Beautfil use of the English language

I love the use of the English language, so flowery and descriptive. The story gives great insight into the minds of men and women from that period, and the codes of conduct and protocol. Unfortunately, I don't speak a word of French, so some passages get lost on me.

7 persone l'hanno trovata utile

A Compelling Story

I found this book hard to put down. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly are all found interwoven into the story.
However the narrator, ie the Professor, is rather twee, almost too good to be true. It is a quieter story than some of the Bronte novels, but the passion and romance are there and it is a good "listen".

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Great if you speak French

I love the Brontes but I’m sad to say that I gave up on this book in the end. I found the characters unlikable but that usually isn’t a reason for me to quit a book. However, the sections in French were so frequent that I felt I was missing whole conversations and I felt like I was wasting my time listening to a book I didn’t understand whole chunks of. Such a shame for me but I’m sure it’s great if you do speak French!

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

James Wilby is an excellent narrator.

The story follows William Crimsworth from his humble beginnings, to his career as a teacher and eventual marriage to the woman he loves. Though intended to be a sympathetic hero, Crimsworth is a very judgemental and xenophobic character and goes on at some length about how superior he is to absolutely everyone. While this book did lack the underlying passion and angst that Bronte became so brilliant at writing, later on,
This is the third audiobook I have listened to narrated by James WIlby and he really does an excellent job of catching the feeling and flavor of the story.

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

need to be French speaking

Couldn't finish it, first chapters good but far to much French spoken in latter chapters

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

I don’t understand French

Quite a lot of dialogue is in French, without translation. In printed edition it would probably be in footnotes. Here, if you don’t understand French, tough luck.

I Thoroughly Enjoyed This Beautiful Novel

I found myself enjoying this story so much, I couldn't wait to read what happened next. I didn't always understand William Crimsworth's reaction to things, maybe some of that was in his upbringing and not having his parents. But the story unfolded beautifully. I loved the character of Mademoiselle Henri, and how she always called William Monsieur! James Wilby was so good at narrating this novel, the perfect voice for William Crimsworth, so good, he kept me interested the whole way through the story. I can't understand why this was refused publication when Charlotte Bronte first wrote it. It's a beautiful novel and very much deserved publication, which it eventually did, but sadly after Charlotte passed away. I have also recently read Shirley, and highly recommend that novel too. I only wish there was more beautiful books by Charlotte Bronte as I have read all four. Charlotte wrote so beautifully in my opinion and a pleasure to read.

Well, worth the time to listen.

Enjoyable story. I am not able to understand the French language, but that did not detract much, from the story, in my opinion.

highly underrated Brontë Novel

I personally think this was a very well crafted novel and even be with no understanding of French it is possible to get the understanding of the French dialogue through the carefully crafted dialogue that follows.

Some chapters would not suit a modern audience with their prosaic form but if you like the classics and v you haven't read this yet then I highly recommend it.
If you have read it already then I can recommend this audible version the performance is excellent and enhances the story as it should.

My only frustration is the anonymisation of the town names which was the fashion at the time of writing. I'm certainly glad all of the Bronte's done apt this style.

Thankfully we know that the location is Yorkshire and there accent in the performance makes sure this is known without explicitly stating. I do not know if the same can be said for the Brussels accent but we know it is Brussels so no problem.

Fairly Mundane.

I can see why she struggled to get this published. Passes the time though.