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The Summer Before the War
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
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Publisher's summary
New York Times best seller
"A novel to cure your Downton Abbey withdrawal... a delightful story about nontraditional romantic relationships, class snobbery and the everybody-knows-everybody complications of living in a small community.” (The Washington Post)
The best-selling author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand returns with a breathtaking novel of love on the eve of World War I that reaches far beyond the small English town in which it is set.
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post and NPR
East Sussex, 1914. It is the end of England’s brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha’s husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won’t come to anything. And Agatha has more immediate concerns; she has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master.
When Beatrice Nash arrives with one trunk and several large crates of books, it is clear she is significantly more freethinking - and attractive - than anyone believes a Latin teacher should be. For her part, mourning the death of her beloved father, who has left her penniless, Beatrice simply wants to be left alone to pursue her teaching and writing. But just as Beatrice comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha’s reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war.
Praise for The Summer Before the War
“What begins as a study of a small-town society becomes a compelling account of war and its aftermath.” (Woman’s Day)
“This witty character study of how a small English town reacts to the 1914 arrival of its first female teacher offers gentle humor wrapped in a hauntingly detailed story.” (Good Housekeeping)
“Perfect for readers in a post-Downton Abbey slump...The gently teasing banter between two kindred spirits edging slowly into love is as delicately crafted as a bone-china teacup.... More than a high-toned romantic reverie for Anglophiles - though it serves the latter purpose, too.” (The Seattle Times)
Critic reviews
"At once haunting and effervescent, The Summer Before the War demonstrates the sure hand of a master. Helen Simonson's characters enchant us, her English countryside beguiles us, and her historical intelligence keeps us at the edge of our seats. This luminous story of a family, a town, and a world in their final moments of innocence is as lingering and lovely as a long summer sunset." (Annie Barrows, author of The Truth According to Us and coauthor of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society)
"Helen Simonson has outdone herself in this radiant follow-up to Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. The provincial town of Rye, East Sussex, in the days just before and after the Great War is so vividly drawn it fairly vibrates. The depth and sensitivity with which she weighs the steep costs and delicate bonds of wartime - and not just for the young men in the trenches, but for every changed life and heart - reveal the full mastery of her storytelling. Simonson is like a Jane Austen for our day and age - she is that good - and The Summer Before the War is nothing short of a treasure." (Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Circling the Sun)
"Narrator Fiona Hardingham breathes life into a huge cast of characters.... She's especially adept with accents; the American author who is trying to downplay his heritage sounds appropriately ambiguous, and a Belgian refugee who speaks halting, heavily accented English is convincing.... This is storytelling at its finest, with a narration to match." (AudioFile)
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The Mayfair Bookshop
- A Novel of Nancy Mitford and the Pursuit of Happiness
- By: Eliza Knight
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
1938: She was one of the six sparkling Mitford sisters, known for her stinging quips, stylish dress, and bright green eyes. But Nancy Mitford’s seemingly dazzling life was really one of turmoil: with a perpetually unfaithful and broke husband, two Nazi sympathizer sisters, and her hopes of motherhood dashed forever. With war imminent, Nancy finds respite by taking a job at the Heywood Hill Bookshop in Mayfair, hoping to make ends meet, and discovers a new life.
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Perfectly Voices, Upliftingly Fun
- By Syd Young on 04-15-22
By: Eliza Knight
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Alex and Eliza
- The Alex & Eliza Trilogy
- By: Melissa de la Cruz
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society's biggest events: the Schuylers' grand ball. Descended from two of the oldest bloodlines in New York, the Schuylers are proud to be one of their fledgling country's founding families and even prouder still of their three daughters - Angelica, with her razor-sharp wit; Peggy, with her dazzling looks; and Eliza, whose beauty and charm rival those of both her sisters, though she'd rather be aiding the colonists' cause than dressing up for some silly ball.
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Meh...
- By adh on 10-24-18
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The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
- By: Sandra Gulland
- Narrated by: Kim Handysides
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this first of three books inspired by the life of Josephine Bonaparte, Sandra Gulland has created a novel of immense and magical proportions. We meet Josephine in the exotic and lush Martinico, where an old island woman predicts that one day she will be queen. The journey from the remote village of her birth to the height of European elegance is long, but Josephine's fortune proves to be true.
