Audiobook Sample
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- Title: When a Man Marries
- Author: Mary Roberts Rinehart
- Narrator: Sharon Kilmer
- Length: 05:50:38
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 01/01/2017
- Publisher: LibriVox
- Genre: Comedy, Satire & Parody
- ISBN13: SABLIB9785984
As I settled into my favorite armchair with a cup of jasmine tea ““ the same chair where I first discovered P.G. Wodehouse’s genius during my Oxford fellowship ““ Sharon Kilmer’s narration of Mary Roberts Rinehart’s “When a Man Marries” transported me to a world where social pretenses unravel with delicious absurdity. This LibriVox production offers contemporary listeners a free auditory passport to 1910 America, where a divorced playboy’s dinner party scheme spirals into a masterpiece of comedic chaos.
Through my cultural lens as a scholar of cross-class narratives, what fascines me most is how Rinehart’s farce holds up a funhouse mirror to Edwardian gender politics. The protagonist’s desperate charade ““ hiring a stand-in wife to appease his wealthy aunt ““ becomes a brilliant vehicle for exposing the performative nature of marriage and class respectability. Listening to Kilmer’s animated delivery, I was reminded of teaching my Comparative Literature seminar at Berkeley, where we analyzed how comedy often serves as society’s most effective truth-teller.
The audiobook experience shines through Kilmer’s dynamic narration, which captures the text’s sparkling dialogue with perfect comic timing. Her vocal characterizations ““ particularly the put-upon protagonist and his formidable aunt ““ create an almost theatrical atmosphere. This reminded me of my research into early radio dramas, where vocal inflection carried the entire narrative burden. Kilmer’s performance makes excellent use of pauses and pitch changes to highlight Rinehart’s witty repartee, though modern listeners might notice some vocal inconsistencies common to volunteer-read LibriVox recordings.
Analyzing the text through contemporary feminist theory reveals fascinating tensions. Rinehart’s women, while constrained by period norms, demonstrate remarkable agency ““ the ex-wife’s reappearance and the pretend wife’s growing assertiveness create a delightful subversion of expectations. Yet as with many works of its era, the listening experience requires historical contextualization; some characterizations and jokes reflect attitudes that may jar modern sensibilities.
Compared to similar works in the comedy of manners tradition, Rinehart’s novel stands out for its seamless blending of romantic entanglement with elements of mystery ““ a precursor to today’s romantic comedy genre. The dinner party’s escalating disasters reminded me of the chaotic energy in Kaufman and Ferber’s “The Royal Family”, though Rinehart’s touch remains distinctly her own. For listeners who enjoy Wodehouse but crave more gender-balanced narratives, this offers a compelling alternative.
The audiobook’s free availability through LibriVox makes it an excellent entry point for exploring early 20th century American humor. While the recording lacks the polish of commercial productions, there’s charm in its grassroots authenticity ““ much like discovering a perfectly preserved time capsule at a neighborhood book swap. For literature students or comedy enthusiasts, it provides valuable insight into the social mores and narrative conventions that shaped modern storytelling.
In scholarly appreciation of life’s comic rhythms,
Prof. Emily Chen
