A Prisoner of Birth: A Novel (Abridged / CD-Audio)
International bestseller and master storyteller Jeffrey Archer returns with a tale of fate and fortune, redemption and revenge with A Prisoner of Birth.
Danny Cartwright and Spencer Craig never should have met. One evening, Danny, an East End cockney who works as a garage mechanic, takes his fianceé up to the West End to celebrate their engagement. He crosses the path of Spencer Craig, a West End barrister posed to be the youngest Queen's Counsel of his generation.
A few hours later Danny is arrested for murder and later is sentenced to twenty-two years in prison, thanks to irrefutable testimony from Spencer, the prosecution's main witness.
Danny spends the next few years in a high-security prison while Spencer Craig's career as a lawyer goes straight up. All the while Danny plans to escape and wreak his revenge.
Thus begins Jeffrey Archer's poignant novel of deception, hatred and vengeance, in which only one of them can finally triumph while the other will spend the rest of his days in jail. But which one will triumph? This suspenseful novel takes the listener through so many twists and turns that no one will guess the ending, even the most ardent of Archer's many, many fans.
Roger Allam has narrated audiobooks for numerous bestselling authors, including Jeffrey Archer, Ian McEwan, Ian Rankin, and Joseph Conrad. In reviewing Allam’s narration of Jeffrey Archer’s Paths of Glory, Publishers Weekly said, “Veteran actor Roger Allam brings an impressive range and energy to Archer's historical novel…. Allam's remarkable accents are the highlight of the audio book.”
Allam has worked extensively for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and in the West End. He played Javert in the original London production of Les Misérables, and Falstaff in the Shakespeare’s Globe 2010 production of Henry IV Parts 1 and 2. He has been nominated four times for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, winning twice, and he has also won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor. His film work includes roles in The Queen, Speed Racer, V for Vendetta, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Tamara Drewe, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Book Thief and the television series The Thick of It. Allam lives in London with his actress wife, Rebecca Saire, and their two sons.
“A compelling read.” —Newsday
“Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages.” —The Boston Globe
“Thoroughly enjoyable.” —Publishers Weekly
“Dynamite...plot twists and a slam-bang finale.” —The Washington Post