The Return of the Native
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The Return of the Native
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Narrated by:
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Alan Rickman
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Written by:
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Thomas Hardy
About this listen
Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)
Exclusively from Audible
Set on Egdon Heath, a fictional barren moor in Wessex, Eustacia Vye longs for the excitement of city life but is cut off from the world in her grandfather's lonely cottage. Clym Yeobright who has returned to the area to become a schoolmaster seems to offer everything she dreams of: passion, excitement and the opportunity to escape. However, Clym's ambitions are quite different from hers, and marriage only increases Eustacia's destructive restlessness, drawing others into a tangled web of deceit and unhappiness.
Considered a truly modern story due to its sexual politics and hindered desires it still holds relevance to audiences today. There is a tension between the symbolic setting of the heath and the modernity of the characters that makes the listener question our freedom to shape our lives as we wish. Are we always able to live our dreams?
Like George Eliot, Hardy was a Victorian realist whose novels and poetry were greatly influenced by Romanticism, especially the poet William Wordsworth. His critical thoughts on Victorian society can be seen throughout much of his work.
Narrator Biography
Multi-award winning actor and director Alan Rickman, famous for roles such as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films and the Sherriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), had a varied career that included performing on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company in modern and classical theatre productions. In America, he gained recognition for his Broadway appearance in Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1985) and later his role in Die Hard (1988) made him internationally famous. Other notable performances included his 2001 return to the West End and Broadway in Noël Coward's Private Lives and Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman in 2010. Rickman is most remembered for his roles in films such as Love Actually (2003) and Sweeney Todd (2007) as well as voicing Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), and Absalom the Caterpillar in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010).
Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.What the critics say
What listeners say about The Return of the Native
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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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Larisa J. Strobel
- 2022-01-20
Just what a story telling ought to be; engaging, remarkable, forever committed to memory!
I felt a return, in my mind, to the entirely memorable experiences of my childhood when I listened in rapt attention to my mom reading stories to me and my siblings. We could not ever wait for the next chapter and the next to be read to us. This performance from the great Alan Rickman, which was nothing short of perfection, drew this childlike desire out of me! I couldn’t wait to hear more. His tone and diction of every word held my attention for the entirety of the book. I wanted it to go on and not come to the end.
The story, in and of itself, was not one that I would recommend to other readers, as the language and plot are severely outdated and rather shallow. But to hear it read in Alan Rickman’s voice elevates the story to such a place that from this point on, I will always recall the minute details as well as the characters names and lives due to the sheer enjoyment of his narration. It was Alan Rickman that turned this Victorian drivel into warm syrup on pancakes!
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-09-16
Wonderful book and wonderful performance by Alan Rickman
It was an absolute joy to not only listen to a classic by one of the best writers ever, but also to hear the marvellous voice of Alan Rickman bringing all the characters to life. Most memorable!!
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Anonymous User
- 2021-10-18
Thomas Hardy AND Alan Rickman!
I have recently been revisiting TH via audible having read most of his books many years ago. His writing is so beautiful and when you combine the tones of Alan Rickman then you really do have a first class experience. This is not my favorite TH but AR’s narration definitely enhances my enjoyment of the book and kept me engaged. I feel I did get more from the book through AR’s narration than had I read the book (weird I know!).
RIP to two brilliant men. And thank you.
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2 people found this helpful
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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
- Anonymous User
- 2022-05-19
Wonderful performance of a classic story
Alan Rickman’s narration of this engaging story is really wonderful. I absolutely loved it and would recommend to all.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- melanie
- 2021-01-23
Performance makes it
Just not a fan of Tragedy. But Alan Rickman's performance is truly worth it. I kept listening just to keep hearing his voice.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Anonymous User
- 2021-07-29
Marvelous Rickman
Loved revisiting this classic read by the marvelous Alan Rickman. Wish there were more Rickman audio books, but, sadly, too late.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Claire M.
- 2022-07-15
an elegaic tragedy
Hardy's painterly words set the stage for a tale of misunderstanding and pagan despair. Rickman reads well.
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