Audiobook Sample
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- Title: Tea Rose
- Author: Jennifer Donnelly
- Narrator: Jill Tanner
- Length: 28:30:00
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 07/03/2014
- Publisher: Recorded Books
- Genre: Fiction & Literature, Historical Fiction
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
The moment Jill Tanner’s voice first wrapped around Jennifer Donnelly’s words in “The Tea Rose”, I was transported to a cobblestone street in Whitechapel, the scent of bergamot and gunpowder tea hanging in the air. It reminded me of my time in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, where the stories of spice merchants seemed to rise from the very stones beneath my feet. Donnelly’s novel, brought to life by Tanner’s masterful narration, is that rare audiobook that doesn’t just tell a story – it builds a world you can taste, touch, and carry with you long after the final chapter.
Fiona Finnegan’s journey from London’s tea factories to Manhattan’s Gilded Age parlors unfolds with the rich detail of a Brontë novel crossed with the raw energy of “Les Misérables”. Tanner’s performance captures every shade of this transformation – her East End accent for young Fiona maturing into measured transatlantic tones as our heroine builds her empire. There’s a particular scene where Fiona first tastes fine tea in New York that Tanner delivers with such sensory precision, I found myself brewing a cup of Earl Grey mid-listen, just to accompany the experience.
What makes this audiobook exceptional is how Tanner handles Donnelly’s Dickensian cast. From the gravel-voiced costermongers to Fiona’s waspish aunt, each character emerges distinct and fully realized. Her pacing during the Whitechapel murder scenes had me holding my breath on a crowded subway, the tension so palpable I nearly missed my stop. The narration elevates Donnelly’s already vivid prose – when Tanner describes the Thames as ‘a slick black ribbon stitched with moonlight,’ you can see the water’s dangerous shimmer.
As someone who’s documented food cultures from Oaxaca to Osaka, I was particularly struck by how the tea trade becomes a character itself. The audiobook’s greatest strength lies in these sensory passages – the crackle of dry leaves, the hiss of steam, the ceremonial clink of porcelain. Tanner’s voice takes on the warmth of a properly steeped Darjeeling during these moments, slowing just enough to let listeners savor each detail.
If I have one critique, it’s that some secondary characters’ accents occasionally blur during rapid dialogue exchanges. But this is minor compared to the overall achievement – eighteen hours of listening that never drags, each chapter unfolding like the petals of the novel’s namesake flower. The climactic return to London had me pacing my apartment, so immersed I forgot I was in Brooklyn, not Borough High Street.
For fans of “The Crimson Petal and the White” or “The Gilded Hour”, this audiobook offers a similarly rich historical tapestry. But Donnelly’s focus on female entrepreneurship – on tea as both comfort and commodity – gives it unique flavor. Tanner’s narration makes the perfect vessel for this story, like fine bone china showing off a perfect amber brew.
With a steaming cup of stories yet to be shared,
Marcus Rivera
