Wise Children Free online reading

Angela Carter's last book, Wise Children, was written and published whilst she was dying from cancer, in 1991. Transcending her physical deterioration in admirable fashion, Carter made this a most life-affirming novel, in support of the vitality of 'otherness.'

This Audible exclusive production, expertly read by Tracey Ullman, stands in celebration of a legendary author known for the richness of her imagination, wit and feminist insight.

About the book

Wise Children is a richly comic tale surrounding the tangled fortunes of two theatrical families. Seen through the eyes of 75-year-old Dora Chance, and her twin Nora, the novel unfurls within the space of a day, as the sisters prepare to attend their perennially absent father's 100th birthday party.

With a wide and colourful, often rather crazy cast, the story veers off in a multitude of directions as Dora's reminiscent narrative slips from past to present suddenly and seamlessly throughout.

Packed with gags, tears, histories, mysteries, feuds and romantic (and some not-so-romantic) unions, Wise Children, doesn't miss a trick. Playing on Carter's admiration of Shakespeare and the surreal, the novel is jam-packed with entrancing magic realism and elements of the carnivalesque.

About the author

Angela Carter was born in 1940, in Sussex. She grew up in the shabbily respectable south London district of Balham, the second child of an eccentric journalist father and a neurotic housewife mother.

She studied English at Bristol University before travelling extensively, teaching and writing numerous best-selling novels. They have all received considerable critical acclaim and remain firm favourites of modern English literature.

Angela was a devout feminist throughout her life, wrote for Spare Rib magazine and voted Labour. Her novels are wholly reflective of her world views and continue to inspire new generations of men and women worldwide.

About the narrator

Tracey Ullman is a multi-award-winning television, stage and film actress, screenwriter, producer, director, author and all-round businesswoman.

First appearing on British screens in comedy sketch shows such as A Kick Up the Eighties, alongside Miriam Margolyes, Three of a Kind, with Lenny Henry, and Girls on Top, with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Tracey quickly established herself as a comedic genius.