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The Age of Innocence cover art

The Age of Innocence

Written by: Edith Wharton
Narrated by: David Horovitch
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Publisher's Summary

Exclusively from Audible

Countess Ellen Olenska, separated from her European husband, returns to old New York society. She bears with her an independence and an awareness of life which stirs the educated sensitivity of the charming Newland Archer, engaged to be married to her cousin, May Welland. Though he accepts the society's standards and rules he is acutely aware of their limitations. He knows May will assure him a conventional future but Ellen, scandalously separated from her husband, forces Archer to question his values and beliefs. With their love intensifying where does Archer's ultimate loyalty lie?

Wharton's audiobook is a love story that accurately portrays upper-class New York society in the late 19th century due to her insider's view of America's privileged classes. Having grown up in upper-class society, Wharton ended up becoming one of its most shrewd critics. Her depiction of the snobbery and hypocrisy of the wealthy elite, combined with her subtle use of dramatic irony, propelled The Age of Innocence to the position of an instant classic, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1921 and making Wharton the first woman to win the prize.

Narrator Biography

Having studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, David Horovitch has had a television career spanning over 40 years. One of his most notable roles was in 1984 as Detective Inspector Slack in the first BBC Miss Marple adaptation The Body in the Library. Due to the success of his character, he returned for four Christmas specials. He has had roles in other shows such as Just William (1994), Foyle's War (2002) and Wire in the Blood (2005) as well as film appearances in The Young Victoria (2009), 102 Dalmatians (2000) The Infiltrator (2016) and Mike Leigh's Mr Turner (2014). A long time star of the stage, in 2015 he played the role of George Frideric Handel in All the Angels by Nick Drake at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. As well as narrating numerous audiobooks, David Horovitch also appeared in Audible's multicast drama The Oedipus Plays.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

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What listeners say about The Age of Innocence

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    4 out of 5 stars

A very well written novel

Normally I do not read/listen to novels such as this one. Having said that, I do enjoy a well-written story such as this. It took me a while to really engage, but I am glad that I persevered.

The narration by David Horovitch is well done if at a slower pace than I like.

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  • 2023-01-09

Loved it!

Another great classic love story, lovely performance and a great account how much society has changed.

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  • Overall
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Great!

Don't be put off from this version by the fact that the narrator is English. David Horovitch (Grand Maester Mellos on House of the Dragon among other things) gives a wonderfully sensitive, gentle reading of this gentle, sensitive novel, and his American accent for character voices is, if not outstanding, perfectly serviceable and not at all distracting. The mastering is a bit quiet but the recording and production are superb; this is one of the best-sounding plus catalogue listens I've heard.

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