinker Bell to reclaim it, he wakes up Wendy, John and Michael and whisks them away to the magical shores of Neverland. There they meet the Lost Boys, befriend Tiger Lily and her Braves, swim with the mermaids in the lagoon and have a host of wonderful adventures. But danger awaits too, for the terrible Captain Hook and his pirate gang are determined to make them walk the plank.... Abridged by Martin Jarvis, J. M. Barrie's timeless masterpiece is introduced by Michael Morpurgo and read by 10 star actors: Kit Harrington, Martin Jarvis, Alex Jennings, Alex Kingston, Joanna Lumley, Helen McCrory, Jennifer Saunders, Juliet Stevenson, David Walliams and Zoe Wanamaker. All of Penguin Random House's profits from the sale of this recording will be shared equally between The Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust (Registered Scottish Charity Number SC041382 and Company Number SC363695) and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (Registered Charity Number 1160024 and Company number 09338724).
Public Domain (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Trespass
Summary
In a silent valley stands an isolated stone farmhouse. Its owner is Aramon Lunel, an alcoholic so haunted by his violent past that he’s let his hunting dogs starve and his land go to ruin. Meanwhile, his sister, alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life. Into this closed world comes Anthony Verey, a wealthy but disillusioned antiques dealer from London. Anthony hopes to remake his life in France, and he begins looking at properties in the region. But, from the moment he arrives at the Mas Lunel, a frightening and unstoppable series of consequences is set in motion.
©2010 Rose Tremain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Sexing the Cherry
Summary
In a fantastic world that is and is not 17th-century England, a baby is found floating in the Thames. The child, Jordan, is rescued by Dog Woman and grows up to travel the world like Gulliver, though he finds that the world’s most curious oddities come from his own mind. Winterson leads the listener from discussions on the nature of time to Jordan’s fascination with journeys concealed within other journeys, all with a dizzying speed that shoots the listener from epiphany to shimmering epiphany.
©1989 Jeanette Winterson (P)2019 Audible, Inc.