Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
This Rough Magic
- Narrated by: Helen Johns
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
This Rough Magic
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
The pioneer of romantic suspense, Mary Stewart leads her listeners on a thrilling journey to a Mediterranean island paradise in this tale of mystery, murder and intrigue, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym.
Lucy Waring, a young, out-of-work actress from London, leaps at the chance to visit her sister for a summer on the island paradise of Corfu, and what's more, a famous but reclusive actor is staying in a villa nearby. But Lucy's hopes for rest and romance are shattered when a body washes up on the beach and she finds herself swept up in a chilling chain of events.
I shuddered, and drank my coffee, leaning back in my chair to gaze out across pine tops furry with gold towards the sparkling sea, and surrendering myself to the dreamlike feeling that marks the start of a holiday....
More from the same
What listeners say about This Rough Magic
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maggie
- 12-08-18
Serendipity... as ever was
Perfect timing. This summer I've been on a Mary Stewart jag, re-reading my favourites, all her stand alone novels from Madam, Will You Talk to Touch Not the Cat. They all stand the test of time, and I've loved revisiting them. My only regret was that none of them had ever been recorded in Audible. There were a few of the later, rather lighter, books but even narrators like Jenny Agutter can't make up for the fact they are abridged.
Then, by chance, I checked again - and there was one of my all time favourites, This Rough Magic, together with Wildfire at Midnight - and it seems Madam, Will You Talk is to follow so hopefully Hodder and Stoughton have commissioned the lot and they will all be new, unabridged recordings. Brilliant...
This is one of her 3 Ionioan based books, often linked with The Moonspinners (set on Crete) and My Brother Michael (set in Delphi) for that reason, but they all stand as separate and it doesn't really matter what order you read them in. The setting isn't that long ago but might seem it to some, no mobile phones or instant e-anything.
It's long been one of my favourites as the characters are all so well drawn, from Lucy herself to Phil, Max and Sir Julian Gale, Godfrey Manning and I've always had a soft spot for the lovely, but surprisingly tough, Adonis. It brings Corfu to life as well but sadly I'm sure if I went to some of the quiet fishing villages described, they'd be very different today. Great story ... has everything from tension and mystery to humour to romance as all Mary Stewart's books do, and is still gripping after several re-reads over many years, but no spoilers.
The links to The Tempest are interesting but it isn't necessary to know Shakespeare to enjoy the book. If you do know and love the play it certainly adds another dimension, and the 'this rough magic' speech, in the hands of the right actor, could reduce anyone to tears. (|My vote would go to Roger Allum at The Globe).
I wasn't entirely sure about Helen John's voice at first, she seemed a bit wavery at the outset but it soon grew on me and I really enjoyed having this old favourite read out loud.
Now moving on to Wildfire at Midnight on Skye, and so looking forward to the rest as they are published...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
21 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- As Brown
- 03-09-18
Lovely performance
A beautiful reading of a charming story, very nostalgic! The characters were wonderfully distinct in this reading and the atmosphere was gorgeously illustrated. I’d recommend it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amelia
- 21-06-20
A magical thrilling journey with a little love thrown in!
I genuinely enjoyed this story from beginning to end. Not an author I have come across before but now I feel “where have I been!”
I was transported to Corfu and a very intimate and secret world I felt privileged to step into.
To categorise this story is difficult because one minute you are in a romance, then a drama then woosh and you are knee deep into an exciting thriller! It wasn’t what I was expecting from it (an a to b crime story) and I’m delighted it wasn’t.
I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- anasta
- 07-02-20
Good
Very well written....old fashioned narrative but enjoyable.
First read this when I was just 16...now 70!
Author excellent.
Narration very good ....until the pronunciation of the most common Greek surname in fiction. PAPADOPOULOS! Totally hilarious....
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Sue
- 29-05-19
Delightful!
Another favourite revisited. Thoroughly enjoyable, and will happily listen again. So pleased more of these enchanting and exciting Mary Stewart stories are becoming available from audible. Would love more Emilia Fox narrations too.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs T A Hinton
- 31-10-18
Beautifully read
I’ve read the book a few times but Helen Johns brought all the characters to life. May Stewart is a wonderful writer and her descriptions of places make me want to visit them but I’ve found that Helen’s narration has highlighted things I missed when reading myself.
I loved it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marianne Caton
- 02-02-21
excellent fun
I enjoyed this book. The Corfu atmosphere is captured very well. As usual, the books have an old fashioned period appeal, with manners and class recalling black and white films, but the heroine takes a very active part in the adventure. This book had more peril than My Brother Michael.
The references to The Tempest added to the enjoyment.
The narrator was fine, but I listened on 1.20x speed to keep the pace more clipped.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- mrs.v.preen
- 03-07-20
Easy Listening
pleasant to listen to while working .
No surprises.
Enjoyable quotes and references to The Tempest.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-07-19
Enjoyable, but rather slow paced and predictable
The author was recommended to me as having a similar style to Dick Francis'. I can't really agree with that as the pacing was much slower, particularly in the first half, and the plot was pretty simple - after the first two hours it's pretty obvious who the villain is, there are no real surprises anywhere down the road, and most of the characters where a bit two-dimensional and quite predictable. However, I still enjoyed listening to it as the protagonist was rather likable, her love for the beauty of the Ionian sea shone through, and the pace picked up some after the first two hours. The characterisation of Corfu and the Greeks was on the touristy-clichéd side, but as the protagonist is a visiting actress, that was fine by me. Especially some of the later action sequences were well written and rather suspenseful. Overall, I liked listening to it while driving, but I wouldn't listen for a second time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 28-11-18
Prospero's Isle
A wonderful story telling of redemption and renewal of a widower once seeking solace in a bottle who finds the courage to stay true to his art. The two love stories are sympathetically told and the Island comes alive on the pages. Mary Stewart is a wonderful story-teller I wish more of her books were available to listen to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful