Regiment of Women


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(2.8 stars; 3 reviews)

Set in a small town in Edwardian England, Regiment of Women is about the relationship between two teachers at a private (and elitist) girls' school. One of them, Clare Hartill, is in her mid-thirties and runs the school in all but name. Most of the girls are devoted to Hartill and gladly suffer under her strict but charismatic rule. The other teacher is Alwynne Durand, an attractive nineteen-year-old woman who lives with Elsbeth Loveday, her unmarried aunt and guardian. When Durand starts teaching at the school she is immediately popular with her students but also excites Hartill's attention. The two women become close friends, and the couple also travel abroad together during the summer holidays. Although Loveday and Hartill hardly ever meet, a strange kind of antagonism develops between them, each woman fighting to spend more time than they do with Alwynne Durand and to be the dominant person in Alwynne's life.

Famous for its veiled references to lesbian relationships, this novel was said to have inspired Radclyffe Hall's "The Well of Loneliness". - Summary by Beth Thomas

Dedicated to Beth Thomas (13 hr 49 min)

Chapters

Chapter 1 18:23 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 2 12:32 Read by Bhavya
Chapter 3 18:49 Read by Elsie Selwyn
Chapter 4 7:46 Read by Bhavya
Chapter 5 34:35 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 6 17:45 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 7 17:08 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 8 20:32 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 9 20:35 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 10 18:03 Read by Courtney S
Chapter 11 8:08 Read by Courtney S
Chapter 12 35:14 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 13 25:43 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 14 11:16 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 15 31:54 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 16 15:55 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 17 22:21 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 18 14:12 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 19 18:11 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 20 17:17 Read by Lola Janie
Chapter 21 12:44 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 22 24:30 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 23 9:46 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 24 13:12 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 25 16:36 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 26 24:22 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 27 18:51 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 28 5:11 Read by ChadH94
Chapter 29 9:59 Read by Lynette Caulkins
Chapter 30 14:39 Read by Lola Janie
Chapter 31 22:36 Read by Sky Asimaru
Chapter 32 14:37 Read by Sky Asimaru
Chapter 33 22:15 Read by Sky Asimaru
Chapter 34 21:16 Read by Sky Asimaru
Chapter 35 17:23 Read by Sky Asimaru
Chapter 36 10:29 Read by Lynette Caulkins
Chapter 37 18:10 Read by Lynette Caulkins
Chapter 38 13:45 Read by Lynette Caulkins
Chapter 39 20:24 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 40 24:44 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 41 18:26 Read by Hopeforce1
Chapter 42 19:55 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 43 14:19 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 44 15:35 Read by Nancy Gorgen
Chapter 45 4:20 Read by Lola Janie
Chapter 46 19:13 Read by Lola Janie
Chapter 47 15:25 Read by Nancy Gorgen

Reviews


(2.5 stars)

This story was a little too long and drawn out. It is a story of the psychological manipulation of a new teacher at an all-girl school by the head mistress. From a historical perspective, it is interesting to see how the lesbian was presented: deviant, self-centered, cold and manipulative with no redeeming qualities. There is nothing sexually explicit in the book other than one passionate kiss. However, the story left a dirty, creepy feeling that was not wholly alleviated by the happy ending.