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Performance...ugh
- By Lisa on 02-17-18
By: Sandra Gulland
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Summerset Abbey
- Summerset Abbey, Book 1
- By: T. J. Brown
- Narrated by: Sarah Coomes
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
1913: In a sprawling manor on the outskirts of London, three young women seek to fulfill their destinies and desires amidst the unspoken rules of society and the distant rumblings of war.... Sir Philip Buxton raised three girls into beautiful and capable young women in a bohemian household that defied Edwardian tradition. Eldest sister Rowena was taught to value people, not wealth or status. But everything she believes will be tested when Sir Philip dies, and the girls must live under their uncle’s guardianship....
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Great for Downton Abbey fans, but…
- By Katherine on 03-11-13
By: T. J. Brown
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Gone with the Wind
- By: Margaret Mitchell
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 49 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Margaret Mitchell's great novel of the South is one of the most popular books ever written. Within six months of its publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind had sold a million copies. To date, it has been translated into 25 languages, and more than 28 million copies have been sold. Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire....
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not to miss audible experience
- By dallas on 12-08-09
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The Fire Rose
- By: Mercedes Lackey
- Narrated by: Kate Black-Regan
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Accepting employment as a governess after hard times hit her family, medieval scholar Rosalind Hawkins is surprised when she learns that her mysterious employer has no children and only wants her to read to him through a speaking tube.
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Great story, poorly presented
- By Che on 02-26-10
By: Mercedes Lackey
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Winter Collection
- Six Historical Short Stories (A Timeless Romance Anthology, Book 1)
- By: Sarah M. Eden, Heidi Ashworth, Annette Lyon, and others
- Narrated by: Karen Peakes
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Six award-winning authors have contributed brand new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Collection. A collection unlike any other, listeners will love this compilation of six sweet historical romance novellas, set in varying eras, yet all with one thing in common: Romance.
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Winter
- By Manila J. Dobbs on 08-12-23
By: Sarah M. Eden, and others
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Silver Wattle
- By: Belinda Alexandra
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In fear for their lives after the sudden death of their mother, Adéla and Klára must flee Prague to find refuge with their uncle in Australia. Later, Adéla becomes a film director at a time when the local industry is starting to feel the competition from Hollywood. But even while success is imminent, the issues of family and an impossible love are never far away.
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Groan, Snore and Wince!
- By OrangeWisteria on 02-12-12
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Three Souls
- A Novel
- By: Janie Chang
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
We have three souls, or so I'd been told. But only in death could I confirm this.... So begins the haunting and captivating tale, set in 1935 China, of the ghost of a young woman named Leiyin, who watches her own funeral from above and wonders why she is being denied entry to the afterlife. Beside her are three souls - stern and scholarly yang; impulsive, romantic yin; and wise, shining hun - who will guide her toward understanding. She must, they tell her, make amends.
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Very different but compelling point of view.
- By Kevin Wickline on 06-08-23
By: Janie Chang
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Secrets of Nanreath Hall
- A Novel
- By: Alix Rickloff
- Narrated by: Lauren Irwin, Laura Waddell
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Cornwall, 1940. Back in England after the harrowing evacuation at Dunkirk, WWII Red Cross nurse Anna Trenowyth is shocked to learn her adoptive parents, Graham and Prue Handley, have been killed in an air raid. She desperately needs their advice, as she's been assigned to the military hospital that has set up camp inside her biological mother's childhood home - Nanreath Hall. Anna was just six years old when her mother, Lady Katherine Trenowyth, died. All she has left are vague memories that tease her with clues she can't unravel.
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Well done both narrators and Author !
- By Andover Meadow on 09-17-16
By: Alix Rickloff
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Moonlight over Paris
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Robson
- Narrated by: Jane Copland
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It's the spring of 1924, and Lady Helena Montagu-Douglas-Parr has just arrived in France. On the mend after a near-fatal illness, she is ready to embrace the restless, heady allure of the City of Lights. Her parents have given her one year to live with her eccentric aunt in Paris, and Helena means to make the most of her time. She's quickly drawn into the world of the Lost Generation and its circle of American expatriates, and, with their encouragement, she finds the courage to pursue her dream of becoming an artist.
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A pleasant trip to 1924 Paris
- By RueRue on 05-09-16
By: Jennifer Robson
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South Riding
- By: Winifred Holtby
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 19 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In this rich and memorable evocation of the fictional South Riding of Yorkshire are the lives, loves and sorrows of the central characters. There is Sarah Burton, fiery young headmistress; Robert Carne of Maythorpe Hall, a councillor tormented by his own disastrous marriage; Jo Astell, a socialist fighting poverty and his own illness; and Mrs Beddows, the first woman Alderman of the district (like Winifred's own mother).
