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Golden Hill

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Golden Hill

By: Francis Spufford
Narrated by: Sarah Borges
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About this listen

New York, a small town on the tip of Manhattan Island, 1746.

One evening, a handsome young stranger off the boat from England pitches up to a counting house on Golden Hill Street, with a compelling proposition - he has an order for 1,000 pounds in his pocket that he wishes to cash. But can he be trusted? New York is a place where a young man with a fast tongue can reinvent himself, fall in love, and find trouble....

©2016 Francis Spufford (P)2017 W.F. Howes Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction New York

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Critic reviews

"A novel of such joy it leaves you beaming...verifiable gold." ( The Sunday Telegraph)
"The best 18th century novel since the 18th century." (BBC Radio 4)
"A cunningly crafted narrative that, right up to its tour de force conclusion, is alive with tantalising twists and turns.... This is a dazzlingly written novel. Little brilliances of metaphor and phrasing gleam everywhere." ( The Sunday Times)
All stars
Most relevant  
Gripping story, astonishingly good writing, sensitive and stylish narration. I want to go back and listen over.

Wowed

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I enjoyed the story but wished for less wordy descriptions of conversations and some occurrences

history of 16th century New York

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The entire premise of this novel surrounds the enigmatic Richard Smith who has turned up in New York in 1700s with £1,000, a huge sum at the time. The prose is elegant and rich, reminiscent of classic period dramas written by Edith Wharton, but mixes the plot of the Taming Of The Shrew with "The Guest" by Satyajit Ray. The ending is poignant when we discover his true purpose of the money and there are literally hundreds of twists throughout the novel. Beautifully written.

Elegant, rich language, plot filled with twists

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Loved the authenticity of the language and the feeling created of the society in New York of the time

A trip back in time

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Sarah gallops through parts of this and for the first time listening to an audible book I struggled to hear the words. I’d recommend you play it on less than full speed in order to make head and tail of the experience.

Play at less than normal speed

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Very atmospheric . I love a good historical novel. Lots of twists in the story that grit me guessing until the end

Beautifully written and narrated

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Would you try another book written by Francis Spufford or narrated by Sarah Borges?

Yes - lively writing and an interesting time to read about.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The monster - really 'orrible

Would you be willing to try another one of Sarah Borges’s performances?

I enjoyed the narrator's voice but there were quite a few mispronunciations of words

Do you think Golden Hill needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not really - no spoilers but it's pretty complete

Any additional comments?

Good book -worth a go and keeps it's pace up nicely - I particularly liked the Tabitha character and the card game scene.

Engaging New York romp

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Start reading or listening to this book from looking up some old XVIII century drawings of New York and Boston. The whole book gained an additional dimension after that.
It's read as if written in 1746, a matter of fact. I enjoyed the mixture of cultures described, certain obvious facts, like slavery, an obvious part of life or the tragedy of being gay in 1700s. Little things, like newly fashionable coffee houses, almost being able to smell that strong coffee and freshly baked bread. The story itself kept me interested as it's never boring and keeps surprising, but the description of the long gone New York, so different to anything we know now had its own magic and charm.
I would have loved to know what happened to some of the main characters, but I guess the feeling of unfinished business, something missing is a part of the story.

This story will keep you guessing to the very end.

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I would have liked to know what happened to Smith, Achilles and Zephyr and that motley crew of slaves he purchased and covered in furs...

The talent of the narrator...

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Took a while to get into but I loved it . Great performance by narrator and gripping story

Great -

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