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The Bloody Chamber cover art

The Bloody Chamber

By: Angela Carter
Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Emilia Fox
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Summary

A collection of short stories, The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories was first published in 1979 and awarded the Cheltenham Festival Literary Prize. 

This Audible exclusive adaptation is narrated by legendary actors, Richard Armitage and Emilia Fox, who take on different chapters of the audiobook. Among these are 'The Bloody Chamber', 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon', 'The Tiger's Bride', 'Puss in Boots', 'The Erl-King', 'The Snow Child', 'The Lady of the House of Love', 'The Werewolf', 'The Company of Wolves' and 'Wolf-Alice'. 

About the book 

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories is a titillating series of dark, sensual and fantastical stories, inspired by well-known fairy tales and folklore. 

Dissatisfied with the unrealistic portrayal of women in these legendary fables, Carter turns them on their head, introducing subversively dark, sensual and gothic narratives. 

Breathing new and unexpected life into favourite childhood characters such as Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard and Beauty and the Beast, Carter shocks, seduces and amuses the listener with her unique, iconic and surrealist reimagining. 

About the author 

Angela Carter was born in 1940, in Sussex. She grew up in the shabbily respectable south London district of Balham, the second child of an eccentric journalist father and a neurotic housewife mother. 

She studied English at Bristol University before travelling, teaching and writing numerous best-selling novels. They have all received critical acclaim and remain firm favourites of modern English literature. 

Angela was a feminist throughout her life, wrote for Spare Rib magazine and voted Labour. Her novels are wholly reflective of her world views and continue to inspire new generations of men and women worldwide. 

About the narrator 

Best known for his roles in The Hobbit, Hannibal, Captain America, Robin Hood, Spooks and North and South, Richard Armitage has established himself as one of the greatest British actors of our time. 

With 14 audiobooks under his belt, including David Hewson's Romeo and Juliet: A Novel and Georgette Heyer's Venetia, Richard's story telling abilities have not gone unnoticed. In 2014, he was merited with having narrated the Audiobook of the Year, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel

Emilia Fox is an English actress who has starred as Dr Nikki Alexander on BBC Crime drama, Silent Witness, since 2004. Her other TV and film credits include Merlin, Pride and Prejudice, The Pianist, The Casual Vacancy and Inside No. 9

Also no stranger to audiobook productions, Emilia delivers a myriad of powerhouse performances such as in Philippa Gregory's The White Queen, Muriel Spark's The Complete Short Stories, and Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey.

©1979 Angela Carter (P)2018 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about The Bloody Chamber

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Modern/feminist twists on well-known fairy tales

What made the experience of listening to The Bloody Chamber the most enjoyable?

The two well-known voices of the narrators, though Armitage did an excellent job of playing roles that totally disguised his voice.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The wife in The Bloody Chamber, recognisable from the originals but almost Wife Number Two from a very much darker Rebecca!

Have you listened to any of Richard Armitage and Emilia Fox ’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I listen to Emilia Fox read 'Pride and Prejudice' almost every December, she is the perfect embodiment of the lead character, and her clear and precise accent brings class to her performances.

While that is, for me, the epitome of audiobooks, her work here is also wonderful, though she does not get a chance to go deeply into any one character.

Any additional comments?

I loved listening to these on Audible. Fairy tales were traditionally tales that were spread via tellings, person to person, so to listen to someone reading them took me back to childhood but in a weird way.

These are NOT Disney fairy tales. In fact, there is some rather adult content in them, as warning for you.

There is a retelling of Bluebeard, two (confusingly, to a listener) back-to-back Beauty and the Beasts, with different plots and twists, Puss in Boots, The Earl King, Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding Hood (three versions of this). Expanding from the original structure of known tales, there is a lot more description, very beautifully written, and a lot more is given to the characters to both say and think. My favourite was the Bluebeard story, The Bloody Chamber.

I found the morals a lot deeper than those you think of from the originals, and loved the new turns Carter came up with for the tales, especially as some tales were rewritten multiple times and from different perspectives.

Emilia Fox has a beautifully clear voice and narrated excellently. Richard Armitage was also superb, and you wouldn't have known it was him through some of the voices he put on. A great pairing and very easy to listen to.

An essential read for anyone studying traditional tales or interested in modern versions and interpretations.

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy for review purposes.

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24 people found this helpful

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Intriguing alternatives to well known tales

Very good listen. Evocative, thought-provoking takes on traditional fairy stories. Well performed by both narrators. Puss in Boots and Werewolves are my personal favourites.

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13 people found this helpful

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A fantastic set of short stories.

I'm not a huge fan of short stories, but these are very, very superior short stories some of which are based on mild horror themes eg vampires, werewolves etc. Angela Carter's source material includes fairy tales and fantasy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard and Beauty and the Beast plus a hugely enjoyable comic version of Puss in Boots.

Two great narrators made this a very enjoyable listening experience and I look forward to reading more of Angela Carter's incredible writing.

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9 people found this helpful

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A Beautiful Version of a Timeless Collection

Years ago, I read The Bloody Chamber aloud to my friends as we did a winter road trip through California and Arizona. In the beaten up old car, they listened entranced to these empowering reinventions of classic fairy tales. My listeners were so magicked they even insisted I carry on reading when we were camped in the snow atop the Grand Canyon. (Eventually the car broke down, the number 666 on our mileometer, and once we’d got over our panic and had it fixed, we were able to chuckle at how fitting it was.) We all agreed then that Angela Carter’s stories read aloud particularly well, they’re so poetic, the language is so carefully crafted and the imagery so evocative. But I am no professional, so to hear these stories read by Emilia Fox and Richard Armitage, both masters of the art, was a real treat. I’d give it 6*s if I could!

Recommended without a single reservation.

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8 people found this helpful

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A Literary Treasure

Absolutely loved this as an Audiobook, I had a copy of the written book which I already loved; this audio version, beautifully narrated, is a book I will read and listen to over and over.

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6 people found this helpful

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A delight to return to this as an audiobook

I read this book years ago - yikes, possibly 30 years ago. And it was lovely to reread it as an audiobook. Great narration and beautiful writing. If anything it's actually more lyrical spoken than on the page. Thoroughly enjoyable in all ways

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5 people found this helpful

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Enjoyable short story collection

Interesting collection mostly based on fairy tales for an adult audience. Most definitely not for kids. The stories are mystical, gruesome, sad, sexy and/or funny. Richard Armitage & Emilia Fox take it turns to read a story. My favourite was Puss in Boots which Richard Armitage reads brilliantly & had me chuckling throughout.

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5 people found this helpful

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Beautiful.

I enjoyed this very much. Thank you. Great narration. Stories even better than I remembered them. Highly recommended.

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4 people found this helpful

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Fabulous!

I cannot praise this audiobook enough. This is one of my all-time favourite books: the stories are brilliantly re-imagined and the language is exquisite. I was, therefore, delighted to find that the narrators handled the material beautifully, their voices perfectly pitched to the various tones of the texts and narrators. This audiobook was a joy to listen to, and a thoroughly enjoyable way of re-"reading" one of my favourite books.

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3 people found this helpful

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Unnecessary swear words

I love the narrators and they can both make a story enjoyable, especially Richard Armitage. However the use of the "C" word spoiled the stories. I'm no prude but I found the use of such a word unnecessary and inimaginitive. I can't recommend this and will avoid this author in future.

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2 people found this helpful