Patience and Sarah Audiobook By Isabel Miller cover art

Patience and Sarah

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Patience and Sarah

By: Isabel Miller
Narrated by: Jean Smart, Janis Ian
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Grammy Award Nominee, Best Spoken Word Album, 2016

Set in the 19th century, Isabel Miller's classic lesbian novel traces the relationship between Patience White, an educated painter, and Sarah Dowling, a farmer's daughter, whose romantic bond does not sit well with the puritanical New England community in which they live. They choose to live together and love each other freely, even though they know of no precedents for their relationship; they must trust their own instincts and see beyond the disdain of their neighbors.

Patience and Sarah is a meticulously researched historical novel, originally self-published by the author in 1969. This classic of GLBT literature garnered so much attention that the American Library Association created its first Stonewall Award specifically for it in 1971. Grammy Award-winning narrator Janis Ian and Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Jean Smart each perform as one of the characters in this dual-point-of-view love story. Their narration marks the first time that this beautiful work is available in audio and brings new life into this inspiring novel that is just as relevant today as it was decades ago.

In addition to being an inspiring love story, the audiobook for Patience and Sarah is an ideal listen for young-adult audiences. It is a story that shows how irrelevant race, religion, and gender are to love and that loving and being loved are what keep us human and sane.

©1969 Isabel Miller under the title "A Place for Us" (P)2014 Janis Ian Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction LGBTQIA+ Creators LGBTQIA+ Essentials Literary History & Criticism Literature & Fiction Stonewall Book Award Feel-Good Heartfelt

Critic reviews

"The writing has the directness and whimsicality of primitive paintings - it is like spiked gingerbread or surprising samplers. The tone is sweetly bold. And the tale evokes many kinds of frontier at once." ( The Village Voice)
"The story of a painter and a farmer in 19th-century New England. One of the first lesbian novels with a happy ending and, in 1971, the first recipient of ALA's Stonewall Book Award." ( Library Journal)
"Janis Ian and Jean Smart bring exquisite joy, vulnerability, and honesty to their narration of Isabel Miller's 1969 historical fiction novel.... As the two women realize their feelings for each other, the narrators take on a tender tone and slow their pace, allowing their romantic epiphany to unfold. This makes for a touchingly intimate listening experience." ( AudioFile)

Featured Article: The top 100 classics of all time


Before we whipped out our old high school syllabi and dug deep into our libraries to start selecting contenders for this list, we first had to answer the question, "How do we define a classic?" The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might guess, though there’s a lot to be said for the old adage, "You know it when you see it" (or, in this case, hear it). Of course, most critically, each of our picks had to be fabulous in audio. So dust off your aspirational listening list—we have some amazing additions you don’t want to miss.

Featured Article The top 100 classics of all time
Beautiful Love Story • Historical Authenticity • Perfect Narration • Happy Ending • Pioneering Representation

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
The description made this seem like a story I should know to be well-rounded. I expected it to be a chore, like most classic literature for me, but it was a wonderful story and the narration was perfect.

Unexpected

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Loved it!
the narration of the characters were spot on
It was like I was right there

Patience and Sarah

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Read this years ago, and loved it, so when I saw it was narrated by Jean Smart and Janis Ian, I just had to try the audio version. These two wonderful artists did an outstanding job with the narration. Their performances made the book special. There are so many good lesbian books out there now, that Patience and Sarah is not as unique as it was then. But it's still good and worth a read/listen. Well written alternative take on the American pioneering story, with two strong & interesting heroines. It has the lesbian feminist political sensibility prevalent in groundbreaking lesbian fiction of the time, which at times irritated me a little. But the point is that kind of activism was necessary then, or we wouldn't be where we are today. And it is at heart a beautiful historical love story. Glad I revisited it in this format.

Lesbian classic

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What made the experience of listening to Patience and Sarah the most enjoyable?

Janis Ian and Jean Smart render their characters perfectly. Their diction is flawless, and the drama is not overdone. Janis Ian is so convincing that I could almost picture her as being 5'8". Best of all, the story has a happy ending.

Superbly Rendered Lesbian Classic

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Such a sweet and tender love story! These two women and their quest to be together and live during a time when the only thing a woman had to look forward to was marriage and children. Could not stop listening! Awesome performance.

Wonderful!

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