Martha Peake, Patrick McGrath
Martha Peake, Patrick McGrath
List: $29.95 | Sale: $20.97
Club: $14.97

Martha Peake
A Novel of the American Revolution

Author: Patrick McGrath

Narrator: Tom Sellwood

Unabridged: 12 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/01/2009


Synopsis

When Ambrose Tree is summoned by his ancient uncle to the brooding mansion Drogo Hall, he suspects it's to hear the old man's dying words and then collect a sizable inheritance. He has no idea he is about to learn the bizarre story of Harry Peake, Cornish smuggler turned poet who became a monster capable of the most horrifying acts. Or that he's about to become psychologically enmeshed in the riveting life of Harry's daughter, Martha, who flees her father for colonial America where she becomes a heroic figure in the revolution against England. Or that he himself has a crucial role to play in this mesmerizing tale as it rushes headlong and hauntingly toward its powerful climax. Martha Peake is a spellbinding alloy of Gothic mystery and historical romance.

About Patrick McGrath

Patrick McGrath is the author of Asylum, Port Mungo, Blood and Water and Other Stories, The Grotesque, Spider, and other books, and he was the co-editor, with Bradford Morrow, of The New Gothic.

About Tom Sellwood

Tom Sellwood has recorded many audio books, including Hector Hugo Munro’s Witty, Weird, and OutrageousSaki Favorites; Mutiny on the Bounty; Treasure Island; Far from the Madding Crowd; Emma; a selection of P. G. Wodehouse’s short stories; and Wuthering Heights, to name a few.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Michela on March 05, 2020

Martha Peake narra la storia turbolenta di una ragazza coraggiosa, vittima di un padre dannato, che emigra in America ai tempi della Guerra d’Indipendenza svolgendovi un ruolo rilevante nelle vicende storiche del tempo. La storia di Martha e dello sfortunato padre Harry è narrata postuma, dal giovan......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer on April 02, 2019

The review quoted on the front of my copy of this book states that Martha Peake is an example of McGrath’s ‘trademark ability to probe the layers of the human psyche’. All I can say is that they must not have read the same book that I did. The books duo of unreliable narrators means that no layers o......more

Goodreads review by Ermocolle on August 04, 2021

Drogo Hall, una tenuta fra le brume della brughiera inglese. Appartiene a Ambrose, voce narrante, che lo ha avuto in eredità dallo zio. Questo l'incipit del romanzo di McGrath ambientato fra Londra e la nuova Inghilterra, e si sviluppa tramite il ricordo, spesso improvvisato e opinabile di Ambrose. La......more

Goodreads review by Susanna on December 13, 2020

2 e 1/2 quando uno scrittore contemporaneo vuole cimentarsi col gotico, mescola Shelley, Poe, James, condisce con feuilleton pruriginoso e patriottico, ottenendo un brodo allungato e ben poco saporito......more

Goodreads review by Linda on June 17, 2014

English author Patrick McGrath has been hailed as the master of the neo-gothic, but he prefers to describe himself as the creator of "stories of love and madness". I haven't read his other novels, which have generally been highly acclaimed, but having devoured Martha Peake, I can say that the gothic......more


Quotes

“Remarkable passages of sustained dramatic and atmospheric writing…Rare qualities of power and urgency.” New York Times

“McGrath demonstrates his trademark ability to probe the layers of the human psyche.” San Francisco Chronicle

“McGrath takes a big risk, but the result is an invigorating take on the Revolution, just the tonic for even the most jaded reader during this election season.” Publishers Weekly

“Fans of the gothic genre won’t be disappointed by McGrath’s latest novel, which features gloomy manors, tormented souls, and a persecuted heroine… Peake’s tale will consume readers.” Booklist