Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man
- Narrated by: James Wilby
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man
Buy Now for £13.00
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
George Sherston – the “I” of the book - is a shy, sensitive, and rather lonely boy living on the Kent/Sussex border in the early years of the 20th century. His great loves are sports, horses, and hunting, and the story is told through his gentle and comic adventures at point-to-point races or village cricket matches in a privileged pre-War England. The picture he paints of the Garden of England in the age of pony carts, bicycles and very slow trains is enchanting.
Rich in historical detail and resonance, Sassoon’s semi-autobiographical novel is also a poignant coming-of-age tale; with innocence and naivety abruptly crushed by the outbreak of War. George has to face a bleakly different world when he joins up and goes to the Front, to the mud and death and din of trench-life. Bit by bit it robs him of practically everything he values in life and amidst the carnage, he loses some of his dearest friends.
Critic reviews
More from the same
Author
Narrator
What listeners say about Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Not best pleased
- 03-07-20
Excellent
Quite excellent. Cannot praise it highly enough, both the book and the narrator. With minimal words and simple language you can feel the cold early morning of each winter day, and what follows thereafter. Economical and beautiful. Lyrical.
Can we have the other two of the trilogy please?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 08-02-24
Loved it all!
Great classic expertly read by James Wilby who encaptures the authors character and personality perfectly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- MR C D AINSWORTH
- 28-06-21
A Postcard from the Green and Pleasant Land.
An odd but enjoyable book. Contains more horse riding than actual fox hunting although the hunt does feature prominently. It follows the life and formative years in "Jolly old England" of a young man with what he calls "An unearned income." Despite this he continually runs into cash trouble trying to buy horses, with his faithful groom Dickson at his side right till the end.
The last chapter however turns into a WWI war story then ends rather abruptly without the greatest amount of closure.
Performance is excellent. Obviously copied from a CD version though the instrumental strings and "End of CD 2" messages lend it a certain charm.
Would reccomend.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- supersix
- 30-07-20
sweet
sweet comfortable summers..
Privileged life of youthful indolence
Brought painfully to manhood by the muck of the great war..
Fantastic listen...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jamie
- 31-01-20
One of my best choices
Siegfried Sassoon's moving and beautifully written account of a life with horses in a not quite vanished world, just before WW1. James Wilby is a perfect choice to read this much loved semi-autographical account.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ruth
- 07-12-18
Surprisingly excellent
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this.
The Narrative is excellent.
I was sorry when it came to an end.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Douglas
- 15-11-16
Excellent
Brilliantly narrated classic that takes you into the world of a privileged but lonely boy, his love of fox hunting and the countryside and his journey into the "officer class" and the Somme.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tom
- 01-12-15
Stunning
What did you like most about Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man?
The book has been one of my favourites for years. The naivety of the young boy contrasting so vividly with what we know is ahead of him (see/hear his war memoirs)
What was one of the most memorable moments of Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man?
When he called out " don't they will catch him" as a fox cub breaks cover.
His relationship with his groom/mentor is charming.
What does James Wilby bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Very good at bringing out the nuances between the main characters. Allows you to see between the lines by gentle inflection
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, it flows effortlessly
Any additional comments?
Anyone that lives in the countryside and is interested in fox hunting (and the bygone age of pre WW1) will surely have read this. Any parent that has thinks their child has/might have the slightest interest in Hunting and the countryside should read / play this to them. It is a gem of a book. Along with Newby's "The Last Grain Race" and Gilbert's "Pattern of Islands" should be compulsory reading for any teenager.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!