Play Audiobook Sample
Speakers of the Dead: A Walt Whitman Mystery Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(0.00) - 0 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
Lambda Award Winner Speakers of the Dead is a mystery novel centering around the investigative exploits of a young Walt Whitman, in which the reporter-cum-poet navigates the seedy underbelly of New York City's body-snatching industry in an attempt to exonerate his friend of a wrongful murder charge. The year is 1843; the place: New York City. Aurora reporter Walt Whitman arrives at the Tombs prison yard where his friend Lena Stowe is scheduled to hang for the murder of her husband, Abraham. Walt intends to present evidence on Lena's behalf, but Sheriff Harris turns him away. Lena drops to her death, and Walt vows to posthumously exonerate her. Walt's estranged boyfriend, Henry Saunders, returns to New York, and the two men uncover a link between body-snatching and Abraham's murder: a man named Samuel Clement. To get to Clement, Walt and Henry descend into a dangerous underworld where resurrection men steal the bodies of the recently deceased and sell them to medical colleges. With no legal means to acquire cadavers, medical students rely on these criminals, and Abraham's involvement with the Bone Bill—legislation that would put the resurrection men out of business—seems to have led to his and Lena's deaths. Fast-paced and gripping, Speakers of the Dead is a vibrant reimagining of one of America's most beloved literary figures.
Download and start listening now!
“Mark Bramhall’s performance is entrancing, grabbing the listener with an understated delivery that increases in intensity as events unfold…The novel has many levels that highlight different traits in Whitman, and Bramhall convincingly portrays each facet of his character. He’s particularly adept at conveying dialogue, defining even secondary characters with tones and inflections that complement every aspect of this thoroughly enjoyable story.”
— AudioFile
Quotes
-
“Boldly plotted and compulsively readable, Speakers of the Dead is a welcome discovery for any fan of literary history thrillers.”
— Matthew Pearl, New York Times bestselling author -
“Gorgeous and emotional…[Speakers of the Dead presents] Sanders as an exceptionally skillful and poetic writer.”
— Lamda Literary Review -
“This elegant literary mystery from Sanders makes a fine debut, bringing to vivid life one of America’s greatest poets and presenting a fresh perspective on a less familiar period of US history.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“The author addresses the then-controversial issue of anatomical dissection and imbues all his characters, even the villains, with humanity.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Sanders’ confident prose and deft storytelling come together in a transporting novel that is at once a mystery, a tragedy, and a tale of deep friendship…Riveting and haunting.”
— Rae Meadows, author of Mercy Train
Speakers of the Dead Listener Reviews
Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
About J. Aaron Sanders
J. Aaron Sanders is a novelist and an associate professor of English at Columbus State University where he teaches literature and creative writing. He holds a PhD in American Literature from the University of Connecticut and an MFA in fiction from the University of Utah. His stories have appeared in Carolina Quarterly, Gulf Coast, Quarterly West, and Beloit Fiction Journal, among others.
About Mark Bramhall
Mark Bramhall has won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has repeatedly been named by AudioFile magazine and Publishers Weekly among their “Best Voices of the Year.” He is also an award-winning actor whose acting credits include off-Broadway, regional, and many Los Angeles venues as well as television, animation, and feature films. He has taught and directed at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.