
The House of Stairs
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Narrated by:
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Annie Wauters
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By:
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Ruth Rendell
About this listen
When Lizzie and Bell meet for tea after nearly two decades apart, the topic of conversation is murder - one that Bell herself committed
When Elizabeth Vetch spots Bell for the first time in 17 years, she chases her down in order to learn why her old friend committed a terrible murder all those years ago. Bell has been in prison ever since the mysterious events that took place at the House of Stairs, a London mansion full of over-privileged, overstuffed, and somewhat sinister boarders, landed her there. Now it’s up to Lizzie to put together the pieces of her friend’s - and her own - fateful past.
As the story behind Bell’s crime unfolds, master of suspense Barbara Vine keeps readers guessing at the victim and the motive, letting the sword of Damocles hang over the heads of a fascinating and richly drawn cast of characters.
©2011 Open Road Integrated Media (P)2013 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Loved the ending!
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Kept unfolding more twists and turns
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As always, Rendell writes a very engaging yarn!
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By: Ruth Rendell
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Having published 45 books, Ruth Rendell is an internationally popular mystery writer. She has won four Gold Dagger and three Edgar awards. She has been presented with the Commander of the British Empire honor, and named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. In A Sight For Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell’s exceptional literary talent shines from each word. Teddy Brex is a handsome young man. Raised by parents who never loved him, he has grown to put his trust in objects.
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Reader emits noises that are distracting
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Performance
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Wonderful narrator Wonderful writing
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Alan Groombridge had a fantasy. Husband to a woman he didn't like, father of two children he had never wanted,and manager of the second smallest branch of the Anglian-Victoria bank in the country, Alan was doomed to a life of domestic boredom and tedious routine.All that saved him was that one fantasy: stealing enough of the bank's money to allow him just one year of freedom -one year in which to live a different sort of life. But one day there was no more dreaming and no more games.
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Missing the last chapter!
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
No one would have described Manningtree Grove as fashionable. Few would have found it especially interesting. But it was not an unpleasant place to live: the old railway line lay in a valley, and the gardens looked onto it. It was the kind of place where nothing ever happened. Yet it was here that Peter Yearman first sold his soul to the devil....
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sutch good fantasy story
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One Across, Two Down
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
There are only two things in life that interest Stanley: solving crossword puzzles, and getting his hands on his mother-in-law’s money. For 20 years, the puzzles have been his only pleasure, the money his only dream. It has never occurred to Stanley that his mother-in-law would try to outsmart him and the money would never be his. Until now. It is only now that Stanley, so clever at misleading double meanings and devious clues, decides to construct a puzzle of his own - and so give death a helping hand.
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Fantastic!
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The Minotaur
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As soon as Kerstin Kvist arrives at remote, ivy-covered Lydstep Old Hall in Essex, she feels like a character in a gothic novel. A young nurse fresh out of school, Kerstin has been hired for a position with the Cosway family, residents of the Hall for generations. She is soon introduced to her "charge", John Cosway, a 39-year-old man whose strange behavior is vaguely explained by his mother and sisters as part of the madness that runs in the family.
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Top notch Barbara Vine
- By Susan B. on 12-12-07
By: Barbara Vine
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No Night Is Too Long
- By: Barbara Vine
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Tim Cornish thought he'd gotten away with murder. For months after he'd killed his lover off the Alaskan coast, there hadn't been a word. But then the letters started to arrive. It seems that someone knows what Tim has done.... This compelling thriller delivers such a dark picture of romantic love that murder seems its natural mate. Frightening, suspenseful, and deeply unsettling, No Night Is Too Long is a modern crime masterpiece and will be enjoyed by readers of P. D. James and Ian Rankin.
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Well done
- By SB on 03-30-22
By: Barbara Vine
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We Have Always Lived in the Castle
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Six years after four family members died of arsenic poisoning, the three remaining Blackwoods—elder, agoraphobic sister Constance; wheelchair-bound Uncle Julian; and 18-year-old Mary Katherine, or, Merricat—live together in pleasant isolation. Merricat has developed an idiosyncratic system of rules and protective magic to guard the estate against intrusions from hostile villagers. But one day a stranger arrives—cousin Charles, with his eye on the Blackwood fortune.
