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Brideshead Revisited Audiobook
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(3.00) - 32,355 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Selected by Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the century and called "Evelyn Waugh's finest achievement" by the New York Times, Brideshead Revisited is a stunning exploration of desire, duty, and memory. Read by Jeremy Irons, star of the acclaimed 1981 television series based on the novel.
The wellsprings of desire and the impediments to love come brilliantly into focus in Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece -- a novel that immerses us in the glittering and seductive world of English aristocracy in the waning days of the empire.
Through the story of Charles Ryder's entanglement with the Flytes, a great Catholic family, Evelyn Waugh charts the passing of the privileged world he knew in his own youth and vividly recalls the sensuous pleasures denied him by wartime austerities. At once romantic, sensuous, comic, and somber, Brideshead Revisited transcends Waugh's early satiric explorations and reveals him to be an elegiac, lyrical novelist of the utmost feeling and lucidity.
"A genuine literary masterpiece." --Time
"Heartbreakingly beautiful...The twentieth century's finest English novel." --Los Angeles Times
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"This is a book to read slowly to savor Mr Waugh's style of writing. His complex sentences describe not only physical surroundings, but emotions, thoughts and self-evaluation. His characters are so well defined and portray the aristrocratic society in England between the world wars. You follow the lives of the Marchmains of Brideshead through turbulent years. I was sorry when the book ended and I do plan on re-reading it again in the future."
— Vionna (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Waugh’s most deeply felt novel…Brideshead Revisited tells an absorbing story in imaginative terms…Mr. Waugh is very definitely an artist.”
— New York Times -
“A many-faceted book…Beautifully [written] by one of the most exhilarating stylists of our time.”
— Newsweek -
“First and last an enchanting story…Brideshead Revisited has a magic that is rare in current literature. It is a world in itself, and the reader lives in it and is loath to leave it when the last page is turned.”
— Saturday Review -
“One of Waugh’s finest accomplishments…A superb book.”
— Amazon.com -
“[Irons’] subtle, complete characterizations highlight Waugh’s ear for the aristocratic mores of the time. Fervent Anglophiles will be thrilled by this excellent rendition of a favorite.”
— Publishers Weekly (audio review) -
“Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons demonstrates impressive skill in his performance of Brideshead Revisited. From the charming yet doomed Lord Sebastian Flyte to the absurd, stuttering Anthony Blanche, Irons manages to capture the many nuances and subtleties of each character.”
— Library Journal (audio review) -
A many-faceted book....beuatifully told by one of the most exhilarating stylists of our time.
— Newsweek -
Heartbreakingly beautiful....The 20th century's finest English novel.
— Los Angeles Times -
A genuine literary masterpiece....Brideshead Revisited is actually a wildly entertaining, swooningly funny-sad story about an iumpressionable young man, Charles Ryder, who goes to Oxford in the 1930s and falls in love with a family: the wealthy, eccentric, aristocratic Flytes, owners of a grand old country house called Brideshead....Told in flashbacks from the dark days of World War II, the novel is aglimmer with the guttering candle glow of an elegant age that was already passing away.
— Lev Grossman, TIME -
Evelyn Waugh's finest achievement.
— John K. Hutchens, New York Times
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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One of Modern Library's 100 Best English-Language Novels of the Twentieth Century
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One of Time Magazine's Best 100 English-Language Novels from 1923–2005
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An Electric Literature Pick of 9 Toxic Friendships in Literature
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A New York Public Library Staff Pick of Favorite Books of the Last 125 Years
Brideshead Revisited Listener Reviews
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Lone Eibye, 7/26/2022
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sez Jooste, 7/9/2022
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" Mr. Waugh is a most worthy practitioner of the art of writing fiction. "
— Steve, 2/14/2014 -
" Great first half but got a little bored near the end, the lack of Sebastian was disappointing. "
— Kelly, 2/9/2014 -
" It was a little painful to read, as I often get lost in the flow of writing and conversational style. I often found myself yawning over the characters' discussions; darting from one point to the next and then all of a sudden, shifting to a different time frame from the narrator's recollections. However, the story is intriguing enough for me to keep on reading -- mostly because I wanted to know what happens to Sebastian, who gradually disappeared from the story. "Brideshead Revisited" is laden with spiritual tones drawn heavily from Catholicism. This didn't immediately occur to me as my impression of the book was that it was themed on a life of despondency from start to finish -- a description of a hellish life on earth. It turns out, the story's about 'redemption' in a really muddled sort of way. I'm now about to watch the TV adaptation of it. "
— V.j., 2/8/2014 -
" The swan song of an ancient, aristocratic beauty "
— Margot, 1/24/2014 -
" A favourite era, favourite setting, fascinating characters and beautiful writing. Worth reading regularly. "
— Wagga, 1/12/2014 -
" This is one of the books that I re-read every year... always find something new, I love it. "
— Nadia, 1/6/2014 -
" Great story about the end of the aristocracy in England. The house becomes a character in its own right and is present throughout the book. "
— Kerri, 11/23/2013 -
" A complex story that is consistently misunderstood by many people. The story of relationships,human frailty and ultimately of conversion. "
— Franz, 11/19/2013 -
" A favourite of mine had not realised I had not listed it here before. Also made into an excellent television series. "
— LindyLouMac, 11/17/2013 -
" Who knew war and Christian propaganda could be so fun? "
— Ross, 9/11/2013 -
" Maybe I wanted something more from Brideshead after hearing about for so many years. But I found the whole thing to be a tad sappy and boring. Yet I did enjoy the frothy escapist quality of Waugh's writing and there are certainly worse ways to spend your time. "
— Sean, 6/7/2013 -
" Love the sequence of this book. "
— Kate, 5/1/2013 -
" I liked the way this book dealt with the role of Catholicism in a particular family, and the different relationship each member had with the faith. Even those who rejected faith couldn't completely let it go. "
— Betsy, 4/5/2013 -
" Not impressed by the flowery prose. As for the character of Sebastian, no college aged man should behave like a repressed 6-year-old girl unless he is mentally ill or developmentally challenged. Creepy. "
— Edie, 3/29/2013 -
" I adore this book. Beautifully sad, romantic and nostalgic all at once. The ties that bind Charles to the Flyte family bind the reader to the book. The scenes set in Venice are particularly moving and one starts to grieve for Charles and Sebastian. "
— Marianne, 3/7/2013
About Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) was born October 28, 1903 in London, England. After short periods as an art student and schoolmaster, he devoted himself to travel and to the writing of novels. His novels are unusually highly wrought and precisely written. Those written before 1939 may be described as satirical. During World War II his writing took a more serious and ambitious turn. Waugh also wrote travel books.
About Jeremy Irons
Jeremy Irons is one of fewer than a dozen actors to have won the Triple Crown of Acting: an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony award, with a Golden Globe thrown in for good measure. His distinctive, haunting voice has seen him cast as the villain in many a movie, though his abundant work in both film and theater has garnered him many leading roles as well. Among his many film credits are Kingdom of Heaven, Being Julia, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Lion King, and Die Hard 3: With a Vengeance.