The Old Ladies

“Quite a number of years ago there was an old rickety building on the rock above Seatown in Polchester, and it was one of a number in an old grass-grown square known as Pontippy Square. In this house at one time or another lived three old ladies,… It was a windy, creaky, rain-bitten dwelling-place for three old ladies….” (excerpt from the book) During the mid 1920s Walpole produced two of his best-known novels in the macabre vein that he drew on from time to time, exploring the fascination of fear and cruelty. The Old Ladies (1924) is a study of a timid elderly spinster exploited and eventually frightened to death by a predatory widow. (5 hr 58 min)

Chapters

Mrs. Amorest Pays A Visit	29:16	Read by David Wales
Evening In The House - Agatha Payne	26:22	Read by David Wales
Life Of May Beringer	28:16	Read by David Wales
Red Amber	36:45	Read by David Wales
Christmas Eve	37:33	Read by David Wales
Agatha Secretly...	27:11	Read by David Wales
Death Of Hopes	27:47	Read by David Wales
May Beringer Tries To Escape	32:38	Read by David Wales
The Sense Of Danger	28:17	Read by David Wales
Death Of May Beringer	29:38	Read by David Wales
Mrs. Amorest Shows Courage	28:43	Read by David Wales
The House Is Abandoned	26:01	Read by David Wales

Reviews

LISTEN TO THIS ONE DURING THE DAY

(5 stars)

AVID READER

One reviewer calls this story "dark" and it is. But, it is a very accurate study of the lonely, aged persons who have no one to care for them. In "JEREMY" Walpole takes us back to our childhood. Perhaps no other writer could describe these extremes so well, and that is Walpole's genius. Of course, it does not hurt to have David Wales reading for you.

Merciless

(4 stars)

Phxjennifer

A cautionary tale; never assume that a little old lady is harmless. Greed, lust for power, impatience and other unpleasant personal issues get worse as we get older unless we consciously work to control them.

(4 stars)

Kim B

Good reading, thank you. I'm not sure what other reviewers mean by dark. It isn't a happy story, but dark seems like an exaggeration to me, though I guess it's subjective.

great listen

(4.5 stars)

Nat

It was a short book, I really enjoyed it. Who knew the old ladies would be so interesting! 🤨

good story, well read