The Charterhouse of Parma

By: Henri Beyle Stendhal

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini

In the coming-of-age story, we follow a young Italian nobleman, Fabrizio Valserra, Marchesino del Dongo, on many adventures, including his experiences at the Battle of Waterloo, and romantic intrigues.

©1997 Margaret Mauldon (P)2013 Recorded Books

To the happy few

The beginning is slightly clustered with characters who hold no special significance later in the book, thus it was a bit difficult to follow. However, after Parma is introduced, the story carries on at a steady pace with at the centre being the love life of Fabrice and the affections showered upon him. Another thing which doesn’t lend itself being easy to imagine is the Fortress prison in Parma, although offering details, I have never seen anything like it so my imagination doesn’t do justice to the painted picture.

I enjoyed the pronouncing of names and titles, the Italian puns, fights, court intrigue, and so much more. Charterhouse of Parma is a remarkable book and what’s more, being offered free of cost. I would also recommend Red and Black which has a hero at the centre who also finds himself engaging in adultery and revering Napoleon, and much like in the pertinent story, the character has an unhappy ending.

A classic you don't want to miss

This is another classic I never got around to reading and finally Audiobooks made it possible for me to finally get to it. I thought it started a little slow but oh how it developed. It was hard to stop my walks and turn off my iPod. I walked extra just to keep listening. It is a French author writing about an Italian hero and I enjoyed the comments about the two different cultures. The beautiful Italian names will ring in my head forever. Don't miss it.

Beautiful in every way

Beautiful writing along with perfect narrating make this version a must listen. Fabrice is truly our hero! 👏👏

Lesser novel by a great writer

Reading excellent. First part of book dealing with Waterloo unforgettable. Remainder of book, court intrigues, love affairs by turns silly or tedious, often both . Not a patch on Stendhal's The Red and the Black. Still, glad to have heard this novel read well.

Amazing novel finally available on audio!

One of my favorite books, this title has not been available in audio in English until very recently. The work is hard to define -- part adventure, part a shameless exercise in romanticism, and part a realistic portrait of court politics that feels surprisingly contemporary. The text presupposes a basic knowledge of European history and politics of the period, and without such knowledge I found bits of the text confusing, especially when zipping by at audio speed. (In particular, replay chapter 1 before proceeding to start on a firm footing.) But the general flow of events becomes clear over time, and missing a few political nuances does not detract from a very enjoyable experience. Beautifully read by a skilled narrater.