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Treading the Coffin-Shaped Boards
- A Victorian Ghost Story (Travelling Towards the Present, Book 1)
- Narrated by: George Ellington
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
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Treading the Coffin-Shaped Boards
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Summary
Mary is born into the chilling darkness of the workhouse. To cope with the harsh and hostile environment, she develops inexplicable abilities. At night laying in the coffin-like bed, it is normal for her to hear the creaking floorboards, to see sinister spirits hiding in the shadows, vengeful phantoms, and demons.
As a young adult Mary once again finds herself down on her luck and is forced to reenter this most dreaded of places, but this time she is accompanied by her two children. The master of the workhouse believing her to be a bad influence and fearing she would stoke instability among the other inmates quickly throws her back out onto the desolate and dangerous Victorian streets without her babies.
During a chance encounter, she meets Charles, owner of the Royal and manager of Drury Lane theater. She embarks on a new career "treading the boards" and is embroiled in the underbelly of Victorian life where debauchery and decadence run rife. Throughout her trials and many performances, she seeks to reunite with her lost boys. The stage is set for vengeful spirits and for a macabre chill to blow through theater-land.
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What listeners say about Treading the Coffin-Shaped Boards
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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
- Helen
- 12-07-21
amazing book
loved this audio book can't wait for book 2
Mary is born into the chilling darkness of the workhouse.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Natasha
- 26-01-23
Brilliant
What an amazing story. It took a few chapters for this book to fully capture me, but boy once it did was it a fun ride. The twists and turns of this story managed to catch me every time.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Brian
- 25-01-22
An enjoyable and entertaining listen
I received a free copy of this audiobook in return for an unbiased review.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this, it's a quite unusual but interesting story. The main character, Mary, can communicate with the dead and this drives the plotline throughout. It's both a blessing and a curse for her and sometimes for those around her.
I don't want to give away the plot as this would ruin a lot of enjoyment for the listener, but suffice to say that Mary and the supporting characters are well fleshed out and the story is an interesting one.
The narrator is tremendous, like a cross between Rob Brydon and Boris Karloff. His accents are good and it's easy to distinguish between different characters dialogue.
Overall I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in supernatural or ghost fiction. It isn't particularly scary to listen to but this doesn't detract from the experience as it's a great listen regardless. I'm off to start the 2nd book now!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- kim c s
- 09-11-21
really good story
enjoyed this story, really different.
Good characters, a worthwhile read.
the narrator was very good.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Leticia Crow
- 05-10-22
loved this book!
i absolutely loved this book. the only thing I found difficult was that you can't just zone out to it or you will not understand what is going on. but it was well worth the listen!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Scott Barnes
- 12-09-21
A Hidden Gem
I openly admit that I was given an ACX promo code for this title. I’ve been using Audible for only a few months and in that time I’ve been broadening my own horizons with promotional titles so that i can build my library and enjoy listens that I would otherwise have missed out on. With that in mind, I always try to be fair with my reviews. I had no idea what to expect with this book and yet I was blown away.
It’s not a genre I’d typically have chosen myself. However, the scenes painted by the author are so vivid. The characters are so..:human. They’re flawed but you become connected to them and their stories. It’s believable in the context of the story. This isn’t just a simple story, it’s one of depth and emotion. It brings up morals and ultimately what it means to be a good person. The story reflects on us as people. No matter how far in the past it’s set, many of the themes are still relevant today.
I loved this authors style. The way several stories can be told at once while maintaining a natural rhythm. The progression isn’t forced or drawn out, it all has its pace and it keeps true to the unfolding events. The dialogue. The intimacy. The character building. It all comes together to present us with a truly gripping story.
As a listener, I loved the journey I was taken on. I find it very easy to just consume the words spoken and go with the story rather than try to predict events, and the fact that this book was so well written, it really accommodated my style of listening.
The narration for this book… I’ve been trying to put into words what I thought. It’s often hard to do because everybody brings something unique to a book. Some voices sound great but don’t suit the story being read, others are hard to imagine without that voice. I got into audiobooks with Harry Potter. I listened to the Stephen Fry version and as soon as I heard the first words, I was immediately captivated by the power of audiobooks. In many ways it can be like chasing the dragon - to find someone who puts on such a performance that immediately captivates you. For me, Stephen Fry is the gold standard of narrators who perform. There’s very few people who have such a distinct and unique voice to tell stories, who have their personality shine through the words they speak. When you find those people, it stirs something in you as the listener. You almost close out the world and submit yourself to go on a voyage with a stranger.
George Ellington undoubtedly joins Stephen Fry in that top tier of audiobook narrators.
George was absolutely fantastic! I cannot state that enough. He *performed* the book with such a wide arsenal of accents…of talent. With such emphasis on the spoken word, this is someone who understands how to portray the true power of words. Perhaps the magic lies in the Scottish accent - as Scot myself, this is the first book I’ve listened to with a distinctly Scottish accent but it’s so easy on the ears, it’s an almost magical experience that had me hooked in the opening lines. George performs a book with a passion reminiscent of Stephen Fry and tells a story that grips you like listening to Billy Connolly. I had no idea what to expect with this listen but I’m truly…at a loss for the right words. I was blown away.
The pairing of E.M.G. Wixley and George Ellington truly is a perfect match and I cannot recommend this title enough. This is my first listen of this combination and I will be enjoying other work by these two. This is what it feels like to find a real hidden gem.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Missgotty
- 28-07-21
Enjoyable
I really liked this Victorian paranormal book which had a different twist to the story that I found very interesting. There were a couple of plot holes which I wish the author would have tackled, but over all a very enjoyable book. I look forward to how the story develops in book 2. The narrator did a great job here.
I was given this book for free of my own choosing and voluntarily left this review.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- LeMiliere
- 05-10-22
My First Book By This Author
This is a very different book for me to listen to, I don't as a rule like ghosts or horror stories. my imagination is too vivid, but that said the world-building this author does is so vivid it puts my imagination to shame. This book is about Mary who when a child lived in a workhouse in Victorian London, she left when she was old enough but had to go back as an adult, taking her babies with her. I should mention that Mary is special she has an unusual ability she can communicate with spirits.
The people who run the workhouse throw her out separating her from her children, over time and she starts a new life, she marries and starts a new career but she hasn’t forgotten her children left behind in the workhouse and no matter what she's determined to get them back.
The narration by George Ellington is well done.
I was given this audiobook as a gift and am voluntarily writing my review.
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