The Reluctant Widow cover art

The Reluctant Widow

Gossip, scandal and an unforgettable Regency romance

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The Reluctant Widow

By: Georgette Heyer
Narrated by: Daon Broni
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

One of the best-known and most beloved historical novelists, Georgette Heyer, as ever, captures a whole new audience's heart.

Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor Rochdale is swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. Overnight the would-be governess becomes mistress of a ruined estate and partner in a secret conspiracy to save a family's name. By midnight, she is a bride, by dawn, a widow.

A typically thrilling and sweeping tale of romance and tragedy, The Reluctant Widow is Georgette Heyer at her best - the undisputed queen of historical romance.

©1946 Georgette Heyer (P)2021 Penguin Audio Historical Historical Fiction Regency Regency Romance Romance Funny Heartfelt

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All stars
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A brilliant book, and a prime example of Heyer's genius.
However, I found the narration did not do the book justice. The narrator often speaks far too quickly. He does not highlight the humorous elements in any way. His voices are good, but when reading the prose, has such a strange way of speaking. He emphasises the 't', issues an unusual cadence and seems to be trying to speak RP English when this isn't necessarily natural to him. I found it jarring.
I still love the book, though.

A slightly disappointing narration

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Excellent voices for all the characters, really enjoyed this audible. I can tell I will be revisiting it often.

Lovely narrator, amazing story

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This is a brilliantly funny book which has none of that evident in this narration. The narrator has plenty of expression, but it isn’t always appropriate expression and a lot of it is disjointed. Does nobody brief the narrators? So many of them read the books as pretty poor, simple stories when Heyer was full of humour. I’m literally having to find the humour for myself… even when Bouncer is preventing Eleanor from moving! It should be laugh out loud but isn’t. A good actor who should have prepared better.

Love the book, narrator fails.

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Riveting and exciting drama.

Georgette Heyer is a masterstroke, of such quality of writing.

Very well narrated, and worth a read.

Exciting

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I have read this book myself many times but this was the first time I have listened. Unfortunately I found the narrator's way of saying Carlyon such an annoyance. I have always thought it to be Car-le-on NOT Car Lyon. Car Lyon is so clumsy and just does not flow. He also said the ministers name incorrectly from my perspective. Apart from that the narration was acceptable.

Another good story.

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The yarn is good ( though a few loose ends could do with tidying up), but why oh why does the reader say “exciting” instead of “existing”, “ precious “ instead of “ previous”, “way” instead of “say”, “ his” instead of” this”, etc, etc, etc ?? And, above all, why is Becky given a strong regional accent when she ( a governess) is certainly the daughter of an impoverished gentleman, probably a clergyman, and therefore to be expected to speak in refined tones? This is not the first Georgette Heyer Audible book that is misread: I am ready to volunteer as a reader. My accent is slightly Irish, which would perhaps prevent verisimilitude, but having read the novels over and over again, I could promise exact pronunciation and correct emphasis in each sentence. Interested?

Too many mistakes

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I know this book of old and have read a number of times…
Awful storytelling…surely the reader at least runs through the script before recording…very disjointed sentences, odd accent’s especially Becky, and Carlyon for that matter, an essential character to get right, half the time you wondered if Carlyon thought he’d strayed into the wrong story!!! Miserable carping heroine who should have been much more humerus and ironic.
A good book ruined.
Worst Audible listen yet!

Poor Narrator

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excellent story, funny and clever with much loved characters you learn to care about.

much loved story, read several times

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It's clear from the odd intonation that the narrator is not a native speaker. He does a commendable job as a non-native speaker but when I'm paying money for an audiobook I want someone who knows what they're doing to such an extent that I'm not brought up short by their repeated odd pronunciation. I wouldn't listen to an audiobook read by this narrator again.
As for the story itself, it's one of Heyer's that's less romance, more whodunnit, only it's not particularly good at either. On the other hand it's Georgette Hever, so miles better than most other writers of 'Regency romance'.

let down by narration

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Another actor who 'performs' the story instead of simply telling it. No feeling for the lightness of touch in Heyer's books. Bring back Cornelius Garret!

Very irritating narration.

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