My Sweet Folly

By: Laura Kinsale

Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton

"My dear girl! I could never fall in love by letter. Though I have no doubt you are a notorious breaker of hearts, not to mention a princess in disguise, and if I were a few miles closer to Toot-above-the-Batch I would be in great danger. From the safe distance of another continent, I will admit to a modest desire to see how your pearl becomes you, even to know the color of your hair and eyes, but this is mere curiosity, I assure you."

-Your knight, Robert

Through their innocent correspondence, a lonely young wife grows to love an imaginary man thousands of miles away. But when he returns to England from India, her idea of reality is turned upside down. Drawn from a safe world of tea and parlor chat into madness and mystery, she cannot find her own cherished Robert in the frightening stranger who claims her love.

Laura Kinsale personally chose the exceptional talent of Nicholas Boulton to voice her favorite heroine, sweet, witty Folie with her ferret, Toot.

©1997 Hedgehog Inc (P)2013 Hedgehog Inc

Critic reviews

• Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award

"Flawless transitions and pacing convey the elements of suspense and sexuality in this romantic mystery." (AudioFile Magazine)

My Sweet Kinsale

Folly has more spunk and wit than other Kinsale heroines. Though there wasn’t quite as much adventure in this tale than others, there were more moments that made me smile. Nicholas Boulton is a Star. Always a pleasure to hear a Kinsale tale with the Boulton characterizations.

Well narrated but not one of the authors best books.

Book was ok, but didn’t enjoy it as much as I did some of her other books.

Kinsale's Best Heroine

You know how among your friends there's often one half of a couple who’s so great that you willingly put up with a dead-head spouse for the privilege of spending time with him/her? Well, "My Sweet Folly" is like that for me. The heroine, Folie Hamilton, is…terrific. She's loving and caring, she's brave, she's laugh-out-loud funny, she's really smart, and she would never knowingly hurt anybody on purpose. Unfortunately, her chosen beloved – one Lieutenant Robert Cambourne late of the British Bengal Infantry in India -- isn't really any of those things. Or he’s not consistent enough at them to make him much of a hero. To be honest, I don’t know what she sees in him. (As my husband and I always say, “Must be a sex thing…”)

At any rate, this is a good story by a great author read by a terrific narrator. Mr. Boulton’s a kick. Nobody – NOBODY – is better at British doctors, lawyers, clergy and aristocratic matrons! Of particular note in this outing is the extended scene around poor, drunk Sir Howard and his long-suffering wife Lady Dingley as they try to enlist a sick, preoccupied Folie to do some matchmaking. The story reads very funny at this point, but it’s absolutely hysterical in Mr. Boulton’s audio.

Tolerate/endure Lieutenant Cambourne. The writing, the narration, the heroine and the rest of the characters in “My Sweet Folly” are SO worth it! Highly recommend.

Romance, adventure, humor

Laura Kinsale is the best! I wish she would write some more books because I have finished all of them and reread them all at least once. Nicholas Bolton does a fantastic job with multiple characters and accents, both male and female.

Excellent!

Where does My Sweet Folly rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

If romance authoresses had any sense, they would ask Nicholas Boulton to narrate their stories. There is something magical that occurs when this man tells me a story. I prefer to hear a man's voice when listening to a romance novel. Well that is not quite true... I prefer this mans voice.

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Sweet Folly?

I loved the prologue.

Which character – as performed by Nicholas Boulton – was your favorite?

Folly