Most entertaining - Rated 
The first half was brilliant and included all the memorable passages.
The second half was so very disappointing - enjoyable but disappointing- as the editing cut out many of the most entertaining passages.
I think I would have paid more to have the rest put in!
Richard Armitage is a treasure to listen to. His natural voice and his characterisations are so plausible - even the female parts.
Any thing read by him will definitely be on my agenda!
Good Listen - Rated
I'm in to multi-tasking. I enjoyed listening to this book while knitting. Richard Armitage is perfect for this type of read. Cosy, warm and very good with cuppa and fire going.
Richard Armitage reading Georgette Heyer! *swoon* - Rated 
The combination of Regency Romance Queen Georgette Heyer's classic novel Sylvester and the velvet voiced actor Richard Armitage is irresistable. I dare anyone not to be captivated!
Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle was originally published in 1957, and is one of Georgette Heyer's more popular Regency novels. The wealthy, arrogant and pragmatic Sylvester Rayne, the Duke of Salford, in his twenty-eight year has taken it upon himself to marry, much to the surprise of his widowed mother, producing a short-list of five suitable debutantes that meet his exacting standards. However, among the list of beautiful and accomplished young women she does not see her first choice, the Hon Phoebe Marlow, granddaughter of his godmother Lady Ingham. Sylvester travels to London to consult Lady Ingham, but he is put off by her inelegant attempt to fix the match solely based on the fact that her daughter, Phoebe's mother, and his mother were best friends. Meanwhile, word reaches Phoebe's spiteful stepmother that the Duke of Salford will shortly make an offer for her hand and commands her to accept. Horrified, Phoebe is also put off by the reasons for the alliance and her memory of the cold, proud Duke of Salford from her London season. When they are formally introduced she is shy and dull, and he is unimpressed. In a panic, Phoebe runs away to London, and the sanctuary of Lady Ingham, escorted by her childhood friend Tom Orde. A carriage accident interrupts their journey happened upon by Sylvester who thinks he has discovered a runaway marriage in progress. When a snow storm traps them all together at the local Inn, Sylvester begins to see that Phoebe is actually quite intelligent and interesting, and not at all the young woman of his first impression. Gallantly, he removes any concerns that she may be harboring on his proposing marriage. She in turn, is gratefully relieved sharing that nothing could possibly induce her to marry him!
In typical Heyer fashion her independent heroine and staid hero are the most unlikely couple imaginable. How she will bring them together is a humorous and engaging adventure, filled with pride, prejudice and misunderstandings. In addition, Heyer's cast of secondary characters are predictable, but most welcome: Ianthe the spoilt and impulsive widow of Sylvester's twin brother who thinks he is a villianous brute, Sir Nugent Fotherby her foppish and absurd fiancé, Tom Orde the steady and trusting family friend, and Lady Ingham the meddling but well meaning older relative among others. Heyer excels at bringing out the eccentric and the ridiculous in her characters played against dry humor like few can. The subplot of Phoebe anonymously writing a Gothic novel mirroring the personalities and physical characteristics of her family and friends is brilliant. When Sylvester's signature devilish-looking eyebrows show up on the villain Count Ugolino scandalizing the Ton, she unintentionally admits that she was the authoress resulting in a hillarious fallout. As with all of Heyer's romances, there is a hard wrought happy ending. How all the ill-informed opinions and misconceptions will be resolved, I will leave to the reader to discover.
Richard Armitage's reading of this Heyer classic was a delight. My only disappoint, and he is certainly not at fault, is in the abridgement of this novel. Not only does the reader deserve all of Georgette Heyer's witty dialogue and opulent descriptions of Regency finery, furnishing, and social machinations, but every sumptuous and simmeringly seductive word uttered by Richard Armitage possible. Like the narrator who so wisely advised us in Mansfield Park, "Nobody minds having what is too good for them."
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
Sylvester - excellent! - Rated
I thoroughly enjoyed this charming story, read beautifully by Richard Armitage, who made the characters come to life.
Gentle entertainment - Rated
If you like Georgette Heyer and aren't bothered by this being an adaptation, you'll love this. Sylvester is one of my favourite books, and I found this reading by Richard Armitage delightful. His differentiation between characters is very clever, and the adaptation is very good. There was only one bit of the book which I felt they should have made sure was in, but it doesn't detract from the main story-line so I suppose the adaptors felt it was OK to leave it out. Real fans will notice the omission, but perhaps I'm just being picky!!
|
