Wives and Daughters cover art

Wives and Daughters

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Wives and Daughters

By: Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrated by: Patience Tomlinson
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £19.77

Buy Now for £19.77

About this listen

When her father remarries, the honest, innocent Molly Gibson suddenly finds herself with a new stepsister, Cynthia, who is beautiful, worldly and impetuous. This would be more than enough to deal with, but the new wife is the deeply snobbish (and darkly secretive) Hyacinth. Thwarted love, scheming ambition and small-town gossip underlie the warmth, irony and brilliant social observation which link the relationships and the inevitable conflicts as profound change comes to rural England.

The most mature and rewarding of her novels, Wives and Daughters places Elizabeth Gaskell in the first rank of English authors.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2003 Elizabeth Gaskell (P)2010 Naxos Audiobooks Classics European World Literature Marriage

Editor reviews

The eternal theme of thwarted love and scheming ambition is set in the microcosm of a provincial British village. Narrator Patience Tomlinson possesses an astonishing vocal range - from the high pitches of youth to the gruff basses of elderly gentlemen. Her portrayals of the novel's many characters and dialects are distinctive, making all the characters identifiable in terms of their age, gender, and station. Replete with nineteenth-century social values and hierarchies, Gaskell's important work follows the life of Molly Gibson. Tomlinson's expressiveness keeps the listener spellbound.
All stars
Most relevant
I enjoyed this audiobook despite the narration which irritated me from time to time; I prefer narrators that read the book with subtle interpretation and this one, unfortunately, tried way too much (in my opinion) to 'act' the book, going as far as to add sobbing and whistling, which I found grating. I got through it however so it could've been worse.

I was a little startled to find the final chapter was actually written as a summary on the notes left by Ms Gaskell as she passed away just before the book's completion. It was all nearly wrapped up though so I didn't feel cheated as much as surprised. Thought I ought to mention it here to hopefully save others from this feeling, but as I say, I wouldn't let this deter you from reading the book.

Good story, less than great narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wives and Daughters is a lovely story of life and love in rural England in the early 1800s. Mrs Gaskell writes with wit and sympathy, creating interesting and engaging characters and a gently humorous story. If you love Jane Austen or "Cranford" by Elizabeth Gaskell then you are sure to like this.

Patience Tomlinson reads with a bright wry tone which really brings out the humor in the story. It's very good fun under her watch. It may be 27 hours long but it passes so easily: I could stay in this world forever.

I have also listened to the Prunella Scales reading of this novel and that is good too. I personally think that Ms Tomlinson has the edge by bringing out the dry wit. But it is a matter of personal taste and both readings are excellent.

Sadly Mrs Gaskell died before completing the novel but we are only one or two chapters short of the end and it is pretty clear what was going to happen so it does not really affect the quality of the book or the enjoyment to be had.

Highly recommended.

Superb reading of a charming and humorous story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love this book and return to it in all its forms often and always will

comfort for the soul

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.