The Painted Veil

W. Somerset Maugham

Kate Reading (Narrator)

01-01-06

7hrs 22min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Fiction/Classics

As low as $0.00
Play Audio Sample

01-01-06

7hrs 22min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Fiction/Classics

Description

“Kate Reading does a phenomenal portrayal of Kitty…[and] creates the aura of a full-cast production, switching effortlessly between characters…Reading is a performance pro. Winner of the AudiioFile Earphones Award.” AudioFile

Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award

Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s, this beautifully written character study is an affirmation of the human capacity to grow, change, and forgive.

The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful but shallow young Kitty Fane, who marries for money rather than love. When her husband, a quiet doctor, discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to a remote region of China ravaged by a cholera epidemic. There, stripped of the British society of her youth and overwhelmed by the desolation around her, Kitty’s conscience begins to awaken.

As she takes up work with children at a convent and experiences some of the burden her husband has taken on, she and her husband begin to rediscover each other in a new light. When her husband is tragically killed, Kitty is forced to return to England to raise her unborn child. Though it is too late for her marriage, she has learned humility, independence, and at last, how to love.

Praise

“Kate Reading does a phenomenal portrayal of Kitty…[and] creates the aura of a full-cast production, switching effortlessly between characters…Reading is a performance pro. Winner of the AudiioFile Earphones Award.” AudioFile

“The Painted Veil, with its sadness, its moral tension, its irony and compassion, its building evocations of lust and terror and remorse, is a work of art.” The Spectator (London)

“Reading’s narration conveys the novel’s irony and cynicism. Her pitch is perfect, and her tone, rhythm, and intonation match the plot and the era. Reading conveys the feeling of a stuffy tea party set among smug guests. Kitty is at once self-absorbed and reflective, while Walter is both restrained and simmering.” Booklist

“Reading’s narration uses only two voices—one male and one female—but her intelligent, expressive performance makes her characters of either gender most convincing. She fully captures the irony that defines Kitty.”  Kliatt

“The portrait of Kitty Fane is one of Maugham’s finest fictional achievements.” Selina Hastings, author of The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham

Details
More Information
Language English
Release Day Dec 31, 2005
Release Date January 1, 2006
Release Date Machine 1136073600
Imprint Blackstone Publishing
Provider Blackstone Publishing
Categories Literature & Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Classics, Evergreen Classics, Evergreen Classics, Classics, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult
Author Bio
W. Somerset Maugham

William Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was born in Paris, the son of a British embassy official, and grew up in England. He studied medicine and officially qualified as a doctor before turning to writing. One of the twentieth century’s most popular novelists as well as a celebrated playwright, critic, and short-story writer, he also served as a secret agent for the British during World War I.

Narrator Bio
Kate Reading

Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.

Overview

Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award

Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s, this beautifully written character study is an affirmation of the human capacity to grow, change, and forgive.

The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful but shallow young Kitty Fane, who marries for money rather than love. When her husband, a quiet doctor, discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to a remote region of China ravaged by a cholera epidemic. There, stripped of the British society of her youth and overwhelmed by the desolation around her, Kitty’s conscience begins to awaken.

As she takes up work with children at a convent and experiences some of the burden her husband has taken on, she and her husband begin to rediscover each other in a new light. When her husband is tragically killed, Kitty is forced to return to England to raise her unborn child. Though it is too late for her marriage, she has learned humility, independence, and at last, how to love.

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