The Evil Genius: The Novel and the Play
Over dit audioboek
“In one respect, men are all alike; they hate to see a woman in tears.”
Paired with Blackstone’s and Skyboat Media’s production of Wilkie Collins’s The Evil Genius, Skyboat Media presents the dramatic adaptation of the novel, also by Wilkie Collins. Although both versions of the story were written at the same time, the play has never before been published and was only ever performed once on the stage. In fact, it is almost entirely unknown and is otherwise unavailable.
Miss Sydney Westerfield has been saved from a lonely life of teaching at her aunt’s school and taken into service as a governess for Kitty, daughter of Herbert and Catherine Linley. Kitty simply adores Sydney, and Catherine does as well for the governess’s warmth and kindness as a caretaker and a member of their household. But when Herbert and Sydney fall in love, it is only a matter of time before the truth must come out—helped along, of course, by Catherine’s mother, the fierce gossip and foremost meddler Mrs. Presty.
Infidelity, divorce, and child custody are at the forefront of this tale of domestic drama, but Wilkie Collins takes a most modern approach to the view of women in such situations. Not only does Collins offer sympathy—empathy even—for these women that was not at all common at the time, he also remembers to keep a spotlight on young Kitty, whose life will be forever shaped by the affairs of the adults around her.
This full-cast recording of both the novel and the play will fully immerse you in a truly forward-thinking portrait of love and betrayal.
Over de auteur
Wilkie Collins (1824–1889) studied law and was admitted to the bar but never practiced. Instead, he devoted his time to writing and is best known for his novels The Woman in White, No Name, Armadale, and The Moonstone, which has been called the finest detective story ever written. A number of his works were collaborations with his close friend Charles Dickens. The Woman in White so gripped the imagination of the world that Wilkie Collins had his own tombstone inscribed, “Author of The Woman in White.”
Gabrielle de Cuir is a Grammy-nominated and Audie Award-winning producer whose narration credits include the voice of Valentine in Orson Scott Card’s Ender novels, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Tombs of Atuan, and Natalie Angier’s Woman, for which she was awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Earphones Award. She lives in Los Angeles where she also directs theatre and presently has several projects in various stages of development for film.
Stefan Rudnicki is an award winning audiobook narrator, director and producer. He was born in Poland and now resides in Studio City, California. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks and has participated in over a thousand as a writer, producer, or director. He is a recipient of multiple Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as a Grammy Award, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Ray Bradbury Award. He received AudioFile’s award for 2008 Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Along with a cast of other narrators, Rudnicki has read a number of Orson Scott Card's best-selling science fiction novels. He worked extensively with many other science fiction authors, including David Weber and Ben Bova. In reviewing the twentieth anniversary edition audiobook of Card’s Ender's Game, Publishers Weekly stated, "Rudnicki, with his lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender's inner struggle between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions he is frequently forced to take." Rudnicki is also a stage actor and director.
Kathe Mazur has narrated many audiobooks, winning the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2014, being named a finalist for the Audie Award in 2013 and 2015, and winning several AudioFile Earphones Awards. As an actress, she can be seen as DDA Hobbs on The Closer and in the upcoming Major Crimes. She has worked extensively in film, theater, and television, including appearances on Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, House, Brothers and Sisters, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, ER, Monk, and many others.
Nan McNamara has spent over twenty years performing on stage, film, and television (including Criminal Minds) and working behind the microphone as a voice-over artist for radio/television commercials, audiobooks, and video games (including voicing “Anya” for the Gears of War franchise). Her passion is to tell good stories, regardless of the medium. An L.A. Drama Critics Award Winner and an L.A. Weekly Award Winner, she holds a BA in theatre and is originally from St. Paul, Minnesota.
Bahni Turpin is an experienced audiobook narrator and actress who has appeared in numerous television productions as well as films. An ensemble member of the Cornerstone Theater Company, she also works as a yoga instructor. She currently resides in Los Angeles, where she founded the SoLA Food Co-op.
John Rubinstein made his debut as the title role in Bob Fosse’s Pippin. He is a skillful, AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator who has read works by Jonathan Kellerman, Orson Scott Card, Tom Clancy, and Gabriel Brownstein. Rubinstein is also a successful actor and has acted in the films Jekyll, Choose Conner, The Truth About Layla, and 21 Grams. His television credits include The Young and the Restless, Greek, Desperate Housewives, Day Break, Criminal Minds, Cold Case, CSI and Law & Order.
