The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley
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The Water-Babies

A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby

$12.56

Retail price: $13.95

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Narrator Simon Vance

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Length 5 hours 3 minutes
Language English
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A classic since its first publication in 1863, The Water-Babies is the story of a little chimney sweep named Tom and his magical adventures beneath the waves. The ill-treated Tom flees his dangerous toil and his cruel master, Grimes. When he jumps into a cool stream to clean the soot off himself, he becomes a water baby, cleaner and happier than he has ever been, in a hidden fairy world. There, Tom meets haughty dragonflies, makes friends with a slow-witted lobster, and dodges hungry otters. Eventually, he meets the other water-babies and their clever rulers, Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid and Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby. After a long and arduous quest to the Other-end-of-Nowhere, young Tom achieves his heartโ€™s desire.

Charles Kingsley (1819โ€“1875), born in Devonshire, England, was a clergyman, novelist, and poet who began writing when he was five years old. He was much involved in the social reform movements of his time. His best-known works are Westward Ho! and the childrenโ€™s fantasy The Water Babies.

Simon Vance is a critically acclaimed narrator who has recorded over eight hundred audiobooks and has received over fifty Earphones Awards. A twelve-time Audie Award winner and frequent finalist, he has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice, an AudioFile Best Voice, and the first Booklist Voice of Choice. A former BBC Radio presenter and newsreader in London, he currently lives in California, where he also pursues stage and television acting.

Audiobook details

Narrator:
Simon Vance

ISBN:
9781481547871

Length:
5 hours 3 minutes

Language:
English

Publisher:
Blackstone Publishing

Publication date:

Edition:
Unabridged

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Reviews

โ€œThe...reader will merely be struck with the flashes of wit and humor which are scattered throughout the book.โ€

โ€œThere is no one book in which so many of the distinctive features of Charles Kingsley are combined as in the delightful Water Babies...In it we have his eager sympathy with suffering; his love for little children; his hatred of cruelty and injustice; [and] his intolerance of ignorance.โ€

“Everyone who has an interest in the exuberant, eclectic, ecological, and erotic aspects of Victorian literature should know this book…[A] delightful and important work of Victorian children’s literature.”

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