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Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales
Audrey Hepburn's narration brings to life four entertaining fairytales for children and adults alike. Included here are "The Sleeping Princess", "Tom Thumb", "Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas", and "Beauty and the Beast", charming stories that demonstrate the power of unselfish devotion and courage and the triumph of true love. This Grammy Award-winning performance by the late film legend features not only sound effects and music from Maurice Ravel's "Mother Goose Suite" spread liberally throughout the hour, but also a background story of the composer Ravel telling these tales to two young children, as remembered by one child when she was an elderly lady, all delivered in Audrey Hepburn's uniquely cultured style.
Audible Audio
First published January 1, 1993
About the author
Audrey Hepburn
25 books1,329 followersFilm credits of Belgian-American actress Audrey Hepburn, originally Audrey Kathleen Ruston, include
Roman Holiday
(1953), for which she won an academy award, and
Breakfast at Tiffany's
(1961).
Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, father of this English and Dutch actress and humanitarian, later double-barreled her to the surname Hepburn-Ruston.
With British citizenship, she attended school in England as a child. Job of father of Hepburn with a British insurance company meant that the family often traveled between England and the Netherlands. From 1935 to 1938, independent school of Miss Rigden in the village of Elham, Kent, in the southeast of England educated Hepburn and other girls.
Hepburn of the most successful actresses in the world performed with such notable leading men as Gregory Peck, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Peter O'Toole, and Albert Finney. She won British for her performances in The Nun's Story (1959) and Charade (1963) and a golden globe for her performance in 1954. She also received nominations for Sabrina (1954) and Wait until Dark (1967).
Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, father of this English and Dutch actress and humanitarian, later double-barreled her to the surname Hepburn-Ruston.
With British citizenship, she attended school in England as a child. Job of father of Hepburn with a British insurance company meant that the family often traveled between England and the Netherlands. From 1935 to 1938, independent school of Miss Rigden in the village of Elham, Kent, in the southeast of England educated Hepburn and other girls.
Hepburn of the most successful actresses in the world performed with such notable leading men as Gregory Peck, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Peter O'Toole, and Albert Finney. She won British for her performances in The Nun's Story (1959) and Charade (1963) and a golden globe for her performance in 1954. She also received nominations for Sabrina (1954) and Wait until Dark (1967).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
March 1, 2021
I'll admit the stories were your basic fairy tales, but Audrey's narration combined with the music and sound effects made for an utterly enchanting listen.
April 13, 2020
"Once upon a time..."
Story: 2*
Performance: 3*
Audrey Hepburn's voice is very charming. And this Grammy Award winning audiobook is the perfect proof. But you can't enjoy her properly because the audiobook has two big problems.
The music is too loud to me, and it's kind of distracting at some moments (and annoying). And the music between every story is just too long.
Also I think that the stories themselves are not good enough. There are THOUSANDS of fairy tales out there and I have a feeling that they chose the worst they could find.
Just the first one is okay, at best.
A quick "reading" but almost not worth it in my opinion.
Story: 2*
Performance: 3*
Audrey Hepburn's voice is very charming. And this Grammy Award winning audiobook is the perfect proof. But you can't enjoy her properly because the audiobook has two big problems.
The music is too loud to me, and it's kind of distracting at some moments (and annoying). And the music between every story is just too long.
Also I think that the stories themselves are not good enough. There are THOUSANDS of fairy tales out there and I have a feeling that they chose the worst they could find.
Just the first one is okay, at best.
A quick "reading" but almost not worth it in my opinion.
March 21, 2020
This was absolutely wonderful! Audrey Hepburn has the perfect voice for these tales. Her tone is soothing and her pace measured, but not slow. The music was Ravel's Mother Goose Suite and it was perfect. I can hardly wait for a quiet evening to share these with Sloane. I am thinking that we may just wait until this winter when we have a fire in the fireplace. Ahhhhh...
3/21/20
It's been nine years and I loved this just as much.
3/21/20
It's been nine years and I loved this just as much.
August 8, 2018
It was just lovely to have Audrey Hepburn read me fairytales in my car. Sigh.
Read
June 24, 2019Audrey Hepburn has maybe the loveliest voice I’ve ever heard. I could probably listen to her read a cookbook or an inventory list and be entertained. So set your expectations accordingly.
March 28, 2020
Escuchar a Audrey Hepburn narrar cuentos clásicos infantiles es algo impagable.
