The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno

Name: The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno
Brand: Recorded Books
Availability: InStock
Author: Ellen Bryson
ISBN: 9781449828363

Author: Ellen Bryson

Narrator: Jeff Woodman

Unabridged: 12 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 06/22/2010

Categories: Fiction, Literary Fiction

Synopsis

Ellen Bryson's first novel, The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno earned instant critical acclaim. This first-person narrative follows one of P.T. Barnum's socalled freaks on a mesmerizing journey of self-discovery. Bartholomew is a feature attraction at Barnum's American Museum as the world's thinnest man. He enjoys providing audiences with a glimpse at their inner selves reflected in his emaciated figure. Now, however, after a decade in the museum, Bartholomew finds his contentment waning while his desires to travel and explore grow. His opportunity arrives on the eve of President Lincoln's funeral, when a mysterious veiled woman appears, accompanied by Mr. Barnum. Everyone is captivated by this stranger-including the master showman himself, who enlists Bartholomew to monitor her movements and report back to him. America of 1865 is laid bare as Bartholomew's insightful gaze takes in the world around him. Through Jeff Woodman's masterful performance, listeners become immersed in a tale of love, freedom, and the heart's deepest longings.

Reviews

Goodreads review by R.G.

Ellen Bryson obviously did exhaustive research preparing to write this novel set in 1865 amid the Curiosities of P.T. Barnum's American Museum. The details of Reconstruction-era Manhattan are richly, if heavy-handedly, conveyed, and the combination of invented and historical characters (such as Barn......more

Goodreads review by Audrey

Let me just start off by saying "Go Ellen Bryson!" With "the Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno" she has created an easily readable, easily enjoyable story that touches on the one thing from which, at some point in time, all humans have suffered: the feeling of being an outcast. And she has done......more

Goodreads review by Blodeuedd

I have mentioned that I like books that are a little strange, out of the ordinary. Here there is no magic or things like that. But the characters in this book, it is those that are out of the ordinary. Bartholomew (let's just call him Bart cos I will never be able to spell that) lives in New York an......more

Goodreads review by Jason

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.) An engaging literary hybrid -- partly a historical melodrama, partly a Victorian thriller with lightly stea......more