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The Darlings of the Asylum

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The Darlings of the Asylum

By: Noel O’Reilly
Narrated by: Madeleine Leslay
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About this listen

 To marry is madness.
To escape is impossible.

‘The Darlings of the Asylum by Noel O’Reilly grips like a vice’ Nicola Cornick

In 1886, a respectable young woman must acquire a husband. But Violet Pring longs to be a professional artist and live on her own terms.

When she turns down a desirable marriage proposal from an eligible Brighton gentleman, her family have had enough of her independent streak. Against her wishes, they lock her away in Hillwood Grange Lunatic Asylum.

Now at the mercy of the sinister Dr Rastrick, she must keep her wits about her if she has any hope of escaping.

This tantalizing Gothic novel from Noel O’Reilly tells a thrilling story of duty and desire, madness and sanity, truth and delusion from within a Victorian asylum.

Praise for The Darlings of the Asylum:

‘Always engaging and readable’ Sunday Times

‘The narrative rattles along irresistibly all the way to its suitably gothic climax’ Readers’ Digest

‘This darkly atmospheric psychological thriller oozes menace’ Women’s Own

‘Wow! I have been on the edge of my seat with this one! The Darlings of the Asylum… grips like a vice’ Nicola Cornick, author of The Winter Garden

‘Gripping’ Alison Stockham, author of The Cuckoo Sister

©2022 Noel O’Reilly (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Genre Fiction Gothic Historical Horror Psychological Thriller & Suspense Scary Fiction Marriage Exciting

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All stars
Most relevant  
I found it slow to start, but really got into it. The ending did not disappoint.

Stick with it

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I wish I had read other reviews before purchasing this audiobook. The technical issues have rendered it unlistenable. Please sort it out Audible - this has the makings of a five star story!

Recording skips and jumps around!

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Lightweight, cliche ridden narrative displaying scant knowledge of female sexuality or their lived experience as asylum patients in the Victorian age.

Dreadful in every respect

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An all round great audio book. Definitely enjoyed the twists and turns. Narrator very captivating.

Well written, good story, lovely audio.

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frankly, did not see allot of what happened coming. wish however that it hadn't ended on such a cliff hanger. I need answers 🤣. some issues with playback. not sure if those issues were down to my device or common. however great listen

twists and turns

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I really liked the premise of this book, but the execution left much to be desired.

The outrage over double standards for men and women is token and is intertwined with disparaging comments about other women. Violet is a classic "not like other girls" character. She is intensely unlikable and has an unchallenged misogynistic view of all of the other female characters. She is special and different only because she does not want to marry and likes drawing, these features are not sufficient to make up for having no discernibly interesting personality.
In a society where women have almost no autonomy or social standing except in relation to their husband, it is problematic to disparage women for their ability to thrive in such a patriarchy. I was really hoping that Violet would learn to better understand the other women around her and develop some empathy. She doesn't. The other female characters are left as flat, 2-dimensional people only designed to make Violet look interesting for not conforming to the norm. This is then paired with the number of times that violet faints as a result of strong emotions. The whole characterization left a really bad taste in my mouth.

Furthermore, this book fails to really confront the misogyny inherent in the persecution of "hysterical,"/ free thinking women through the asylum system with its attempt at a twist ending which seems to justify Violet's treatment and imply that women who do not fit the social expectations are both violent and mentally ill.

Overall, this novel was deeply problematic in its presentation of women, which is especially unfortunate for a novel with a female protagonist and a plot that ostensibly focuses on female oppression. It reads as though the author failed to empathize with the reality of life for women in the 19th century and was more interested in shoving in a surprise twist than actually engaging with the compelling possibilities of the novels setting. This is a clear example of a male author attempting to write a female protagonist with absolutely no attempt to understand women.

Disappointingly poorly written

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Story was excellent but there are serious technical problems part way through which makes it impossible to listen to. Very sad I wasted a credit on this.

Great story entirely ruined by Audible’s technical issues

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From the 9 hours to go mark the story jumps all over the place. Serious technical issues spoiling the story. Jumping back and forth making the story disjointed and nonsensical! Sort it out someone please!

Serious replay issues

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Promised to be a good story but technical difficulties occur about chapter 9 and the book jumps all over the place. Will buy in paper format to find out what happens but I would avoid the audible version

Glitches

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glitch in the audio jumping back and forward and playing chapters over each other so unfortunately couldn't listen past chapter 9 however was enjoying up til then

glitch

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