Belle
The True Story of Dido Belle
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Belle
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Narrated by:
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Maggie Mash
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By:
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Paula Byrne
About this listen
The inspiration behind the powerful new film starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson and Emily Watson, this is the story of Dido Belle, whose adoption by an aristocratic family challenged the conventions of 18th century England.
In one of the most famous portraits in the world, a pretty girl walks through the grounds of Kenwood House, a vision of aristocratic refinement. But the eye is drawn to the beautiful woman on her right. Pointing at her own cheek, she playfully acknowledges her remarkable position in eighteenth-century society. For Dido Belle was the illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy captain and a slave woman, adopted by the Earl of Mansfield. As Lord Chief Justice of England he would preside over the notorious Zong case – the drowning of 142 slaves by an unscrupulous shipping company. His ruling provided the legal underpinning to the abolition of slavery in Britain.
From the privileged yet unequal lives of Dido and her cousin Elizabeth, to the horrific treatment of African slaves, Paula Byrne – the bestselling author of ‘The Real Jane Austen’ – vividly narrates the story of a family that defied convention, the legal trial that exposed the cruelties of slavery and the woman who challenged notions of race at the highest rank.
©2014 Paula Byrne (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
‘A touching account … artfully constructed’ Sunday Times
‘The theatrical zest of the narrative, which is a tie-in with a movie of the same name, holds it all together’ The Times
What listeners say about Belle
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rachel OK
- 11-07-15
Slow Start, Great Finish!
I did find the opening chapter a little difficult to get with. Having seen the film, I soon recognized that it was mostly fictional, based on a few facts. However, the film did make me download this book, which I eventually found gripping, if not a little difficult and uncomfortable to listen to at times. Well, the slave trade was hardly a rosy story! Maggie Mash wouldn't my favourite ever narrator but I still enjoyed her reading. Obviously, a lot of research went into this book & I learnt whilst enjoying a good listen. What more can you ask for?
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mike S.
- 12-03-21
Not much about Dido
There's not much about Dido. It's mainly about how slavery was extant and the valid efforts made to make it unlawful. Very disappointed and misleading in the book's title, "The True Story of Dido Belle". This is a worthwhile description of the rightful objections to slavery, it is NOT, as titled, " The True Story of Dido Belle. It's not what I expected when i purchased it.
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