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The Poor Clare cover art

The Poor Clare

By: Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
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Summary

Originally written for Charles Dickens' Household Words magazine, The Poor Clare is a dark, gothic short novel of thwarted love and a family curse that vividly illustrates the social tensions of Victorian England. The intentional killing of a woman's dog unleashes a torrent of rage. In her desire for revenge, the woman curses the dog's killer: All that the murderer loves most, he will lose. This haunting tale brilliantly demonstrates Elizabeth Gaskell's understanding of the tensions between Catholics and Protestants and the harsh realities of class society.

Public Domain (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners love about The Poor Clare

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Not for me.

The mood of this book is one of an eighteenth century novel. I have suffered great loss recently and didn't have the focus to keep with it.

1 person found this helpful

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Almost to Short..

Another great Free listen to from Audible.
I enjoyed the story but would have liked more about the Life of the Poor Clares.
It was too short a story I wished it was a longer.

The performance was brilliant, but think a Female Narrator would be a good idea.

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easy listening

this was such easy listening,l was pleasantly surprised by this audio. it's worth a listen

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A period drama incorporating religious conflict

Brilliant book,excellent period drama with hints of Religious conflicts and describes how suspicions of witchcraft were more rationally dealt with.

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brilliant

a really good, atmospheric, gloomy gothic short story. I'm familiar with Elizabeth Haskell's longer novels but I has never heard this story before. I would definitely recommend a listen. thanks audible

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  • Sarah Tapia
  • 06-06-21

Reminds me of Sherlock Holmes

Enjoyable story, flowed nicely. The reader had a nice clear voice. it's a simple supernatural story reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes mystery. I will keep it on my go to list.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Martha J.
  • 15-05-21

Boring disappointment

I typically enjoy her books a lot; however, this short story or novelette was slow moving and hard to follow. It was like a fairy tale, which is fine, but there was too much background description and little action.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Resagail
  • 13-07-22

Could be considered Historical Fiction

Some Will think the story is longer than necessary. However the lovers is historical fiction will find the details of time and place satisfying.

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  • happyjo
  • 18-03-22

The poor clare

I felt so sad while listening to this story. It just doesn't really have a good ending.

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  • oconnors
  • 19-12-21

Disappointed

I'm a huge fan of Elizabeth Gaskell's novels but this one was very disappointing. It appeared she had an idea to write a story based on the historical conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in England, Ireland and Scotland, mixed in with a little mysticism and witchcraft, but never gave much thought to the actual plot.

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Profile Image for L. Mowder
  • L. Mowder
  • 17-10-21

short and diverting

narrator was excellent. gaskell's gothic was placed firmly in her domestic and natural world.

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