The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith
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The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith
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Narrated by:
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Anne Hancock
About this listen
Patricia Wentworth began writing crime novels in 1923 with the debut of The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith. It was an auspicious beginning to a 40-year career during the era known as the Golden Age of mystery writing.
Jane is broke, she's just lost her job and her landlady has kicked her out. When an amorous young man approaches her on a park bench it soon becomes clear that he has mistaken her for her cousin Renata. Their mothers were identical twins and even though Jane has never met her, Renata's fiance insists they too are identical. He's desperate.
It seems Renata sleepwalked into a meeting of her father's friends and overheard their criminal plans. She's lied about hearing anything but they doubt her story and are holding her prisoner. The plan is that Jane switch places so he can get his love to safety.
Jane's only other option is the workhouse, and being a plucky young woman ripe for adventure, she agrees. But she's no fool and informs a former beau who works at Scotland Yard of the scheme. Henry March is appalled but agrees to be her outside contact in case of trouble. Her first challenge turns out to be hiding her natural intelligence while impersonating the somewhat dim Renata.
All the ingredients of an English mystery novel are in place: a country mansion with hidden panels, laboratories and caves; dastardly villains bent on destroying civilization; a daring, clever girl determined to unravel the conspiracy; and not one, but two budding romances.
Written during the decade in which women gained the vote, Jane Smith is a heroine of her time. Far from waiting for the hero to come save her, Jane is determined to solve the mystery before Henry does!
Public Domain (P)2020 Anne HancockListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kei
- 11-06-23
Great Story. Slightly Odd Narration.
I've always liked this story, so I was delighted to find an audiobook version.
It's well narrated by Anne Hancock, but I found some of her pronunciations very off-putting. She narrates beautifully in a very old-fashioned upper class English accent which fits the story, and with good expression, but certain words like "lever" and "laboratory" are pronounced strangely, which is a pity, because the main plot involves a secret laboratory, so she has to say it a lot. It was slightly disconcerting, and always distracted me from the story for a moment, but did not stop me enjoying the audiobook overall.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ronironker
- 10-04-21
I thoroughly enjoyed this.
I loved the whole ambience of this vintage story. Full of action, a really lovely book with a likeable heroine.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amelia
- 17-07-24
Great fun
I love the Miss Silver mysteries and it’s very interesting to listen to Patricia Wentworth’s earlier work. A really fun melodrama mystery, well read by Ann Hancock
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Carmela
- 07-05-21
Lovely adventure, keep them coming.
I have enjoyed all of Miss Silvers adventures and was delighted to find some more of Wentworths's books performed so nicely
will ge going on to the next two available, and hope that more of her stories will follow soon. as always lovable characters and optimistic stories make this a wonderfully cheerful read. I couldn't stop listening!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Miss S
- 23-10-20
Entertaining Vintage Girls Own Adventure
I enjoyed this as the light entertainment it was. It felt very much like a vintage Girl's Own Adventure. The heroine was sufficiently spirited and there were secret tunnels and deadly peril at every turn. The villains were entertaining and the love interest's relationship with his mother made me laugh out loud.
The ending however left something to be desired. I felt that the heroine should have had a chance to lord it over the condescending Lady Heritage for completely falling for her charade. I'm sure I cannot be the only one who feels this way.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- elly gausden
- 23-06-23
Poor reader ruins mediocre story
The story is not the best in the world, but would probably be a lot better if the reader was better. She pronounces most of her t sounds as d, which is annoying as it's hard to tell if she's saying writing or riding. I suspect she's American doing what is a pretty good British accent, but gets the odd thing wrong and it throws you right out of the story.
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1 person found this helpful