The Anatomy Lesson: A Novel Audiobook, by Nina Siegal Play Audiobook Sample

The Anatomy Lesson: A Novel Audiobook

The Anatomy Lesson: A Novel Audiobook, by Nina Siegal Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Bruce Mann, Emma Jayne Appleyard, Gildart Jackson, Hannah Curtis, Peter Altschuler, Steve West, Adam Alexi-Malle, Nina Siegal, a full cast Publisher: Penguin Random House Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 6.17 hours at 1.5x Speed 4.63 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: March 2014 Format: Unabridged Audiobook Delivery: Instant Download ISBN: 9780804190602

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

90

Longest Chapter Length:

08:56 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

22 seconds

Average Chapter Length:

06:06 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

3

Other Audiobooks Written by Nina Siegal: > View All...

Publisher Description

Set in one day in 1632, The Anatomy Lesson is a stunning portrayal of Golden Age Amsterdam and a brilliantly imagined back-story to Rembrandt's first great work of art. Told from several points of view, ranging from a curio dealer who collects bodies for the city’s chief anatomist to philosopher Rene Descartes, the novel opens on the morning of the medical dissection that is to be recorded by the twenty-six-year-old artist from Leiden who has yet to attach his famous signature to a painting.  

As the story builds to its dramatic and inevitable conclusion, the events that transpire throughout the day sway Rembrandt to make fundamental changes to his initial composition. These changes will remain mysteries for centuries until a young art historian closely examines the painting in the twenty-first century, and makes surprising discoveries about the painter, his process, and his genius for capturing enduring truths about human nature in a single moment.

Cast of Narrators:

Author’s Note & Acknowledgements, read by the Author

The Body / Adriaen “Aris” Adriaenszoon, read by Bruce Mann

The Heart / Flora of Leiden, read by Emma Jayne Appleyard

The Mouth / Jan Fetchet, read by Gildart Jackson

The Eyes / Rembrandt, read by Steve West

The Mind/ René Descartes, read by Adam Alexi-Malle

The Hand / Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, read by Peter Altschuler

Conservator’s Notes / Pia de Graaf, read by Hannah Curtis

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Once in a rare while, you get to read a story of such breathtaking beauty and intelligence that you remember why you love to read. The Anatomy Lesson is just such a novel. In stunning prose, Nina Siegal animates Rembrandt’s first masterpiece, spinning a deeply affecting tale of love, loss and redemption as she reveals the secrets of the human soul. It is a gorgeous literary page turner of immense sympathy and elegance, equal in artistic élan to its inspiration. Brava!

— Robin Oliveira, author of My Name is Mary Sutter and I Always Loved You 

Quotes

  • “Brilliantly structured, wonderfully evocative, filled with vivid characters, The Anatomy Lesson transports the reader to that day in 1632 when the coat thief Aris Kindt passed from life to death and from death, thanks first to Rembrandt and now Nina Siegal, into immortality. A dazzling debut.”

    — Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author
  • A literary page-turner that captures a story behind a masterpiece, [Siegal's] talent is in exploring the wrenching emotion of loss and the price that's paid for trying to understand human life.

    — Oprah.com, Book of the Week
  • Siegal succeeds in the task she has set for herself—to transmute her material into a work of art.

    — The New Yorker
  • Siegal’s fascinating narrative conveys the pomp, graft, bustle and rough justice of 17th-century Holland through a multitude of voices.

    — The New York Times Book Review
  • Splendid...Through masterful use of subtle details, embroidered into beautiful writing, Siegal suggests that art and violence often intertwine.

    — Publishers Weekly
  • Virtually every sentence is drenched in the atmosphere of 17th-century Amsterdam. We feel as if we are walking at Rembrandt’s side, in a cell awaiting the execution of a thief, rushing through the streets with the condemned’s lover in hopes of saving him. This is a novel to be absorbed for its rich evocation of a single day when one man died and another rose to fame for his art.

    — Historical Novel Society
  • Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp  is a narrative in paint which tells a story of Amsterdam in its Golden Age. Now, Nina Siegal's lovely novel dissects the dissection, evocatively translating the painted narrative into words, bringing a grim tableau to life and reanimating a moment in history when art, science, life, and death converged.

    — Russell Shorto, author of Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City
  • Brilliantly structured, wonderfully evocative, filled with vivid characters, The Anatomy Lesson transports the reader to that day in 1632 when the coat thief Aris Kindt passed from life to death and from death, thanks first to Rembrandt and now Nina Siegal, into immortality. A dazzling debut.

    — Margot Livesey, author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy
  • "Siegal takes one fascinating work of art and transmutes it into another.

    — Abigail Dalton, Everyday eBook 
  • A thought-provoking and richly populated novel by a talented new voice.

    — Jeanette Zwart, Shelf Awareness 
  • “Siegal alternates between the perspectives of her characters to create a literary page-turner that captures a story behind a masterpiece, but her talent is in exploring the wrenching emotion of loss and the price that’s paid for trying to understand human life.”

    — Oprah.com, Book of the Week
  • “Splendid…Through masterful use of subtle details, embroidered into beautiful writing, Siegal suggests that art and violence often intertwine.”

    — Publishers Weekly
  • “Rich in historical detail about the day-to-day life and philosophical debates of  seventeenth-century Amsterdam, this is an intriguing read.”

    — Library Journal

Awards

  • Nominated for the 2015 Audie Award for Best Multivoiced Performance

The Anatomy Lesson Listener Reviews

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About Nina Siegal

Nina Siegal is a journalist and novelist. She graduated from Cornell University with a BA degree and received her MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She has written for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, among other publications.

About the Narrators

Bruce Mann, Earphones Award–winning narrator,studied classical acting at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and has been a successful voice-over artist and actor for over ten years.

Gildart Jackson’s acting credits span the stage and screen. He is most often recognized for his roles as Gideon on Charmed and Simon Prentiss on General Hospital. He has also starred in numerous television shows, including CSI and Vegas, and he played the lead in the highly acclaimed independent feature film You, directed by his wife, Melora Hardin.

Hannah Curtis is an actress known for her appearances in The Shadow, Hollyoaks, and The Heavy. She graduated from Elmhurst School of Performing Arts and is involved with organizations such as the Actors Center in London and the Howard Fine Acting Studio in Los Angeles.

Peter Altschuler is an actor as well as a voice-over artist. His voice can be heard in commercials for Mercedes Benz, on the Nickelodeon show Addictive Games, and as the narrator of audiobooks, including several that earned him the AudioFile Earphones Award.

Steve West, the winner of multiple Earphones Awards for narration, is an international actor who has starred on London’s prestigious West End stage, including productions of Mamma Mia! and Oh, What a Night! He is widely known for his television and film work in both the United States and the UK, and he has performed for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. He hosts his own television show for the UK live from Los Angeles.

Bruce Mann, Earphones Award–winning narrator,studied classical acting at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and has been a successful voice-over artist and actor for over ten years.

Gabra Zackman is an actress, author, and narrator who has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards. She was educated at Northwestern University. A classically trained actress, she has appeared in theaters all over the country as well as on film and television.