The Fate of Fenella


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.2 stars; 21 reviews)

One book, twenty-four authors ... Fenella is the beautiful, girlish and headstrong heroine of a sensational Victorian novel which continually passes from one writer's cliffhanger to another's resolution. Fenella, with her young son Ronny, is recuperating in a Harrogate hotel, where her flirtatious behaviour has already broken the heart of a fellow guest, a rising barrister. Her feelings at her estrangement from her young husband, who appears to be flaunting his manipulative French mistress to the world, are still running high. Impulsively, she strikes back with an invitation to the French count whose flirtation had fired her husband's jealousy. The stage is set for a crime in mysterious circumstances, bringing Fenella into a sorrowful womanhood, and changing the lives of those around her forever. Violence, misunderstanding, love, intrigue, kidnapping, disaster ... mystery, sensation, social commentary, wit and romance combine across continents as each writer takes up the story.

"The publishers claim with no little satisfaction that in this book they offer the reading public a genuine novelty. The idea of a novel written by twenty-four popular writers is certainly an original one. The ladies and gentlemen who have written The Fate of Fenella have done their work quite independently of each other. There has been collaboration but not consultation. As each one wrote a chapter it was passed on to the next, and so on until it reached the hands of Mr. F. Anstey, whose peculiar and delightful humor made him a fitting choice for bringing the story to a satisfactory close." (Summary by Loveday and the Publishers' note) (7 hr 23 min)

Chapters

Chapter I - Fenella 21:14 Read by Patti Cunningham
Chapter II - Kismet 14:51 Read by TriciaG
Chapter III - How It Strikes a Contemporary 21:53 Read by Anna Simon
Chapter IV - Between Two Fires 14:18 Read by Lynne T
Chapter V 17:23 Read by ToddHW
Chapter VI 9:42 Read by Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
Chapter VII - So Near - so Far Away 15:51 Read by Michele Fry
Chapter VIII 18:21 Read by Mary J
Chapter IX 19:33 Read by Lynne T
Chapter X 15:34 Read by ToddHW
Chapter XI - Mme de Vigny's Revenge 26:28 Read by TriciaG
Chapter XII 17:23 Read by Christa Matichuk
Chapter XIII - The Scars Remained 11:16 Read by Natalie Paula
Chapter XIV - Derelict 15:30 Read by ToddHW
Chapter XV 23:15 Read by Rosie
Chapter XVI - In New York 26:38 Read by Michele Fry
Chapter XVII 13:40 Read by Nincompup
Chapter XVIII 17:21 Read by Lynne T
Chapter XIX 17:04 Read by ToddHW
Chapter XX - Through Fire and Water 25:44 Read by Maria Kasper
Chapter XXI - Alive or Dead 13:14 Read by Natalie Paula
Chapter XXII 20:39 Read by TriciaG
Chapter XXIII 25:19 Read by Anna Simon
Chapter XXIV - Whom the Gods Hate Die Hard 21:31 Read by ToddHW

Reviews

DEUS MACHINA


(4 stars)

An interesting experiment. It is like the old serials at the movies on Saturday. A cliffhanger at the end of each chapter, but magically resolved in the next. Then the great Hollywood ending. Good fun.


(4 stars)

a great parody of victorian fiction - lots of fun if you take it in that way.

clare Brennan


(5 stars)

gteat story amd the readers are so so gooxd Thanh u so much

the gate of fenella


(5 stars)

loved it..