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The Little Stranger

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The Little Stranger

By: Sarah Waters
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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About this listen

Exclusive to download: includes an interview with Sarah Waters giving an insight into the story behind The Little Stranger.

A ghost story from one of Britain's finest and best loved writers. After her award-winning trilogy of Victorian novels, Sarah Waters turned to the 1940s and wrote The Night Watch, a tender and tragic novel set against the backdrop of wartime Britain. Short-listed for both the Orange and the Man Booker, it went straight to number one in the best-seller chart.

In a dusty postwar summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become entwined with his.

Prepare yourself. From this wonderful writer who continues to astonish us, now comes a chilling ghost story.

2010, Orange Prize, Long-listed

2009, Man Booker Prize, Short-listed

2011, IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Long-listed

2007, James Tait Black – Fiction, Short-listed

©2009 Sarah Waters (P)2009 Penguin Audio
Ghosts Literary Fiction World War I Fiction Scary Haunted Stranger
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Critic reviews

Waters has determined to scare the pants off her righly devoted audience. She succeeds unequivocally. You'll want to sleep with the light on (Erica Wagner)
The Little Stranger is a proper muscle-flexing story - I was in awe and just did not want it to end (Julie Myerson)
Displaying her remarkable flair for period evocation, Waters recreates backwater Britain just after the Second World War with atmospheric immediacy . . . Acute and absorbing (Peter Kemp)
Waters is often described as a brilliant storyteller, and so she is. But she is also an artist compelled to experiment . . . Waters gives herself a sort of handicap with the dull doctor's narration. This indirectness, which in cruder hands might have led to yawning insurrection in the reader, becomes essential to the novel's unsettling power (Claudia Fitzherbert)
Truly frightening . . . As I lay in bed after finishing reading it, running the various elements through my mind, a fox screamed outside my window and I nearly had a heart attack (Suzi Feay)
A spine-tingler . . . Waters skilfully ratchets up the suspense as events at Hundreds grow ever more highly charged - even downright chilling (Amber Pearson)

What listeners say about The Little Stranger

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Chilling, but the end left a little to be desired

I found Sarah Water's ghost story send quite a few, delicious chills down my spine, and it was beautifully narrated by Simon Vance. It was easy to imagine Hundreds Hall as a place of horror and demise, and the characters surrounding it were just about perfect -all seeming suspiciously ill at ease in one way or another. I couldn't help feeling quite sorry for Dr. Faraday, who deserved better than ending tangled up in a family troubled by a haunted past. And this leads to why I felt somewhat let down at the very end -there simply was no "closure" when it was all over, not for our hero, nor for me as the listener. But overall, a very good story, which I might listen to again!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not a usual Sarah Waters book

Slightly disappointed with this book from SW. not the usual twists and does not keep you gripped. Was constantly waiting for the twist at the end but none came. Shame.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Another great choice

A great listen - perhaps a little long-winded but a great listen. I will definitely go on to give Sarah Waters' other books a try.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

BORING

Would you consider the audio edition of The Little Stranger to be better than the print version?

yes it is better as an audio book.

Would you ever listen to anything by Sarah Waters again?

No, i personally find Sarah Waters boring and some of her descriptions very odd.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

They're all much of the same.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

'try not to fall asleep'

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book

I have read the book, listened to the audiobook and now I want to watch the film. This is a superb reading of a truly brilliant book.

Once again though, no-one seems to have bothered prooflistening and there is an error at chapter 9.

Audible, please listen to these books before you release them. We wouldn’t expect this in a printed book but errors keep appearing in my audiobooks.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Slightly odd / a little frustrating

Towards the end I thought the Dr was deeply irritating! So full of ‘she doesn’t know her own mind’ etc… which I don’t doubt was right for the time but irritating nonetheless.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

The Little Stranger

I bought this because I have previously enjoyed Sarah Water's books. However this book, although well written and well read, is difficult to enjoy because it lacks humour and happiness. Its characters are not particularly likeable and the story charts a series of tragic and unhappy events with no light intervals. This is undoubtedly high quality literature but not a pleasure giving read - for me anyway.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely brilliant

The most extraordinary listening experience I've had. An astonishing novel and a superb narration. I feel bereft to have finished it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly Unsettling

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Fantastic, I really loved his narration. Really easy to listen to. He was spot on with the characters and building tension. Great job

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I listened to it all in one go. Things were getting pretty spooky around 3am. I had to turn my lights back on!!!! It definitely made me cry in places. I got really involved with the characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

This is the first book by Sarah Waters I have read and did not regret buying it! Really enjoyable with a slightly unique approach to a ghost story. Simon Vance did an excellent job as the narrator and effectively created the right atmoshphere for a ghost story and portrayed the setting very well. Would highly recommend this book to anyone.

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