Lo Amé.
Lo Amé.
April 9, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook! Audrey Hepburn is a wonderful storyteller!
June 12, 2016
This audio was delightfully read by Audrey Hepburn, and Ravel's background music added to the experience.
Unfortunately, this story collection was far from perfect. For one thing, the framing of the stories—told by an old lady (Hepburn) recalling her childhood friendship with Ravel and the fairy stories he'd tell—seems forced and stilted. Instead of being cozy and warm, it comes off as flat and, at the end, slightly morbid. As for the character Ravel, there isn't really a reason in the story to include so much of a character who has so little, well, character. For such a major portion of the framing sections, he didn't really do much. I can understand why they'd want to include him, since they feature his music during the performance and would want to introduce that to the kids, but I think a lot of this would go over kids' heads.
As for the stories themselves, I was a little disappointed there, too. There were only four tales, and when I reached the end I felt like there should be more. It felt like a collection that was missing one or two disks. The stories themselves were okay, but I felt like they weren't chosen well. For example, one story was Sleeping Beauty, where a wicked fairy who wasn't invited to a little girl's christening curses her to die. A good fairy who hadn't yet blessed the child softens the curse to an enchanted sleep. This is all dandy, as fairy tales go, but two stories later is another tale about another wicked fairy who wasn't invited to another little girl's christening. So she, too, curses the girl to (wait for it) be UGLY!! As in the sleeping beauty tale, another fairy tries to soften this by saying that even though she's ugly, she'll be really happy. Somehow, positioning this story after Sleeping Beauty robs it of any kind of dramatic tension.
Unfortunately, this story collection was far from perfect. For one thing, the framing of the stories—told by an old lady (Hepburn) recalling her childhood friendship with Ravel and the fairy stories he'd tell—seems forced and stilted. Instead of being cozy and warm, it comes off as flat and, at the end, slightly morbid. As for the character Ravel, there isn't really a reason in the story to include so much of a character who has so little, well, character. For such a major portion of the framing sections, he didn't really do much. I can understand why they'd want to include him, since they feature his music during the performance and would want to introduce that to the kids, but I think a lot of this would go over kids' heads.
As for the stories themselves, I was a little disappointed there, too. There were only four tales, and when I reached the end I felt like there should be more. It felt like a collection that was missing one or two disks. The stories themselves were okay, but I felt like they weren't chosen well. For example, one story was Sleeping Beauty, where a wicked fairy who wasn't invited to a little girl's christening curses her to die. A good fairy who hadn't yet blessed the child softens the curse to an enchanted sleep. This is all dandy, as fairy tales go, but two stories later is another tale about another wicked fairy who wasn't invited to another little girl's christening. So she, too, curses the girl to (wait for it) be UGLY!! As in the sleeping beauty tale, another fairy tries to soften this by saying that even though she's ugly, she'll be really happy. Somehow, positioning this story after Sleeping Beauty robs it of any kind of dramatic tension.
August 27, 2018
As a huge Audrey Hepburn fan I was so glad that I was finally able to listen to this. She had such a wonderful voice and it was nice to just relax and listen to her recite Children's tales while I worked on the computer. Some of the stories, although most of them are familiar, were different than other versions I've heard. Not a bad thing at all, just strange. Beauty and the Beast in particular was very different. But if you are a fan of Audrey, I highly recommend this. It's not often that people win an Oscar, a Grammy and a Tony in their lifetimes, but Audrey Hepburn did and I can certainly see why.
February 20, 2024
people often talk about audrey hepburn as if she died an early and tragic death, when in reality, she lived a long and lovely life, which is why i love knowing she got a grammy for this after its release in 1993, bringing her to EGOT status.
outside of hepburn's voice, which is, as always, calming and enchanting, the fairytales selected are just not great. some of the morals are incredibly iffy, including "forgive your parents for abandoning you/love your children more if they are rich," and "you were happy when you were ugly but we are going to imply that beauty is better anyways."
there were also incredibly long segments of music between stories. i almost wish they had cut these down and let her tell one more story with the saved time instead.
outside of hepburn's voice, which is, as always, calming and enchanting, the fairytales selected are just not great. some of the morals are incredibly iffy, including "forgive your parents for abandoning you/love your children more if they are rich," and "you were happy when you were ugly but we are going to imply that beauty is better anyways."
there were also incredibly long segments of music between stories. i almost wish they had cut these down and let her tell one more story with the saved time instead.
