Beautiful Lies Audiobook

" This complex story deftly weaves together historical fact and detail with a compelling cast of characters too flawed to feel anything but real. I always appreciate a protagonist who's good enough to root for, but who isn't perfect, and Clark certainly delivers that in Maribel Campbell Lowe. I also love to feel transported through time to another era--and in this case, Victorian London was eerily familiar, given the many social and political parallels that are immediately obvious to the educated reader. A good, long read you can really sink into and savor. "

" This is a fairly absorbing novel, but it has a couple of glaring issues that prevent it from being a great one. First, as historical fiction it is too heavy on the history, and too light on the fiction: as other reviewers have pointed out, although it is very well researched, the author introduces a few plot developments that are allowed to fizzle, resulting in a story that feels rather thin. Also the protagonist is annoyingly self-absorbed, with a tobacco habit that had me wondering - based on Clark's descriptions of smoking - if the cigarette industry paid her for product placement. I realize she is using her heroine to portray the tension between modernity and tradition in 1880s England as embodied by a "New Woman", but using the glorification of smoking to do so seems a strange choice. "

" I was very impressed with the amount of historical detail, as well as the author's ability to keep me interested in the fate of the main character. At times, though, the beauty of her writing and the attention to some details might have been too much, and I wanted her to get on with it. Overall, though entertaining and well-written. "

" it was ok there was some parts that were the same as our climate politically now but hard to really relate "

" Smoke. Ruminate. Smoke. Ruminate. It was tiresome. And disappointing, because I really liked Clare Clark's other books. "

" Tiresome to get even through the first chapter - gave up and didn't finish this. "

" Ehh, I couldn't get into this one and had to return it to the library... "

" Good story that could have been told with 100 less pages. "

" It's like Clare Clark read my four favorite Ibsen plays and wove them together into a beautifully layered Victorian-era novel. Sometimes I skim over the politics in this kind of story, but I found this tale distracting and fascinating and uncomfortable in the best way. "

" Fascinating story of a socialist politician in London during the 1880s and his mysterious wife made even more interesting because it was based on real life people. "

" Loved the book, just wish I had $1 for every time the main character lit a cigarette. It would have paid for the book. It is explained in the afterwards, so try and ignore it. "

" Great character study, gret mood, excellent story, good insights - favorite book "

" This was an interesting look at Victorian England. Although, too many grammatical and spelling errors to give it more than a three star. "