Superb novel with amazing narration!

Jonathan Keeble is amazing! His ability to create different characters just with hus voice is at the top. The book itself is outstanding. I can't wait to get my hands on some of Mantel's other novels. I can't be more happy with this audiobook!!! 6/5

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Epic

A towering achievement, even by Mantel's very high standards. Keeble's narration breathes life into her characters. A fascinating insight into a very dark period in European history.

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Hard going at times!!

Interesting insight into the French Revolution which I knew nothing much about. So many characters they did become hard to separate at times. Generally enjoyable and informative though.

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Better than Wolf Hall

I’m not a huge fan of Hilary Mantel but this is a work of immense power, erudition and emotion. The characters, all pretty appalling in their own small or huge ways, are real and draw you in. Knowing how it ends doesn’t stop you hoping it won’t.

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A mixed bag

As with all Hilary Mantel books this is nicely if somewhat oddly written, and is well read, but I found it a little disappointing. It is far too long for the content, it could have easily been edited to half the length and would be better for it. My main criticism though is that it fails as a telling of the story of the French Revolution.

Normally, Mantel's books tell the story of a historical event or time through the lives of the people, this mostly just tells the lives of the people; you need a pretty good existing knowledge of the revolution to be able to get to grips with it, I found myself constantly referring to other material to look up who someone was or what their part in the revolution was. We get to hear the boring details of Camille and Danton's sex lives and proclivities but are never told who they are and what they did.

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An absorbing novel from first to last

It was so captivating and the narration was wonderful. The individual characters had depth and I found myself increasingly involved in the progression of the plot. It was so captivating that t grew to know the individuals. The narration across the range of characters was excellent.

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Great Story, Well Read.

For me, it was easy to embed myself in this wonderfully written book.
Wow, what a belter.
(Rest is History podcast made me do it).

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I didn't want this book to end

I had little knowledge of the French revolution but this book really brought the characters to life and set the scene, though I was constantly googling to find out more about the characters and to understand the politics. I love the wit that Hilary brings to her stories and Jonathan Keeble is excellent, you always knew who was speaking, a brilliant range of voices. I was quite sad when the end came, both because of the demise of the characters and the end of the book. Will definitely listen to it again.

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Liberté, égalité et verbosity

Fascinating period of French history retold in a rather gossipy longwinded text only saved by an excellent reading performance.

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A long but gripping listen

The main chatacters of the Revolution are brought vividly alive by Hilary Mantel's story telling skill and the excellent narration. Not an easy listen - you need time and concentration - but the rewards are great, to get under the skin of this fascinating period of history.

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