Mary Anne - Daphne du Maurier

Written by Daphne du Maurier
Read by Carole Boyd
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
Re-release Date:12-16-14
Publisher: Hachette Audio

She set men’s hearts on fire and scandalized a country.

In Regency London, the only way for a woman to succeed is to beat men at their own game. So when Mary Anne Clarke seeks an escape from her squalid surroundings in Bowling Inn Alley, she ventures first into the scurrilous world of the pamphleteers. Her personal charms are such, however, that before long she was a mistress to Frederick Augustus Brunswick the Duke of York and Albany, son of King George III. With her taste for luxury and power, Mary Anne, now a royal mistress, must aim higher. Her lofty connections allow her to establish a thriving trade in military commissions, provoking a scandal that rocks the government - and brings personal disgrace.

She becomes the star witness for the opposition when the House of Commons launched an investigation into allegations that the Duke had been accepting payments in exchange for military commissions. Mary Anne had an interesting life to say the least. It is a vivid portrait of sex, ambition, and corruption, Mary Anne is set during the Napoleonic Wars and based on Daphne du Maurier’s own great-great-grandmother.

The history in the story is sometimes difficult to follow, but at the same time it’s not imperative that you know all the political details.. Du Maurier writes about Mary Anne’s relationships with a subtlety that can escape the reader if they aren’t paying close attention.

Carole Boyd’s narration is absolutely excellent in terms of both narrative and characterizations. Her voice falls naturally into the mezzo range so she is able to perform the male characters convincingly without sounding strained, and her portrayal of Mary Anne herself is superb, her bright, musical tones expertly convening the backbone of steel that lies beneath the coquettish exterior.