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The Shuttle

by: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Publication date: 2010-02-23

Usage: Public Domain

Topics: LibriVox, fiction, shuttle

Language: English

LibriVox recording of The Shuttle, by Frances Hodgson Burnett read by Tabithat

Rosalie Vanderpoel, the daughter of an American multimillionaire marries an impoverished English baronet and goes to live in England. She all but loses contact with her family in America. Years later her younger sister Bettina, beautiful, intelligent and extremely rich, goes to England to find what has happened to her sister. She finds Rosalie shabby and dispirited, cowed by her husband's ill treatment. Bettina sets about to rectify matters. She meets Lord Mount Dunstan, an impoverished earl, who lives nearby and they fall in love, but he cannot speak because it would look as if he were after her money...

This is a romance but it is also about the rejuvenating effects of Americans and American money on a somewhat decadent English aristocracy.
(Summary by Tabithat)

For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.

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M4B Audiobook part 1 (187MB)
M4B Audiobook part 2 (185MB)
M4B Audiobook part 3 (172MB)

Addeddate: 2010-02-23 21:14:33

Boxid: OL100020209

Call number: 3892

External-identifier: urn:storj:bucket:jvrrslrv7u4ubxymktudgzt3hnpq:the_shuttle_1002_librivox

Identifier: the_shuttle_1002_librivox

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Ocr_detected_lang: en

Ocr_detected_lang_conf: 1.0000

Ocr_detected_script: Latin

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Reviews

Reviewer: AstridStar - - February 5, 2022
Subject: Absolutely wonderful!

It has been several months since I listened to this story, and I still think about it from time to time. 'The Shuttle' is a story that is, in every measure, truly epic. The reader is fantastic, and the narrative is moving, inspiring and rewards the reader/listener with a gripping and dramatic climax. I cannot recommend this reading more highly. Simply unforgettable!

Reviewer: TwinkieToes - - June 15, 2017
Subject: Yep

I'm adding my kudos to this one - both for the story and for the reader. I concur with what the previous reviewers have said.

This isn't a children's story, like The Secret Garden. It's full of adult situations. But it's a wonderful story with enough suspense and heart to satisfy almost anyone. And the reader is wonderful.

Reviewer: heather spence - - May 30, 2017
Subject: Wonderful

As I child I read and reread The Secret Garden and have only now, in my seventies, discovered this book written by the same author. Thank you Librivox. But an enormous thank you and bouquet to Tabithat for her wonderful reading. What a talent for making the characters so real whilst the story is told so gently and with such insight. Thank you!

Reviewer: A. Arnold - - June 7, 2016
Subject: Wonderful story. Wonderful reader.

The Shuttle was my first exposure to an adult-subject novel of Frances Hodgson Burnett and I enjoyed it immensely. The story was gripping, moving and vivid. But at the same time, funny, clever and full of astute observations about the differences between English and American culture at the turn of the 20th century. Great characters with distinct personalities, greatly enhanced by Tabithat's excellent reading. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: sarahm - - February 1, 2015
Subject: Outstanding

As a child my favorite books included A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. I love them still. Thanks to Librivox I have discovered novels by Frances Hodgson Burnett written for adult readers. Of those that I have read so far, The Shuttle is my favorite.

The shuttle refers to the increasing ease with which travelers could voyage between England and the US. Titled Englishmen began to look to wealthy American girls to salvage family estates. Of course these unions did not always end well.

While The Shuttle is a captivating romance, I particularly loved the restoration of the English estate. Here is an element near-fantasy such as from the The Secret Garden, now brought into a gripping love story.

Excellent story and very well read by Tabithat

Reviewer: Maryland Girl - - February 27, 2014
Subject: The Shuttle

I truly enjoyed this book; did not want it to end. I wish that the the reader of this book would consider reading more books. Her voice made this story come alive and I felt the things that were happening. Every now and then comes a reader that just "WOWS" you and this reader did a fantastic job. I wish to thank her personally.

Reviewer: TheBookworm - - September 12, 2011
Subject: Whoops

This is an fine reading of an outstanding novel. Once again the admirable team at LibriVox bring us a largely forgotten masterpiece. Thank you!

TheBookworm (Manchester, UK)

Reviewer: ListeninginChicago - - May 13, 2010
Subject: Gripping story with a dose of social commentary

Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_May_Alcott, and Frances Hodgson Burnett was English and wrote The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett), but otherwise I agree totally with TheBookworm's comments - this is real treat by an excellent reader.

Betty Vanderpoel has everything that money can buy, plus she is beautiful, confident, perceptive and wise - all that we pour into our vision of the "woman who has it all." But what she wants most is out of reach simply because she is a "woman who has it all."

Lord Mount Dunstan's estate was squandered by his ancestor's bad living. Yet somehow he has broken from the past and inherited the strong character and good morals which years earlier made his family great. He deserves something better than a lonely life on an impoverished estate, but his pride keeps him from what could be his for the asking.

It's an effective framework to compare old England and new America. But don't let the prospect of a little social commentary scare you - at the bottom, it is a gripping story filled with surprises and engaging characters that had me sitting in the car many nights after my evening commute was over because I just "had to hear" the end of the chapter.

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