The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey
The Flight of Gemma Hardy, Margot Livesey
2 Rating(s)
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The Flight of Gemma Hardy
A Novel

Author: Margot Livesey

Narrator: Davina Porter

Unabridged: 14 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/01/2012

Categories: Fiction, Women, Coming Of Age

Synopsis

Fate has not been kind to Gemma Hardy. Orphaned by the age of ten, neglected by a bitter and cruel aunt, sent to a boarding school where she was both servant and student, young Gemma seemed destined for a life of hardship and loneliness. Yet her bright spirit burns strong. Fiercely intelligent, singularly determined, Gemma overcomes each challenge and setback, growing stronger and more certain of her path. Now an independent young woman with dreams of the future, she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands. But Gemma's biggest trial is about to begin—a journey of passion and betrayal, secrets and lies, redemption and discovery will lead her to a life she's never dreamed of.

About Margot Livesey

Margot Livesey is a New York Times bestselling author. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Vogue, and the Atlantic, and she is the recipient of grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. The House on Fortune Street won the 2009 L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award. Born in Scotland, Livesey currently lives in the Boston area and is a professor of fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

About Davina Porter

Davina Porter has been enthralling listeners for over twenty-five years with her ability to mine the psychological depths of the characters she reads and bring them convincingly to life. In 2006, she won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Female Narration and in 2004 for Best Inspirational Literature Narration. She has been honored as an AudioFile Golden Voice and has won nineteen AudioFile Earphones Awards. As an actress, she has appeared on stage at the Vineyard Playhouse and the Square One Theater, among others.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kerry Kilburn

In her acknowledgements, Margot Livesey writes that her literary inspiration for this tale should be clear. I would argue that "inspiration" is too weak a word for the novel whose events are, with very few exceptions, scrupulously followed from start (the orphaned niece hiding behind the curtains re......more

Goodreads review by O_susannah

I'm going to write a real review of this when I finish (I'm almost there), because I have strong feelings about all adaptations of Jane Eyre, and this is no exception. For now I'll just say that I liked the beginning, but now I no longer much care for the heroine, which is a pretty big problem. *****......more

Quotes

“A brilliantly paced contemporary adventure about a headstrong orphan’s struggle to claim a place for her generous heart in a secret-laden, sometimes loveless world.”

Elle

“In this modern day retelling of Jane Eyre—trade horses for private jets—novelist Margot Livesey pays homage to Brontë’s literary classic.”

Marie Claire

“The portrait of a delicate, iron-willed girl, an orphan and a heroine in the grand tradition…Here as in all of Livesey’s novels, the real treasure is her gift for exploring the unreduced human psyche with all its radiant contradictions, mercurial insights, and desperate generosities.”

David Wroblewski, author of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

“Inspired by Jane Eyre, Livesey offers vibrant prose and a feisty heroine…Captivating and moving, this book is a wonderful addition to Livesey’s body of work.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Marvelous…Gemma Hardy is one of those page turners in which you occasionally have to wrest yourself away from the plot to admire the language.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Livesey follows Brontë’s form, but so convincingly does she create her own character’s life and surroundings that the original soon recedes, its story a beloved, familiar body dressed in an entirely new and vibrant wardrobe.”

Atlantic Monthly

“Livesey has pulled off the near-impossible task that the homage begs an author to do: create an original, fresh work that shines in its own light, while bringing an established, esteemed work to the attention of new readers, and showing off previously unseen facets to its fans.”

Boston Globe

“Jane Eyre gets a terrific modern makeover…Livesey works some sort of magic in The Flight of Gemma Hardy, which is too entertaining to be superfluous, too wise in its understanding of human nature to be a mere retread.”

Miami Herald

“Livesey delivers a suspenseful, curl-up-by-the-fire romance with a willfully determined protagonist who’s worthy of her literary role model.”

People

“Absorbing…Ms. Livesey writes lovely, understated prose…[Her] treks through the novel’s pleasing natural landscapes…are almost as engaging as her navigation of Gemma’s restless psyche.”

Wall Street Journal

Awards

  • Indie Next List
  • New England Book Award
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