The Poor Clare

By: Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Originally written for Charles Dickens' Household Words magazine, The Poor Clare is a dark, gothic short novel of thwarted love and a family curse that vividly illustrates the social tensions of Victorian England. The intentional killing of a woman's dog unleashes a torrent of rage. In her desire for revenge, the woman curses the dog's killer: All that the murderer loves most, he will lose. This haunting tale brilliantly demonstrates Elizabeth Gaskell's understanding of the tensions between Catholics and Protestants and the harsh realities of class society.

Public Domain (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Boring disappointment

I typically enjoy her books a lot; however, this short story or novelette was slow moving and hard to follow. It was like a fairy tale, which is fine, but there was too much background description and little action.

The poor clare

I felt so sad while listening to this story. It just doesn't really have a good ending.

Reminds me of Sherlock Holmes

Enjoyable story, flowed nicely. The reader had a nice clear voice. it's a simple supernatural story reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes mystery. I will keep it on my go to list.

Disappointed

I'm a huge fan of Elizabeth Gaskell's novels but this one was very disappointing. It appeared she had an idea to write a story based on the historical conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in England, Ireland and Scotland, mixed in with a little mysticism and witchcraft, but never gave much thought to the actual plot.

short and diverting

narrator was excellent. gaskell's gothic was placed firmly in her domestic and natural world.