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Mary Barton
- A Tale of Manchester Life
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Exclusively from Audible
Following the death of his wife and the government's refusal to pass his local trade union's chartist petition, John Barton sinks into a depression so deep that not even his doting daughter can lift him out of it. Seeing the poverty that her family has been reduced to and the desperation in her father's eyes, Mary Barton realises she must reject the proposal of her working-class lover, Jem. Instead, she sets her sights at a master's son, the wealthy heir of a Manchester mill, Henry Carson, in the hope that his situation will improve her own.
In a shocking turn of events, Mary discovers Mr Carson has been shot and her former lover, Jem, accused of his murder. As life-altering secrets emerge and the lives of those around her are put on the line, Mary must decide who to trust and who to denounce.
Elizabeth Gaskell's first novel, Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life, is an emotive condition of English work in which she artfully intertwines the socio-political struggles of the 'hungry forties' with elements of a classic love story. Mary Barton is a pioneering work of fiction which has ensured that Gaskell's name will forever be included in a list of England's greatest authors. Its success was such that it even won the attention of Charles Dickens and Charlotte Brontë, forging a great working relationship between the writers, and later leading Gaskell to write Brontë's biography.
Narrator Biography
Multi-award winning actress, Juliet Stevenson has graced the stage and screen with a myriad of powerhouse performances for over 40 years. Aged nine, she developed a passion for the spoken word after performing a reading of a WH Auden poem in front of her entire school. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and later became a member of its artistic council. Her theatre experience is vast and includes parts in Measure for Measure, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Burn This and Death and the Maiden.
She is also known for her film career in works such as Bend It Like Beckham, Emma, Truly Madly Deeply and Mona Lisa Smile. Stevenson has been BAFTA-nominated and been the winner of a Laurence Olivier Award. In 1999, she was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, for her services to Drama.
Juliet's other audiobook narrations include Sense and Sensibility, North and South, The Portrait of a Lady and Madame Bovary. These and many more can be found at Audible.
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What listeners say about Mary Barton
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 11-07-2017
Another ripper from Mrs Gaskell
I listen to any unabridged audio book read by Juliet Stevenson, and read any novel by Mrs Gaskell. This is another great one. Mary Barton isn't up there with North and South for a great inspiring romance, but it's a solid, well-drawn and interesting story of a young woman's journey to the realisation that sometimes the life you thought you wanted for yourself isn't the life you needed after all. Jem Wilson is a good stolid hero with a sound moral principle, and the villain is suitably arrogant to make his come-uppance just a little bit welcome. Written from several perspectives, Mrs Gaskell once again shows that no one dies unregretted by no one -- everyone matters from someone's point of view. I thought this novel particularly good in its portrayal of Victorian life and justice -- better than North and South, which is usually regarded as Mrs Gaskell's finest.
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- Sharon
- 05-02-2022
Juliet Stevenson is the perfect narrator
Cleverer people than I will have written about Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing. I just love Juliet Stevensons narration, she is consistent and precise and her own personality never gets in the way of the story.
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- Douglas
- 23-04-2022
A simple story with a deep social history
Exceptionally well read even acted. The writing style is straightforward the story not complex very enjoyable
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- Anonymous User
- 14-12-2022
COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN
The Industrial Revolution brough new wealth to the owners of the factories, but the workers were treated so badly and Elizabeth Gaskell tells an enthralling story. I could not 'put this book down'. The hardship and poverty of the working class families is captured along with their day to day struggles of being 'respectable'. This is a great read.
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- Anonymous User
- 13-04-2023
Another wonderful story by Elizabeth Gaskell.
Love this authors stories. They have an authenticity that comes through her connection to the time and location of the events. Fantastic narration!
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- hugh h
- 17-12-2023
an absorbing novel of industrial england
Elizabeth Gaskell drew on her experience of industrial england and wrote a typical Victorian. novel of the struggling working class through the experiences of a couple of families who get caught up in a murder. the descriptions of industrial Manchester are often very moving.
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- Jenny
- 01-04-2018
Very satisfying experience
I really enjoy Gaskell and I really enjoy all of Juliet Stevenson's narrations (I have listened to so many). This is a great novel with an emphasis an a certain socio-political issue told by means of a story that is worthwhile within itself. Whilst the socio-political viewpoint is obviously one-sided, it offers valuable insight into working class life all that time ago. Stevenson captures characters' personalities so well, she is spot-on with her regional accents, and I feel she does justice to the novelist's intentions.
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- Linda D.
- 12-02-2023
Beautiful
I enjoyed the story and the time setting. We should all appreciate how to look back and see how far forward we have grown
also how family life has changed with continued progress. Wonderfully written.
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- Eleanor
- 07-07-2023
Elizabeth and Juliet
Cannot ever fault Juliet Stevenson’s narrations, and this is no exception. Gaskell is typically didactic yet so very beautifully paced and so compassionately drawn that it is no burden. Yes, sentimental, but not blandly. To my mind a better stylist than Austen, but not as easy to read or listen to. Yet Stevenson crosses that bridge on our behalf- I simply listened every possible moment, devouring Mary Barton in a way I would not have done with a book.
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- Bree
- 06-09-2023
Didn’t get through it
Wow. Elizabeth Gaskell’s books are dense! There were parts where I was hooked & really enjoying it & absolutely loving the writing, but there were more times when it was a slog & I was bored. I had the same feeling reading North & South. I much prefer Cranford. The narrator wasn’t bad, but her voice was a little hypnotic & I kept zoning out.
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