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Title details for A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer - Available

A Prisoner of Birth

A Novel

by Jeffrey Archer
Roger Allam
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available

International bestseller and master storyteller Jeffrey Archer returns with a tale of fate and fortune, redemption and revenge with A Prisoner of Birth.
Danny Cartwright and Spencer Craig never should have met. One evening, Danny, an East End cockney who works as a garage mechanic, takes his fianceé up to the West End to celebrate their engagement. He crosses the path of Spencer Craig, a West End barrister posed to be the youngest Queen's Counsel of his generation.
A few hours later Danny is arrested for murder and later is sentenced to twenty-two years in prison, thanks to irrefutable testimony from Spencer, the prosecution's main witness.
Danny spends the next few years in a high-security prison while Spencer Craig's career as a lawyer goes straight up. All the while Danny plans to escape and wreak his revenge.
Thus begins Jeffrey Archer's poignant novel of deception, hatred and vengeance, in which only one of them can finally triumph while the other will spend the rest of his days in jail. But which one will triumph? This suspenseful novel takes the listener through so many twists and turns that no one will guess the ending, even the most ardent of Archer's many, many fans.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 4, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781427202840
      • File size: 471588 KB
      • Duration: 16:22:28

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Several themes that run through Archer's latest novel are reminiscent of the stories of Alexander Dumas, and there's no better person to narrate this 21st-century adventure than Roger Allam. He takes you through a murder, the trial, prison life, escape, revenge, and redemption. These events are all set in motion when Danny Cartwright is framed by four friends from Cambridge University for the murder of his best friend, who is also his fiancÄe's brother. Like Edmond DantÅs, in THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, Cartwright is mentored by a fellow prisoner and, also like the Count, his retribution is well planned and fitting. Allam narrates the multiple layers and numerous characters of this complex plot with alacrity. His reading, together with the story's ending, will leave listeners fulfilled. A.L.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 14, 2008
      Bestseller Archer (Kane and Abel
      ) pays homage to Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo
      in this delicious updating of the adventure classic. Four upper-crust friends from Cambridge University known as the Musketeers conspire to frame Danny Cartwright, an illiterate London East Ender, for the murder of Danny's oldest friend and brother-in-law to be, Bernie Wilson. The outcome of the intriguing trial, which pits a relatively novice defense lawyer against a skilled prosecutor, is a 22-year sentence for Danny. In maximum-security Belmarsh prison, Danny is lucky enough to share a cell with Sir Nicholas Moncrieff, the book's Abbé Faria figure, who teaches him to read and write. In a trick familiar to those who know their Dumas, Danny escapes by impersonating Moncrieff and hatches an intricate scheme to punish the Musketeers and clear his name. While Archer doesn't explore the cost to Danny's soul his revenge exacts, the author's firsthand knowledge of prison life and legal maneuvers helps make this a thoroughly enjoyable entertainment. 250,000-copy printing; author tour.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 28, 2008
      Though Archer's new novel is a porridge that mushes The Count of Monte Cristo
      together with The Prince and the Pauper
      , Roger Allam gives an award-worthy performance in this crisply paced production. Most challenging is that the main character thinks like East Ender Danny, but often speaks like the nobleman Nick. Allam slides gracefully between the two accents. He also performs the many voices of an unwieldy cast of lawyers, judges, Swiss bankers, guards, police officers, a bartender, a house cleaner and a soap star actor. Sometimes, Allam takes some shortcuts, such as giving all the judges sniffy voices, but he delights in individualizing the better drawn minor characters like Big Al, a former Scottish soldier, and Larry Hunsucker, a Texas oilman and philatelist. A bonus interview reveals little about Archer, except for his spending 300 hours on a draft. Simultaneous release with the St. Martin's hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 14).

    • AudioFile Magazine
      After his friend is killed in a fight outside a pub, Danny Cartwright is sent to prison for the murder on the testimony of the real killer. Danny's quest for revenge will hold few surprises for anyone familiar with THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. But Jeffrey Archer has fun with his revenge tale and even puts his real-life prison stint (for perjury and perverting justice) to use in his descriptions of life behind bars. Roger Allam's narration will make listeners want to keep going without a break. Allam builds tension in the clockwork plot while creating memorable characters with a mix of upper-class and lower-class accents. Even those who know what's coming will enjoy this sharp thriller. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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