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Digital Audiobook
Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac

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Cousin Bette

Author
Honoré de Balzac
Narrator
Lucy Scott
Publisher
Naxos AudioBooks
Publish Date
1 July 2020
Run Time
16 hours 5 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Genre
Classic fiction
$13.95

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What to expect

Lisbeth Fischer has lived in the shadow of her beautiful cousin Adeline for much of her life. Pampered while Lisbeth works in the fields, Adeline makes an enviable leap in status when Baron Hulot offers her his hand in marriage. Out of kindness, they bring Lisbeth to Paris, where she falls in love with the artist Wenceslas, her protégé. However, when she is jilted for Adeline’s daughter Hortense, her jealousy and rage exponentially intensify, and she resolves to bring the Hulot family to ruin, employing the cold seductress Valérie Marneffe as her vehicle for revenge. A classic tale of obsession, self-destruction and unabated desire, Cousin Bette is a blazing portrayal of libertine France, and the fatal excesses which drive the novel to its dark end.

Critics Review

  • While it was written in 1846, this novel gets a modern vibe with Lucy Scott’s narration. Yet she remains true to the original text, and something in this combination lends this audiobook a timeless air. The titular cousin is ageing and unmarried – an unthinkable status in Post-Napoleonic France – and her simmering resentment fuels the intrigue that permeates the story. Scott’s pacing and accents are reliable and listener friendly. There is an initial adjustment period, as there is with many audiobooks of classics like this, but Scott’s patient interpretation secures the listener’s engagement. Her distinct character voices enliven the dialogue, and subtle vocal twists capture the snippets of irony and social commentary.

    L.B.F., AudioFile

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Details
Author
Honoré de Balzac
Narrator
Lucy Scott
Duration
16 hours 5 minutes
Release Date
1 July 2020
ISBN
9781781983188
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Naxos AudioBooks
Genre
Classic fiction

Synopsis

Lisbeth Fischer has lived in the shadow of her beautiful cousin Adeline for much of her life. Pampered while Lisbeth works in the fields, Adeline makes an enviable leap in status when Baron Hulot offers her his hand in marriage. Out of kindness, they bring Lisbeth to Paris, where she falls in love with the artist Wenceslas, her protégé. However, when she is jilted for Adeline’s daughter Hortense, her jealousy and rage exponentially intensify, and she resolves to bring the Hulot family to ruin, employing the cold seductress Valérie Marneffe as her vehicle for revenge. A classic tale of obsession, self-destruction and unabated desire, Cousin Bette is a blazing portrayal of libertine France, and the fatal excesses which drive the novel to its dark end.

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