07.22.07
Gentleman and Players — Audio Book
Gentleman and Players is an audiobook by Joanne Harris.
‘Audere, agere, auferre’. To dare, to strive, to conquer
For generations, privileged young men have attended St. Oswald s Grammar School for Boys, groomed for success by the likes of Roy Straitley, the eccentric Classics teacher who has been a fixture there for more than thirty years. But this year the wind of unwelcome change is blowing, and Straitley is finally contemplating retirement. He is joined this term by five new faculty members, including one who holds intimate and dangerous knowledge of St. Oswald’s ways and secrets. Harboring dark ties to the school’s past, this young teacher has arrived with one terrible goal: to destroy St. Oswald’s.
As the new term gets under way, a number of incidents befall students and faculty alike. Beginning as small annoyances, they are initially overlooked. But as the incidents escalate, it soon becomes apparent that a darker undercurrent is stirring within the school. With St. Oswald’s unraveling, only Straitley stands in the way of its ruin. The veteran teacher faces a formidable opponent, however—a master player with a bitter grudge and a strategy that has been meticulously planned to the final move, a secret game with very real, very deadly consequences.
A harrowing tale of cat and mouse, this riveting, hypnotically atmospheric novel showcases New York Times bestselling author Joanne Harris’s astonishing storytelling talent as never before.
Joanne Harris is the author of six other critically acclaimed novels, a collection of short fiction, and two cookbook-memoirs. Half French and half British, she lives in England.
Steven Pacey’s extensive work in the West End includes The Birthday Party, Things We Do Tor love, By Jeeves (Olivier Award nomination) and being directed by Harold Pinter in his successful productions of Celebration and The Room. Steven has appeared in numerous TV roles and has made over 300 radio broadcasts.
Erin said,
August 2, 2007 at 4:37 pm
As a frequent audio book listener and a fan of this genre, I have to say this is one of the best I’ve ever heard. It’s rare that a book can keep me guessing right up until the end and this one did. Here is my own review (no spoilers):
St. Oswald’s–an old-world British school for boys butting heads with modern times, it’s up to the old guard of teachers to keep the reputation of the institution spotless. One of the oldest of the guard is Mr. Straitley, the only remaining classics teacher fighting off modern conveniences such as e-mail and computer labs with only his sharp wit to arm him. This was the type of teacher we always wanted: intelligent, strict but fair. Utterly devoted to his boys, his job, the school. Half of the story is told from his point-of-view in a journal style that often had me laughing out loud as he wages his passive-aggressive war against the modern languages department trying to squeeze him out of the domain he’s ruled over for thirty-three years.
The other half of the story is told from the point of view of a teacher that has a very old ax to grind against the school. Starting out at first with minor annoying pranks eventually St. Oswald’s teeters on the edge of extinction when scandals erupt and old secrets are forced back to the surface.
Can Mr. Straitley save the school and figure out the root of all the trouble before St. Oswald’s has to shut its doors forever?
Steven Pacey…a veteran British actor made Mr. Straitley a real person to me. I was absolutely hooked on this story and could not stop listening and have that hang-over feeling one often gets upon finishing a good book but not wanting to leave favorite characters.
This is a must-listen for audio book fans and would also be first rate in print (though you’d miss Pacey’s interpretation of Straitley and that would be a real shame.)