Trilby

By: George du Maurier

Narrated by: Peter Joyce

Full of the author's joie de vivre, this tale revels in the artistic life of 19th Century Paris. Three friends, perfect companions for each other, try to make their way as painters in the Bohemian climate of the left bank of the Seine, but then Little Billee falls in love. The object of his affections is Trilby, a gamine figure of the streets and artists' model.

Trilby is under the influence of the strange Svengali who hypnotises her to make her sing. It is not Svengali, however, who is responsible for Trilby's downfall. Du Maurier surely lays that blame on the class system of the time. It is not Trilby's lifestyle that brings tragedy but Victorian attitudes - the worthy encompassed by the inevitable. It is a love story brim full of rumbustious reminiscence with dark undercurrents about mesmeric possession of the soul - an obsession of the period.

About Assembled Stories: Over the years the national press have reviewed Assembled Stories titles as "excellent", "remarkable", "entrancing", "superb", "magic for sure", "masterly", "wonderful", "a class act" and "a splendid example of audio at its best".

©2010 George Du Maurier (P)2004 Assembled Stories

Critic reviews

"Peter Joyce is the most remarkable one-man band in audiobook publishing. Joyce, an experienced actor, reads them all himself." (The Independent)

So that's who Svengali was.

I've heard the metaphor using the name Svengali for years, now I know where it came from.

I would have liked to met Ttilby

I've never wanted to be a part of a menagerie before, but this group would have been one I could have enjoyed. great read.