The Hand of Ethelberta: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Hand of Ethelberta, credited to Thomas Hardy, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The Hand of Ethelberta, by Thomas Hardy. Read by Simon Evers. Ethelberta was raised in humble circumstances but became a governess and consequently, at the age of 18, married well. However, her husband died two weeks after the wedding. Her father-in-law, Lord Petherwin, died shortly afterwards. Ethelberta (now 21) lives with her mother-in-law, Lady Petherwin. In the three years that have elapsed since her marriage, Ethelberta has been treated to foreign travel and further privileges by Lady Petherwin but restricted from seeing her own family. The story follows Ethelberta's career as a famous poetess and storyteller. Meanwhile, she struggles to support her family and conceal the fact that her father is a butler. Ethelberta easily attracts four very persistent suitors but is reluctant to give her much-coveted hand. The book is written in serial form. (Summary by Simon Evers)

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Hand of Ethelberta
• Author credits: Thomas Hardy
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 48
• Listed recording duration: 13:46:37

Catalogue topics

• audio book
• fiction

Opening tracks: first 24 of 48

1. Chapter 1 — 28:52
2. Chapter 2 — 21:35
3. Chapter 3 — 9:11
4. Chapter 4 — 13:17
5. Chapter 5 — 8:55
6. Chapter 6 — 10:56
7. Chapter 7 — 23:26
8. Chapter 8 — 13:06
9. Chapter 9 — 19:00
10. Chapter 10 — 8:53
11. Chapter 11 — 8:57
12. Chapter 12 — 6:57
13. Chapter 13 — 24:24
14. Chapter 14 — 7:16
15. Chapter 15 — 7:18
16. Chapter 16 — 12:49
17. Chapter 17 — 21:43
18. Chapter 18 — 14:49
19. Chapter 19 — 5:12
20. Chapter 20 — 7:06
21. Chapter 21 — 12:25
22. Chapter 22 — 22:01
23. Chapter 23 — 14:04
24. Chapter 24 — 20:56

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.