Audio: The Clergyman's wife by Molly Greeley

A Pride & Prejudice Novel

By: Molly Greeley

Narrated by: Susie Riddell

Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 12-03-19

Language: English

Publisher: HarperAudio

Historical fiction

In exchange for an honest review

Oh you all know I love PP variations! So I went for this one at once. This is not a romance. I do confess at times I wanted more for Charlotte, oh how I wished.

Charlotte made a choice. Probably remain a spinster and lie under her father's and then brother's roof and be a burden, or marry a man with a good standing and prospects. Even if he is not handsome, but neither is she. Even if her best friend wonders if she lost her mind, because he can sure be tiresome.

But she married, she moved away, she found she could do it.

There is their first time, and it really describes their lives. A bit sad, but normal life you know. A sensible life. A bit boring.

And then Lady Catherine orders a farmer to plant roses for them and, no, there is great love story. There is yearning and looks, and words. And I hoped, but how could one hope. It was not a sensible choice, and it was not possible either.

I liked this book. Charlotte sacrificed so she could have other things. A home of her own, children, a good life.

Narration by Susie Riddell

The narrator was good and she nailed Lady Catherine, oh how tiresome that woman is! This was easy listening too and when it ended I wanted more.

It might have been the first time listening to her, and I would listen to her again.

Charlotte Collins, nee Lucas, is the respectable wife of Hunsford’s vicar and sees to her duties by rote: keeping house, caring for their adorable daughter, visiting parishioners, and patiently tolerating the lectures of her awkward husband and his condescending patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Intelligent, pragmatic, and anxious to escape the shame of spinsterhood, Charlotte chose this life, an inevitable one so socially acceptable that its quietness threatens to overwhelm her. Then she makes the acquaintance of Mr. Travis, a local farmer and tenant of Lady Catherine.

In Mr. Travis’ company, Charlotte feels appreciated, heard, and seen. For the first time in her life, Charlotte begins to understand emotional intimacy and its effect on the heart - and how breakable that heart can be. With her sensible nature confronted, and her own future about to take a turn, Charlotte must now question the role of love and passion in a woman’s life and whether they truly matter for a clergyman’s wife.