• Wives and Daughters

  • By: Elizabeth Gaskell
  • Narrated by: Nadia May
  • Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (635 ratings)

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Wives and Daughters  By  cover art

Wives and Daughters

By: Elizabeth Gaskell
Narrated by: Nadia May
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Publisher's summary

Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centers on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister enters Molly's quiet life, the loveable, but worldly and troubling, Cynthia. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.
(P)2002 Blackstone Audiobooks. Originally published in England between 1864 and 1866.

What listeners say about Wives and Daughters

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

It's not about the ending!

This was long and lovely,--a British accent is crisp and clear; Nadia May has that and more. The story is of Molly Gibson, a nineteenth century middleclass teenager, an admirable if slightly insipid heroine, her wonderful father--a country doctor, her magnetic stepsister Cynthia and Mrs. Gibson, the stepmother who is as close to innocuous evil as Ms Gaskell can bring herself, and various other characters of differing classes who live nearby and help make this book a 19th century soap opera. Don't be off put by the fact that the author, Elizabeth Gaskell, a contemporary of Austin and the Brontes, died just before finishing this classic. The afterword addresses the lack of an ending. We are given what we are told was the author's intent to have happy closure for the characters who most deserved it. It was a lovely voyage and that it ended just short of its destination did not make it much less enjoyable.

It has taken me nearly half a century to discover why classics are such great audio treats, not so different from the well written books of today, but missing the compulsory sex and vulgarities. This novel ensures that I will look for more Audible classics to savour.

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71 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

What a wonderful story and listen

I love this book. I love to listen to the story. It pulls me into the story and the lives of these people. The author is witty, and some of Dr. Gibson's statements are worth the price of the book. The BBC adaptation (also wonderful) made me realize that Mrs. Gibson is really a ditzy person who speaks without thinking. Listening with that in mind really brings forward the satire. A true unknown classic.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Two girls on the verge of womanhood.

This is a lovely story about Molly Gibson, daughter of the town doctor and Cynthia Kirkpatrick, her new stepsister who is much more worldly than dear Molly.

We all have known women like Cynthia; they are so charming that men and women love to do things for them. My sister is like this. Once she had a date and hadn't done her housework so I volunteered to do it for her so she wouldn't miss out on her date. Only later, when I was doing her work, did I say to myself, " Why did I let her do this to me? She is out having fun and I am cleaning up her messes." Does that sound familiar?

Molly does end up cleaning some of Cynthia's messes and it could be catastrophic for her, had she not made some important friends along the way who clear her name.

Hyacinth Kirkpatrick is the one you love to hate. Although not an "evil" stepmother, she is probably the most self involved narcissist I have read about in many years.

This was Mrs. Gaskell's last book, left unfinished at her death, but the story winds down enough that you can see where she is going and who ends up with who at the end.

Mrs. Gaskell always writes wonderful characters and even Cynthia, who was neglected as a child is sympathetic and believable. Mrs. Kirkpatrick Gibson is harder to like but you can understand how she came to be who she came to be. Molly is the most enjoyable person in the book and there is no way you can't come away with an admiration of her character's ethics and likeability.

The men play a good part of the story and for the most part they are original and beautifully drawn.

This is a good story and it will capture your heart.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great timeless story!

What did you love best about Wives and Daughters?

I loved the characters' complexity.

What did you like best about this story?

Gaskell kept my interest by interweaving so many different scenes and personalities.

Which scene was your favorite?

Although I did not admire her personality, my favorite scenes involved Mrs. Gibson portraying herself as one person while her words and actions showed her to be something completely different.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but impossible at 25 hours. I did not want the story to end.

Any additional comments?

This book makes me want to go back to reading 19th century fiction.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I loved this book!

If you are looking for adventure and swift plot, this is not for you. If, however, you are looking for great characters and like English country stories, you will have a wonderful time with this one. The characters are a little like those in Trollope's Barsetshire novels, but they are more realistic - Cynthia is a great charachter, flawed, loving and fabulous. Nadia May is, of course, wonderful.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

If you like Trollope...

You’ll love this as well. With a feminist heroine and good people trying to do right (although not always succeeding), it’s a bit of a relief from today’s world, which seems to have lost its compassion. These days, it seems hard times fall and no one lifts a hand to help; its pleasant to pretend there was a time people reached out to help others. All that said, warning: there are a few racist references concerning a character’s trip to Africa, and these statements go unchecked. But they don’t total more than 5 minutes in a 22 hour work...so you are allowed to forget it (if that’s okay with you)...

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable story, excellent performance.

If you could sum up Wives and Daughters in three words, what would they be?

True love wins.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Molly Gibson was my favorite character because she exuded nothing but [character]. She was steadfast or, "constant" as termed several times in the book. I have to give Cynthia credit for being honest, if nothing else. Mr. Gibson, Lady Harriet, and Phoebe played great supporting roles, always championing Molly.

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved the scene when Lady Harriet proudly paraded Molly all over town. It was also funny when Roger tells Mr. Gibson of his intentions (at the end of the story).

If you could rename Wives and Daughters, what would you call it?

One More Chapter? Lol. The Heart Grows Fonder...

Any additional comments?

I was so sad to learn that Mrs. Gaskell died before completing the last chapter of Wives and Daughters. Fortunately, she shared the plot of her story with others, so the reader at least knew what she had in mind for an ending. Unfortunately, I didn't know the story was left unfinished until I reached the end. I was doubly frustrated because I'd just finished North and South, also by Gaskell, which also ended abruptly due to severe time constraints. Overall, she was a gifted writer, a little verbose, but I like the way she developed her characters and plots. Seamless closure to her stories (Wives and Daughters, and North and South, at least), was not meant to be, however.

Nadia May did an excellent job narrating the story, and was the perfect choice for Wives and Daughters.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Great PBS mini series--tedious listen

Would you try another book from Elizabeth Gaskell and/or Nadia May?

No, the style is too wordy for me; narrator read too fast.

Would you ever listen to anything by Elizabeth Gaskell again?

I think I had enough of this literature in graduate school as an English major.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator read too fast for me to keep up!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Terribly boring....

Terrific narrator! But what a boring book. Couldn't even get through to the end of the first download. Sorry I wasted my credit.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, not so great narration

This narrator only read in one voice making the story hard to get into. Lucky i only paid $0.99

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1 person found this helpful