August 8, 2022
I first listened to this audiobook when I was little and still remember getting the cassette tape and case in thick plastic packaging from the library.
As a young girl, I listened to it repeatedly, so when I discovered it was available digitally (years ago), I bought it immediately.
Listening to the voice of Audrey Hepburn, the music of Maurice Ravel, and the fairy tales in “Audrey Hepburn’s Enchanted Tales” was soothing and nostalgic all at once. This audiobook was exactly what I needed today.
If you like folk tales/fairy tales and you want to listen to something relaxing, you’ll likely enjoy “Audrey Hepburn’s Enchanted Tales.”
As a young girl, I listened to it repeatedly, so when I discovered it was available digitally (years ago), I bought it immediately.
Listening to the voice of Audrey Hepburn, the music of Maurice Ravel, and the fairy tales in “Audrey Hepburn’s Enchanted Tales” was soothing and nostalgic all at once. This audiobook was exactly what I needed today.
If you like folk tales/fairy tales and you want to listen to something relaxing, you’ll likely enjoy “Audrey Hepburn’s Enchanted Tales.”
April 1, 2020
At first, I didn't understand why they included a vague character called Maurice Ravel who had told these fairy tales to the narrator when she was young, or why there was so much music interlude in between stories when I finally realized the music was the Mother Goose Suite by Maurice Ravel. Duh lol. The stories themselves were enjoyable enough and I loved Audrey Hepburn's narration.
October 14, 2017
There are four stories in this collection, "Sleeping Beauty," "Tom Thumb," "The Green Serpent," and "Beauty and the Beast," beautifully read by Audrey Hepburn. The music of Maurice Ravel plays in the background and between each tale. Truly an enchanting collection.
September 20, 2019
Absolutely wonderful reading of some classic fairytales by Audrey Hepburn. Her voice was perfect for reading and lulling children to sleep. I loved listening to these to help my daughter fall asleep when she was fussy as a baby. I still enjoy them now. Perfect for car rides with children.
December 24, 2019
This Audio was performed by Audrey Hepburn and it was a class act the tales were classics and told well. This was a Good Read.
March 21, 2020
Audiobook enchanting indeed. Loved the music, loved her narration. Perfection.
April 10, 2020
Great narration, but parents who would leave their kids in the forest...?
May 25, 2020
Not bad at all
May 24, 2022
Beautiful
August 19, 2023
صدای آدری هپبورن زیباست.
زیباست و جادوییست و زیبایی نجاتمان خواهد داد…
زیباست و جادوییست و زیبایی نجاتمان خواهد داد…
January 4, 2024
Narrated by Audrey Hepburn??? Automatic 5 stars
January 7, 2026
Listened as an audiobook to hear the Grammy-award winning voice of Audrey Hepburn. Beautiful tales for bedtime, probably to play for your children. Enjoyable.
March 31, 2026
Such a delightful listen, Audrey Hepburn narrating.
July 16, 2026
A nice collection of tales read by Audrey Hepburn.
March 3, 2020
One of my favorite things to listen to as a little kid. Cannot recommend more
June 13, 2016
Pairing music with fairy tales is a great idea, but this offering falls a bit flat. The connection between Ravel’s music and the tales was never really developed. The music just became an interlude between the tales. Also, the selection of tales was a bit odd. With all the wonderful fairy tales available, these seemed like a strange choice, especially the tale that was so similar to Sleeping Beauty, except that the baby was cursed with being ugly. Hepburn did an excellent job in narrating the tales, but it only makes one wish she had read different material.
January 20, 2014
2.5*
Loved the narration and the idea of music accompanying the fairy tales. However, I didn't really like the selection of the stories... They were somewhat - meh... Of all the wonderful fairy tales, how and why did they pick these?
Loved the narration and the idea of music accompanying the fairy tales. However, I didn't really like the selection of the stories... They were somewhat - meh... Of all the wonderful fairy tales, how and why did they pick these?
May 13, 2014
I received this audio reading of four Enchanted Tales by Audrey Hepburn from my hubby for Mother's Day. Audrey's lovely voice magically captures the mood of the stories. I think this will be a favorite for many years to come.
July 17, 2014
Four stars for Audrey Hepburn's narration.
February 5, 2012
Interesting version of classics. I really enjoyed this audiobook.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews