Ultimate Prizes [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Susan Howatch (Author), Charles Kay (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1995

A novel from the author of ABSOLUTE TRUTHS, MYSTICAL PATHS and SCANDALOUS RISKS.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Neville Aysgarth, an ambitious archdeacon who appeared as a relatively minor character in Glamorous Powers , takes center stage here to narrate the story of his lifetime quest for the "ultimate prizes." WW II has started, and Neville's marriage to Grace, the perfect wife and mother, is cracking under the pressure of being worthy of her perfection. After Grace dies, Neville marries socialite Dido Tallent, but when their first child dies at birth, his faith in both God and his own motives is rocked. In crisis, Neville asks his colleague Jon Darrow (narrator of Glamorous Powers ) for spiritual first aid and, guided by a wise abbot friend of Jon's, is forced to an honest appraisal of himself and his ambition--which has its roots in his early life. He struggles back to spiritual health and eventually emerges a wiser man, more honest and loving toward his family and his flock. This is the third in Howatch's incomparable series about the Church of England in the 20th century; it's a measure of her achievement that, besides telling a fascinating story boldly and well, she illuminates often quite abstruse religious and ecclesiastical questions. Here, Neville's ministry to captured Germans in a local prisoner-of-war camp leads to the discussion of Christian--ethical, moral--behavior during war, a topic that can never be out of date. Readers will await impatiently Scandalous Risks . 40,000 first printing; BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'This superbly intricate ecclesiastical tale ! irresistible' Church Times 'A fascinating story' Publishers Weekly 'Howatch writes thrillers of the heart and mind ! everything in a Howatch novel cuts close to the bone and is of vital concern' New Woman 'A mesmerising storyteller' Daily Telegraph 'One of the most original novelists writing today' Cosmopolitan 'She is a deft storyteller, and her writing has depth, grace and pace' Sunday Times 'Susan Howatch may well become the Anthony Trollope of the 20th century. Howatch is more than just a novelist of ideas! She is a skilled storyteller who makes the reader wonder and care about her people.' Washington Post --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition (February 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074514392X
• ISBN-13: 978-0745143927
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,065,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate Prizes drops off pace of Glittering Images, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ultimate Prizes (Mass Market Paperback)

Now don't get me wrong: this is a fine book. But having read the entire series twice, I find Ultimate Prizes and Scandalous Risks, the third and fourth books in the six book series on the Church of England, not up to the same standards as the others. I consider Glittering Images, the first in the series, still the best. I've heard priests allude to this book from the pulpit. Glamorous Powers and Absolute Truths (the second and sixth books in the series) were my next favorites. Mystical Paths, the fifth book is also pretty strong.

I have read this series, and shared them with others, based initially on a recommendation from my priest. Susan Howatch introduces us to a lot of theological thinking under the guise of a novel, and there are a lot of Christian truths presented in this series. The first two and last two books in this series fulfill these purposes best. The middle two books in the series read more like, well, TYPICAL novels (and this is not why I've read the series).

I encourage everyone to read the entire series, but if you only have time for two to four books in the series, these are my personal ratings:

Glittering Images: 10

Glamorous Powers: 9

Absolute Truths: 9

Mystical Paths: 7

Ultimate Prizes: 6

Scandalous Risks: 4

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read it third!, December 5, 2001

By 

Sharon Maas ([e-mail]) (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ultimate Prizes (Mass Market Paperback)

In the third of the Starbridge series we get a closer look at Neville Ayesgarth, who was at loggerheads with Jon Darrow in the second book. Here it is Ayesgarth’s turn to be stripped apart and laid bare by Howatch’s expert scalpel! I have to admit that though I didn’t dislike this book, I didn’t like it as much as others in the series. It began promisingly enough, with Neville falling under the spell of the young flibbertigibbet Dido. Dido – who later becomes famous in the series as a loose cannon - resists his advances until… well, that would be giving things away. I felt though that the second part of the book gets bogged down in the dissection of Neville’s past. I found it not so interesting to read about his background as he tells it to his spiritual director; as such the characters who are so important to Neville - his mother, his father, Uncle Willoughby – never came alive for me and his recounting of them felt rather slow. However, it is still a great book and indispensable to the series - but it should be read in the right order, after its two predecessors. I have started an online discussion and reading group around Susan Howatch’s novels (...).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where potential meets conflict - excellent characterisation, March 24, 2001

By 

Elizabeth G. Melillo "gloriana" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ultimate Prizes (Mass Market Paperback)

For all that the plots of her novels tend to cross the border to melodrama, Susan Howatch's gift for characterisation, and for the integration of superb spiritual insight (into the dialogue, if not the lives of the individuals depicted!) is impeccable. Neville Aysgarth, whose commitment and faith are unquestionable, is an odd but interesting blend of hard sense and the ability to create a personal world of his own, where his natural dedication is lost in the inability to have any real compassion or understanding. Others in his life, though he remains clearly unaware of this and, indeed, capable of believing he has a remarkable and favourable role, are "prizes" which he creates for his own benefit.

The bizarre love match of Neville and Dido will keep anyone with interests in psychology or odd relationships pondering its aspects. However, Susan does not disappoint those used to her excellent spiritual and theological insights. Some of her other "clergy," for all of their failings, remain great men. Neville, by contrast, is one who has genuinely good qualities that show his ever unrecognised potential to be in that category as well, but this can never be achieved. He can see the truth and wisdom in concepts such as Aidan and Jonathan present, or the ideals of his modernist heroes, yet can never get past his inability to accept his own weakness, any need for others beyond their being his prizes, nor his tendency towards deceit in the garb of theological integrity.

With vivid characters and an intriguing, if rather bizarre, plot, even those readers who do not wish to be inspired can be assured they'll never be bored.