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Literature specialists may be familiar with the four writers featured in this group biography--Mary Sidney, Aemelia Lanyer, Elizabeth Cary, and Anne Clifford--but most listeners will not be. This is in part because their work was generally ignored or suppressed. Ramie Targoff is interested in why that happened, considering that three of the women were countesses, well... Read More

Hannah Curtis, Sarah Cullum, and Christine Rendel, led by the incomparable Dan Stevens, skillfully deliver this extraordinary twisty novel. One night Anna Ogilvy, a young wannabe writer, inexplicably stabs two people to death while sleepwalking. She hasn't woken up since the crime. Stevens's portrayal of Anna's psychiatrist, Ben, a specialist in sleep-related homicides, carries... Read More

Hannah Curtis's delightfully dry voice narrates this academic-sounding audiobook. Chapters flit through time and topics to cover various Dickensian literary landmarks in and around London, using many primary sources, including century-old tourism guides. Jackson discusses the history of Victorian literary tourism, the challenges of authenticating sites, and the reasons for... Read More

Hannah Curtis narrates accounts of the lives of Simone de Beauvoir, Hannah Arendt, Simone Weil, and Ayn Rand, who, among others, helped to lay much of the intellectual framework for the post-WWII Western world during the decade before that war. Their lives were often something of a hot mess and could be dramatic, but we probably wouldn't expect it to be any other way. Curtis's... Read More

Hannah Curtis narrates this retrospective on lessons to be learned and inspiration to be gleaned from a group of women writers, including Mary Wollstonecraft, Simone de Beauvoir, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, and Elena Ferrante. In each chapter the author weaves the experiences of one writer, examining her marriage, her work as a writer and an editor, and the difficult life... Read More

Narrator Hannah Curtis portrays the radical feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, and narrator Grace Gray portrays Wollstonecraft's daughter, Mary Shelley, creator of the character Frankenstein. Wollstonecraft died giving birth to her daughter, who spent a lifetime longing for information about her mother. Curtis and Gray excel as they deliver a variety of characters and picturesque... Read More

This charming retelling of MY FAIR LADY is a must-listen! The story opens on 1830s England, where listeners are introduced to Elijah Little, Helena Higgins, and Penelope Pickering. Helena and Penelope are chefs-in-training, and Elijah is a food seller who becomes their project as they attempt to turn him into the next gentlemen chef. With echoes of the original story, this... Read More

Based on the true story of a gang of female shoplifters in 1920s London, this audiobook fictionalizes the criminal success of gang leader Alice Diamond, who rose from poverty to power and luxury. Hannah Curtis portrays Alice's bold audacity in a slightly gritty London accent and provides colorful characterizations of members of her gang. Curtis does well in depicting the... Read More

Hannah Curtis is the perfect narrator for this strange, fascinating science-fiction novel. Her British accent lends texture to the lush adjectives that pepper the audiobook, which, while short, is full of insight and pathos. "The employees" are a combination of human and nonhuman passengers on a spaceship in the 22nd century. The whys of this situation are not given; rather,... Read More

Narrator Hannah Curtis's light and airy British accent adds even more legitimacy to Rippon's dispatching of misinformation, shoddy research, and sexist assumptions relating to the myth of male and female minds. Her voice proves welcoming in its warmth and energy but is equally assertive and filled with conviction as she narrates Rippon's prose. She proves adept at communicating... Read More

There are no weak links in this multivoiced performance of a mystery told from several points of view. The story is centered on the disappearance of 2-year-old Bella from her front garden. Hannah Curtis narrates the chapters from the titular widow's perspective. She varies the texture and quality of her voice to reflect London hairdresser Jean Taylor's changing moods as she... Read More

This sequel to DARK EDEN finds the inhabitants of New Earth spread amid a number of communities, some of which cling to the old ways 150 years after being stranded on this hostile planet. But others are beginning to question the old ways. The story is told in the first person from a number of points of view, each of which has a separate narrator. Each narrator has a distinctive... Read More

Hannah Curtis narrates the author's story of the progressive light sensitivity that banished her to a blacked-out room for long periods of time. Lyndsey goes into great detail about what audiobooks mean to her in her dark room, making listening a poignant experience. Curtis is a strong narrator whose mixture of emotion and careful detachment is able to make the listener believe... Read More

At times, multiple narrators can be the best thing that can happen to an audiobook. When a story is told from multiple points of view, using a narrator for each one can both enhance the story and make it easier for a listener to follow. For this strategy to work well, though, all the narrators must be of equally high caliber; a disparity in narrator skill can be off-putting, as... Read More

An ensemble cast delivers the compelling story of a young man who forces part of his “family” to set out and explore the strange sunless planet where they are marooned, rather than just sit and wait for help. The story is told from the points of view of different characters. Matthew Frow does a notable job as the bold John Redlantern as do the narrators who portray the members... Read More

The author experienced unimaginable losses when the 2004 tsunami hit Sri Lanka, where she had been staying with her husband, two young sons, and her parents. As the lone surviving member of her family, she struggles to find a reason or a way to go on in the face of her pain. Hannah Curtis's voicing is almost deadpan, a quality that certainly manages to convey the moments in... Read More

Hannah Curtis infuses her performance with an audible delight for Stuart's quirky story and characters. Curtis seems to be barely suppressing laughter as the comedic elements unfold. But her ironic tone is prominent in this "cozy" murder mystery, which illuminates eccentric characters, bizarre situations, and the foibles of royalty and society's upper echelons. The penniless... Read More