The Last Days of Dogtown cover art

The Last Days of Dogtown

A Novel

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The Last Days of Dogtown

By: Anita Diamant
Narrated by: Kate Nelligan
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About this listen

 Set on Cape Ann in the early 1800s, The Last Days of Dogtown is peopled by widows, orphans, spinsters, scoundrels, whores, free Africans, and "witches". Nearly a decade ago, Diamant found an account of an abandoned rural backwater near the Massachusetts coastline at the turn of the nineteenth century. That pamphlet inspired a stunning novel about a small group of eccentrics and misfits, struggling in a harsh, isolated landscape only fifty miles north of Boston, yet a world away.

Among the inhabitants of Dogtown are Black Ruth, an African woman who dresses as a man and works as a stone mason; Mrs. Stanley, an imperious madam whose grandson, Sammy, comes of age in her rural brothel; Oliver Younger, who survives a miserable childhood at the hands of a very strange aunt; and Cornelius Finson, a freed slave whose race denies him everything. At the center of it all is Judy Rhines, a fiercely independent soul, deeply lonely, who nonetheless builds a life for herself and inspires those around her to become more generous and tolerant themselves.

©2005 Anita Diamant (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division. Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Village

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Critic reviews

"Poignant, beautifully written. Diamant's fans won't be surprised to see that she continues to excel at creating memorable characters." ( Boston Magazine)
All stars
Most relevant  
Felt like I was there alongside everyone..wonderful story and narration was simply lovely x

Captivating

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Couldn't switch this one off, the characters were so well described within the narrative and conversation of the other characters.

Compelling listening

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Powerful, sad, joyful, real and somehow hopeful.
Very good story read by an excellent performer who kept the right tones of the tale. I seldom cry at reading a book but this moved me so much. Thank you.

Excellent, raw yet hopeful

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

couldn't finish it as too boring

Would you ever listen to anything by Anita Diamant again?

I have read Anita Diamant before and enjoyed very disappointed this time.

Have you listened to any of Kate Nelligan’s other performances? How does this one compare?

well read

Could you see The Last Days of Dogtown being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

pass

not gripping enough to finish listening

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