The Evil Genius cover art

The Evil Genius

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Evil Genius

By: Wilkie Collins
Narrated by: John Bolen
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

 Wilkie Collins' most financially successful novel, The Evil Genius, opens with a jury determining the fate of a sea captain whose ship allegedly facilitated a diamond theft. The story develops into a powerful novel of Victorian private life, including deception, adultery, and divorce.

An 'evil genius' is threatening to rip apart the fabric of the Linley home. Who is it and why? Is it the orphaned young governess for whom the father lusts; the brother-in-law who appears to help everyone, but often succeeds in making things worse; the meddling mother-in-law whose good-intentioned interferences lead to greater heartache; the disloyal father, or perhaps the unassuming daughter?

©2000 Tantor Media Incorporated Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Law

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Law and the Lady cover art
The Guilty River cover art
Jezebel’s Daughter cover art
The Two Destinies cover art
The Dead Secret cover art
The Woman in White cover art
Man and Wife cover art
Armadale cover art
No Name cover art
The Moonstone cover art
Classic Romance cover art
New Grub St cover art
The Girl with Ghost Eyes cover art
Mercer Girls cover art
America's First Daughter cover art
The Aviator's Wife cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
I so agree with the other reviews. I love Wilkie Collins but this version was truly dire. The reader's American voice was bad enough when reading the narration but any attempt at characterisation or accents - male or female was grim.

Awful!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
why on earth is the narrator american? totally spoils a wonderful british novel!

the evil genius - wilkie collins

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I am a fan of Wilkie Collins and looked forward to this book. I'm afraid I found it dreadful and would not have given a star rating at all. It is not simply that the narrator is American but that he does not have the reading skills necessary to make the text 'live'. His attempts at an English accent - several different characters required - and female voices would be comic if they weren't so irritating. I've listened to Americans reading English novels before - including other Wilkie Collins' - and have not found that hindrance to enjoyment. This particular reading, however, is impossible to finish. Such a disappointment.

Reading skills

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love Wilkie Collins novels but this was good story totally ruined by the narration - Dreadful accents - laughable really - a total waste of time and money. A rare dislike of an Audible book.

Dreadful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not Wilkie Collins' finest hour but of interest to anyone who likes literature from that era. However the narrator, John Bolen, is possibly the worst person I have ever heard reading a novel and this ruined the book for me. His pronunciation of many English place names was laughable and likewise the various accents he attempted. Also, his female and children's voices were simply weird and greatly distracted from the text. I definitely won't listen to any more books which he narrates.

Avoid John Bolen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I am a huge fan of Wilkie Collins and have read several other works by him but this has to be a joke!!! The American accent could be excused if it was easy on the ear but this is awful. I have listened to 2 chapters and can go no farther. Have to get this off my iPod now!

How could the performance have been better?

The narrators voice and reading skills are very poor - like primary school level poor! His accent is very hard to listen too considering this is a Victorian English novel, set in England with English characters. His attempts at English characterisation are amateur to say the least and are actually turning this novel into a comedy.

What character would you cut from The Evil Genius?

The narrator - without a doubt!

Any additional comments?

This is the second Wilkie Collins novel that has been ruined for me by poor narration. Aramadale was the other, and I persevered with it blaming my iPod, but this is unreal!!!

This has got to be a joke! The narration is awfull

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.