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The Alchemist's Daughter: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 2,426 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Secrets abound in this gripping tale of a young woman cloistered since birth who discovers that knowledge is no subsitute for experience when she choses to follow her heart over science. Raised by her father in near isolation in the English countryside, Emilie Selden is trained as a brilliant natural philosopher and alchemist. In the spring of 1725, during the English Age of Reason, father and daughter embark upon their most daring alchemical experiment to date—attempting to breathe life into dead matter. But when Emilie—against her father’s wishes—experiences the passion of first love, she decides to listen to her heart over her head. Banished to London and plunged headlong into a society that is both glamorous and ruthless, Emilie discovers that for all her extraordinary education she has no insight into the workings of the human heart. When she tries to return to the world of books and study, she instead unravels a shocking secret that sets her on her true journey to enlightenment.
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"Couldn't put this books down. I feel like she really captured the time, and the challenges that women faced, in a way that just felt like I was in the alchemist's daughter's shoes. It is not very often you can find a book, set in this time period and really identify with the character, but I did."
— Lauren (4 out of 5 stars)
The Alchemist's Daughter Listener Reviews
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" I really loved Katharine McMohons writing style. She did a wonderful job depicting characters and the time/place of the story. At times the story was a bit slow for me and the ending left me feeling disappointed. But, the story was a very good one and well done. "
— Starla, 2/20/2014 -
" I thought it was an interesting correlation between science and relationships. I enjoyed the scientific part of the book as much as the story, thinking about how we currently believe the order of the universe. "
— Terresa, 2/19/2014 -
" So good, and it has a good moral to the story "
— Argnese, 2/15/2014 -
" not my kind of book. a lot of words, not a lot of meaning, just a story "
— Natasa, 2/10/2014 -
" I really liked this book! Interesting twists. "
— Sarah, 2/2/2014 -
" This book was enlightening. I was fascinated by how repressed women were in the 1700s. "
— Jennifer, 1/26/2014 -
" I didn't finish this book because the heroine was too annoyingly helpless. She's supposed to be brilliant, yet she can't think her way out of a paper bag. "
— Suburbangardener, 1/21/2014 -
" Horrible, godawful waste of my time. The first 1/4 of the book was really exciting, and made you want to know more of the character, but as soon as she marries Aislabie it all goes downhill. She's supposed to be really smart, but makes the most ridiculous decisions. Don't bother. LAME. "
— Jen, 1/18/2014 -
" This book is safe to read. No garbage included. It is the story about a young girl, living at home with her father and special needs brother. Her mother has left the family. She makes difficult choices as she moves into the adult world. "
— Vonnie, 1/5/2014 -
" interesting period story. "
— Kellie, 12/14/2013 -
" Thought this book was pretty boring. Didn't get good until the end. "
— Shareen, 11/30/2013 -
" Actually stopped reading it...something I almost never do! "
— Rachael, 5/27/2013 -
" Don't bother. Not as exciting as it may seem to an herbalist. I'll try the other book of the same title. "
— Tina, 2/3/2013 -
" I was a little bored with the descriptions of the experiments, but the story was decent. "
— Johannah, 3/27/2012 -
" Poor girl! Forced to learn science by her father, and unknowledgable of human relationships. Very interesting read! "
— Stephanie, 2/3/2012 -
" I think I read this book last year. I can't remember. Anyways, it's a grown-up book and I made a mistake of reading it. Oops:( I didn't really enjoy the last part but the start was okay. "
— Designer, 11/29/2011 -
" More like 3.5 stars. Wish we had that option. Just so-so. "
— Tara, 7/1/2011 -
" I did not like the story, but thought it was written well. The main characters just were not believeable. "
— EJ, 6/5/2011 -
" Of course its nothing like 'the Alchemist.' Interesting twist for a love story...don't know that I would recommend it. "
— Camie, 5/11/2011 -
" What really mad me mad was that I used a gift certificate on this book. Completely disliked it. Just a romance, and it's not even written that well (if ya know what I mean :)). "
— Chelsea, 5/9/2011 -
" I really enjoyed this book! "
— Kylie, 4/14/2011 -
" This book is safe to read. No garbage included. It is the story about a young girl, living at home with her father and special needs brother. Her mother has left the family. She makes difficult choices as she moves into the adult world. "
— Vonnie, 3/22/2011 -
" I liked the reader's voice a lot. Very good with different character's voices. I liked the context and thought 1720s London pretty interesting. Heroine...meh "
— Molly, 3/1/2011 -
" Thought this book was pretty boring. Didn't get good until the end. "
— Shareen, 3/1/2011 -
" I did not enjoy this book. The main character is an easily manipulated girl. This book reminded me more of a romance novel than historical fiction. "
— Aubreya, 1/26/2011
About Katharine McMahon
Katharine Mcmahon is the author of several novels of historical fiction. She is a former English teacher, writing instructor, and actress.
About the Narrators
Justine Eyre is a classically trained actress who has narrated many audiobooks, earning the prestigious Audie Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She is multilingual and known for her great facility with accents. She has appeared on stage, with leading roles in King Lear and The Crucible, and has had starring roles in four films on the indie circuit. Her television credits include Two and a Half Men and Mad Men.
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.