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The narration changed my interpretation
- By jaspersu on 10-28-12
By: Shirley Jackson
Critic reviews
What listeners say about The House of Stairs
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Laura
- 04-30-13
Would rather have read it.
Would you try another book from Ruth Rendell and/or Annie Wauters?
Ruth Rendell, yes. Annie Wauters, no.
What didn’t you like about Annie Wauters’s performance?
Her reading was very measured with a little pause between each word, like she was aiming at an audience of octogenarians. And why didn't they pick an English reader??
Did The House of Stairs inspire you to do anything?
Stop reading it...but I persevered.
Any additional comments?
This novel was all tarnished glitz, unconvincing character development, and it appeared that by the end, even the author was bored with it, but not to say I want go back and buy and listen to some of her earlier work. Ruth Rendell is a wonderful writer, but this is not her best work.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 06-27-20
Awful reader
I was in a rush, so didn’t listen to the sample or read comments, trusting I’d be safe with Ruth Rendell as ever. What a mistake. The reading is frankly unbearable. I haven’t gotten more than 10 minutes in and I can’t stand any more. Just hoping Audible lets me exchange this clunker. I’ve learned my lesson for sure.
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1 person found this helpful
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- TiffanyD
- 08-04-20
Classic "whydunnit"
Not a whodunnit (we know that immediately) but a why, how, and "who to." I've only read a couple of other Ruth Rendell novels (she wrote this under the Barbara Vine pseudonym) and while I like them and I enjoyed this one, they strike me as profoundly pessimistic about human relationships.
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- Robert
- 08-15-13
Story is good but the narrator nearly ruined it
Would you try another book from Ruth Rendell and/or Annie Wauters?
I have always liked Ruth Rendell's books and will continue to recommend her to others. I will not recommend Annie Wauters as a narrator. I have been much more impressed with Jenny Sterlin, Nigel Anthony, Julian Glover, and Davina Porter, who all narrate Ruth Rendell's books very well.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The House of Stairs?
The moment at which we realize the protagonist's relationship with Belle was romantic.
What didn’t you like about Annie Wauters’s performance?
Annie Wauters’s performance was stilted, dull, and mechanical. At many points it sounds as if she is simply reading a list of words. Her voice gives no hint of changes in scenes and barely (at most) distinguishes between characters.It was only because I know Ruth Rendell always delivers a good story that I stuck with it.
Was The House of Stairs worth the listening time?
Yes but barely because of the narration.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Charles O
- 06-29-21
Very challenging narration
The novel itself is quite remarkable, layered, intricate, worth contemplation.
However, it’s almost impossible to listen to Annie Wauters’s reading. She’s stilted, flat, and seemingly out of breath. Very distracting.
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- bonnie m hascup
- 04-24-13
Such an irritating reader
What disappointed you about The House of Stairs?
The performance.
Would you ever listen to anything by Ruth Rendell again?
As a rule, I enjoy Ruth Rendell
How could the performance have been better?
The reader sounds like a short-winded smoker!
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
I can't even finish the first chapter because of the reader
Any additional comments?
Yes, I would like to return this audiobook
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5 people found this helpful
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- E-J H
- 01-11-25
The worst reader yet!
I am a big fan of Audible and an even bigger fan of Ruth Rendell. The reader of this story was so stilted, so stiff, so NOT English ( why on earth would anyone read a Rendell in an American accent?), so BAD. A boring and plodding rendition.
I only stuck it out to the end in order to write this review. I DON’T recommend this title or this “ reader” either.
I wasted a Credit !
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- Maria
- 05-27-17
Horrible narration
Great book, lousy narration. Guttural and slurry.
American accent strange choice for a story that takes place in England.
Great story though.
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1 person found this helpful