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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Audio CD)
by Schlubalybub
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third installment of the series, is by far my favourite story of the seven. I read this book before any of the others, and it was also the first Harry Potter audiobook I heard.
Again, Harry is plunged into danger alongside his usual schoolwork (which is also pretty dangerous), ... with the well-known murderer, Sirius Black, on the loose and after him. Told, as the other books are, from Harry's point of view, you go on a journey with Harry to discover what really happened that caused his parents to be killed, and again Stephen Fry takes you on this journey in a way that makes the story really come alive. Mr Fry's voice helps you to understand the danger and worry that Harry is going through, and expresses the story in a beautiful way.
The audiobook is a fantastic addition to the collection of any Harry Potter fan, and I think that every fan should listen to this (possibly while reading along) at least once, to make the story feel more real, and it can also help to find things that you might have missed, especially during a re-read when you already know the story.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Audio CD)
by Schlubalybub
The second book in the series of seven, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is an amazing book. Harry goes through challenges and danger, as well as the usual schoolwork and lessons.
Stephen Fry reads the book in a way that really makes the story come alive. His voice makes it clear when Harry is safe, and when he is in ... danger. Mr Fry was the perfect choice for the reading, he tells the story in the way it was meant to be told.
I recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants to read the Harry Potter books, yet cannot for whatever reason- I listen to this audiobook in work, and it really helps me to notice things that I may not have noticed during reading. I also think this audiobook is excellent for reading along, especially with young children who may not be able to read the books on their own, especially with discussions afterwards.
This audiobook is read beautifully and is well worth a listen.
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Jane Boleyn - Julia Fox
by ladybracknell
I've been decorating just lately and as painting isn't on my list of favourite occupations I decided to borrow an audio book from the library to help take my mind off tackling the hall, landing and stairs. Unfortunately, I think I chose the wrong book. It not only didn't distract me but at times made me rather ... annoyed.
Though I'm not a huge fan of the Tudors I was intrigued by the fact that this biography professed to have fresh new evidence that would exonerate Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne Boleyn's brother George, a woman who history states gave evidence not only against Anne but also against her own husband which ultimately led to both their deaths.
The audio book is unabridged and lasts for 13½ hours but is quite expensive at just over £26 although it can be downloaded for free from Audible via their 30 day free trial offer. It's also available in paperback for £6 new or 1p for used copies. The narrator is Julia Barrie.
The book begins with a description of the funeral of the first child of Henry VIII and his wife, Katherine of Aragon and even after listening to the first chapter it was clear that this was going to be more like a fictionalised account of events rather than a serious historical investigation. The dramatic description of the sad procession of the infant prince and the subsequent funeral were merely a precursor to what followed which is little more than regurgitated information and seems to bring absolutely no new evidence to light. In fact, many of the statements the author makes about Jane Boleyn and the events which led to her husband's and sister-in-law's deaths and also later her own execution for her part in assisting Katherine Howard's infidelity are prefaced by the words 'It's possible' or 'It's believed' rather than 'It has been proved beyond a shadow of doubt.' The wording alone made me doubt the veracity of many of the statements in the book.
The top and bottom of it is that there simply doesn't appear to be enough documented evidence around to give more than a brief sketch of what Jane Parker, later to become Jane Boleyn, was truly like and although she was a primary witness in the case against her sister-in-law, she isn't really interesting enough to warrant a book of her own and as a consequence, much of the story revolves around Anne Boleyn's marriage to Henry.
Much of the early part of the book about Jane's early years is fictionalised, largely because nothing much is known and this really sets the tone for the rest of the book. As an account of the turbulent years of Henry VIII's reign, the story is interesting enough and Julia Fox certainly captures a sense of the age. However, she can't get away from the fact that Jane Boleyn definitely did accuse her husband and sister-in-law of having an incestuous relationship and Ms Fox's attempt to exonerate her fail miserably. Her claim that the marriage of George and Jane was a happy one, flies in the face of what history tells us. Ms Fox seems to feel that simply saying the marriage was happy, makes it so and she doesn't produce any evidence to back up her theory. Likewise, her claims that Jane and Anne Boleyn were close friends, again, isn't confirmed.
I rather get the feeling that the author decided that Jane Boleyn was innocent of the charges levelled at her and set about writing a book to that effect, leaving out any pieces of evidence which didn't tally with her theory. The writing style is very descriptive and quite frankly is more suited to fiction writing than serious biography with many of the opinions expressed so obviously coming from the author's mind rather than being attributed to primary sources. To my mind this is factual fiction rather than a true biography and it's written along the lines of authors such as Alison Weir or Philippa Gregory. After the first few chapters, I decided to take what followed with a huge pinch of salt and just enjoy it as a novel. Unfortunately, it failed to impress as a novel either.
By the time I'd listened to about half the book, I was rapidly running out of patience with both Jane Boleyn and Julia Fox. The alternative title to this book is 'The Infamous Lady Rochford' but would have better been described as the infuriating Lady Rochford. Even allowing for Ms Fox's partiality, Jane Boleyn comes across as a rather silly woman. Not only does she give evidence against her husband and sister-in-law, for which she was paid, after a suitable period away from court, she returned and began meddling in the affairs of the King yet again. Firstly, she gave evidence against his current queen, Anne of Cleves, to enable the king to get yet another divorce, but also helped the next queen, the equally silly Katherine Howard, conduct a less than discrete adulterous affair. The excuses Ms Fox comes up with as to why Jane Boleyn acted the way she did as specious to say the least.
I can't really recommend this audio book, certainly not as a biography at any rate, as the author failed to convince me with her arguments . It works much better as a piece of historical fiction, despite the fact that the central character is not someone I could sympathise with. There are better Tudor biographers out there, such as David Starkey, who manage to dramatise events whilst maintaining credibility. Ms Fox did not do so.
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