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  • A Great and Terrible Beauty

  • Written by: Libba Bray
  • Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
  • Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (17 ratings)

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A Great and Terrible Beauty cover art

A Great and Terrible Beauty

Written by: Libba Bray
Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
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Publisher's Summary

It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls, and their foray into the spiritual world, lead to?
©2003 Libba Bray (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group
Science Fiction & Fantasy History & Culture Historical Fiction Paranormal & Supernatural
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What the critics say

"A delicious, elegant gothic." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about A Great and Terrible Beauty

Average Customer Ratings
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Profile Image for Anonymous User

Great Story

The story was wonderful Libba Bray is the perfect amount of wit and intrigue! Performance sometimes made the characters sound like children which was frustrating and distracting. The accents were well done.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Michelle O

Original YA story with great narration

I read this book in high school and remember really loving it. It was something I wanted to revisit and I'm glad I did so through the audiobook. The narrator does a fantastic job and has a great set of voices for each of the characters. There are 4 female main characters who are the same age and you can easily tell which one is talking just from the voice. There are also a number of different accents that characters have beyond standard posh English, including Indian and cockney, and the narrator does them fairly well.

The story for me still holds up. I generally prefer more adult fantasy now rather than YA but this story still kept my interest. The protagonist's point of view is witty and emotional and helps you get in her mindset and understand her actions. The setting is fun and mystical; the mix of historical fiction and fantasy is fun and engaging. I would recommend it for anyone who likes either of those genres.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Isabelle C.

An amazing story brought to life

I first read this story many years ago, when I was about 13-14 and I absolutely loved it. The narrative can be a bit flowery at times, but when you listen to the audiobook, you barely notice. The narrator does a fantastic job at bringing this wonderful story to life, I experienced it in a whole new way and gained an even deeper appreciation for it.

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