Kitty Alone


Read by MaryAnn

(4.6 stars; 199 reviews)

Kate Quarm is a bright and sensitive girl. She lives with her aunt and uncle at Coombe Cellers, a farmhouse, eating house and store occupying a promontory in the estuary of the Teign, in the south of Devon. Kate's father is a dreamer, always off on the next get-rich-quick scheme, wandering across the countryside with his donkey cart. It seems that no one has the time or the inclination to try to understand Kitty and she is left very much "alone." But when she ferries the son of the richest farmer in the neighborhood across the Teign and he falls head over heals for the pretty girl, it seems that the fortunes of Kitty Alone are about to change. Or maybe not - for Rose Ash has marked John out as her own and is keen on defending her claim while Kitty's thoughts center more on the stars and the tides (and the new schoolmaster) than on the ardent boy next door.

The Rev'd Sabine Bearing Gould was a keen observer of people who filled his books with a broad cast of characters, humorously drawn from the 19th Century English countryside. (Summary by MaryAnn) (13 hr 8 min)

Chapters

01 - The Philosopher's Stone 12:08 Read by MaryAnn
02 - A Lusus Naturae 15:09 Read by MaryAnn
03 - All Into Gold 16:20 Read by MaryAnn
04 - The Atmospheric Railway 14:13 Read by MaryAnn
05 - On a Mud-Bank 16:08 Read by MaryAnn
06 - A Capture 14:38 Read by MaryAnn
07 - A Release 14:19 Read by MaryAnn
08 - An Atmosphere of Love 15:44 Read by MaryAnn
09 - Convalescence 11:12 Read by MaryAnn
10 - The New Schoolmaster 16:47 Read by MaryAnn
11 - Discords 17:13 Read by MaryAnn
12 - Daffodils 16:39 Read by MaryAnn
13 - The Spirit of Inquiry 16:34 Read by MaryAnn
14 - To the Fair 11:36 Read by MaryAnn
15 - A Reason for Everything 14:57 Read by MaryAnn
16 - The Dancing Bear 9:34 Read by MaryAnn
17 - Insured 14:45 Read by MaryAnn
18 - Brazil Nuts 15:08 Read by MaryAnn
19 - Suggestions of Evil 17:48 Read by MaryAnn
20 - A Face In The Water 15:23 Read by MaryAnn
21 - An Offer 15:07 Read by MaryAnn
22 - A Race for Life 13:23 Read by MaryAnn
23 - Borrowing 16:31 Read by MaryAnn
24 - Shavings 16:03 Read by MaryAnn
25 - Borrowing Again 13:43 Read by MaryAnn
26 - Silver Penicks 15:11 Read by MaryAnn
27 - Trouble 14:55 Read by MaryAnn
28 - Alternatives 18:17 Read by MaryAnn
29 - A Friend Gained 12:30 Read by MaryAnn
30 - Under the Mulberry Tree 17:36 Read by MaryAnn
31 - On Mischief Bent 15:02 Read by MaryAnn
32 - Jason in the Way 11:18 Read by MaryAnn
33 - One Crime Leads to Another 12:41 Read by MaryAnn
34 - And Yet Another 14:11 Read by MaryAnn
35 - Unsuccessful 13:25 Read by MaryAnn
36 - All in Vain 13:29 Read by MaryAnn
37 - The Answer of Cain 13:41 Read by MaryAnn
38 - Wanted at Last 14:47 Read by MaryAnn
39 - One for Thee and Two for Me 16:25 Read by MaryAnn
40 - A Great Fear 15:06 Read by MaryAnn
41 - Taking Shape 13:45 Read by MaryAnn
42 - An Ugly Hint 15:27 Read by MaryAnn
43 - Much Cry And a Little Wool 16:50 Read by MaryAnn
44 - Puddicombe in F 13:36 Read by MaryAnn
45 - Daylight 14:54 Read by MaryAnn
46 - A Triumph 14:29 Read by MaryAnn
47 - Parted 14:55 Read by MaryAnn
48 - A Shadow-Shape 11:58 Read by MaryAnn
49 - Flagrante Delicto 14:35 Read by MaryAnn
50 - The Third Fire 13:28 Read by MaryAnn
51 - The Pass'n's Prescription 11:33 Read by MaryAnn
52 - In Court 15:48 Read by MaryAnn
53 - Jason's Story 14:20 Read by MaryAnn
54 - Con Affettuoso Caprizio 13:41 Read by MaryAnn

Reviews

excellent reading & an unexpected story


(5 stars)

from the summary, i thought this was going to be a sweet little love story... so the murder, attemped murders, arson, fraud, etc took me totally off guard. it was an excellent story, there was a sweet love story in it as well. the characters all had amazing personalities. the reader did a very nice job reading crisp & clear (and singing).

Kitty Alone


(5 stars)

Charming rendition of a Thomas Hardy-esque (well, sort of...) novel of rural life. The story is well constructed and the characters are, by and large, three dimensional -- Kate's father may be the best drawn. It's not hard to see the one with whom the author, a C of E clergyman, identifies. MaryAnn has a pleasant voice. Her reading is low key and does not impose itself on the listener. She has a fine singing voice, too. The sound quality of this recording is high. Thank you! TheBookworm (Manchester, UK)

Excellent


(4.5 stars)

I needed a book with mold twists and a happy ending, this was it. Thank you Librivox and MaryAnn. A fabulous reading with singing. Perfect!

A good read/listen


(5 stars)

Just muster thru the first few chapters... speed up the playback or whatever you need to do to get thru the wordy parts... this is a captivating book with unexpected twists and turns. It is very well read! The amount of chapters may intimidate you, but they are short ones, stopping at just the wrong/right? places, so that you must continue on to the next one. And now, it is 12:30am and high time for me to get to bed! 🥱

Really enjoyed this


(4 stars)

Mary Ann does a fine job reading this tale of a young girl, Kitty, who is alone in the real sense of being among very few people who understand her. Great well-drawn characters in this book along with a good story. I should mention that I really enjoyed the parts where Mary Ann sings. She has a lovely voice, well-suited to the old bits of songs sprinkled throughout the book.

Romance Lies & Surprises


(4 stars)

Anyone who has lived in a small town will recognize the patterns of behavior in this book. The expectations of who will marry whom; expected behaviors of natives vs outsiders. The chapter on the town orchestra playing a newly-minted "Masterpiece" and facing moral decisions of attributed guilt is hilarious. The story is well read.

good yarn


(5 stars)

Romance, nature appreciation, coming of age, reflection on human nature, plot twists. Reader does overall very good job with lovely singing, smooth sentence follow-through, and character voices. She consistently mispronounces author's name and a few certain words, not many, though. Like another reviewer said, there are Victorian attitudes, no surprise, Baring-Gould lived through Queen Victoria's reign.

Neat Story, Great Reader


(4.5 stars)

This is my first Baring-Gould book and it was well worth it. A quaint style with unexpected moments of absurd humor. Very enjoyable. Mary-Anne did an amazing job of reading this book. Her voice is very clear and soothing and her expression is good.