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Worth Revisiting
- By Ilana on 11-04-12
By: Winifred Holtby
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Revealed
- By: Kate Noble
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Phillippa Benning is the unrivaled beauty of the Season. But when another lady challenges her for a marquis's attentions, Phillippa entices him to a secret rendezvous only to stumble upon The Blue Raven, England's most famous spy, lurking at the site of her planned tryst. The Blue Raven has uncovered an enemy plot directed at upcoming society functions, but he's unable to infiltrate London society.
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Really enjoyed this one — terrific listen — ignore the negative reviews
- By Pamela on 08-31-20
By: Kate Noble
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Delicious
- By: Sherry Thomas
- Narrated by: Virginia Leishman
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Delicious presents Verity Durant, an irresistible woman of a more elegant age. Verity is renowned from London to Paris for her succulent cuisine - and for her rapacious carnal appetite. And she's determined to tempt prim and proper politician Stuart Somerset with forbidden fruits he's never tasted.
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Sherry Thomas, Wonderful as Always!
- By Shoppermom on 06-04-18
By: Sherry Thomas
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For decades, Nick Burns has been haunted by a decision he made as a young soldier in World War I, when a French artist he’d befriended thrust both her paintings and her baby into his hands—and disappeared. In 1974, with only months left to live, Nick enlists Jenny, a college dropout desperate for adventure, to help him unravel the mystery. The journey leads them from Paris galleries and provincial towns to a surprising place: the Museum of Tears, the life’s work of a lonely Italian craftsman.
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What if you made a different decision at some point in your life
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Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration and setting for Julian Fellowes's Emmy Award-winning PBS series, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants: Lady Almina, the fifth Countess of Carnarvon. Drawing on a rich store of materials from the archives of Highclere Castle, including diaries, letters, and photographs, the current Lady Carnarvon has written a transporting story of this fabled home on the brink of war.
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The Wolves of Eternity
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In 1986, twenty-year-old Syvert Løyning returns from the military to his mother’s home in southern Norway. One evening, his dead father comes to him in a dream. Realizing that he doesn’t really know who his father was, Syvert begins to investigate his life and finds clues pointing to the Soviet Union. What he learns changes his past and undermines the entire notion of who he is. But when his mother becomes ill, and he must care for his little brother, Joar, on his own, he no longer has time or space for lofty speculations.
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Writing style was superb.
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I'm a Stranger Here Myself
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After living in Britain for two decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and four children (he had read somewhere that nearly 3 million Americans believed they had been abducted by aliens - as he later put it, "It was clear my people needed me." They were greeted by a new and improved America that boasts microwave pancakes, twenty-four-hour dental-floss hotlines, and the staunch conviction that ice is not a luxury item.
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How strange! Not as recently written as described.
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By: Bill Bryson
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Somewhere in France
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford wants to travel the world, pursue a career, and marry for love. But in 1914, the stifling restrictions of aristocratic British society and her mother’s rigid expectations forbid Lilly from following her heart. When war breaks out, the spirited young woman seizes her chance for independence. Defying her parents, she moves to London and eventually becomes an ambulance driver in the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps - an exciting and treacherous job that takes her close to the Western Front.
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Somewhere in France
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By: Jennifer Robson
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Miss Morgan's Book Brigade
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1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded by millionaire Anne Morgan, this group of international women help rebuild destroyed French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen—children’s libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears.
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Easy to listen to and flowed well.
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The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett
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Overall
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Eudora Honeysett is done with this noisy, moronic world - all of it. She has witnessed the indignities and suffering of old age and has lived a full life. At 85, she isn’t going to leave things to chance. Her end will be on her terms. With one call to a clinic in Switzerland, a plan is set in motion. Then she meets 10-year-old Rose Trewidney, a whirling, pint-sized rainbow of sparkling cheer. All Eudora wants is to be left alone to set her affairs in order.
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Just what I Needed
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By: Annie Lyons
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The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
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Overall
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Performance
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Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater-vest; waters his fern, Frederica; and heads out to his garden. But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam's death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam's possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he's never seen before.
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Disappointing.
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The Tiger's Wife
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Overall
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In a Balkan country mending from war, Natalia, a young doctor, is compelled to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her beloved grandfather’s recent death. Searching for clues, she turns to his worn copy of The Jungle Book and the stories he told her of his encounters over the years with “the deathless man.” But most extraordinary of all is the story her grandfather never told her - the legend of the tiger’s wife.
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Not a fan
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Circling the Sun
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This powerful novel transports listeners to the breathtaking world of Out of Africa—1920s Kenya—and reveals the extraordinary adventures of Beryl Markham, a woman before her time. Brought to Kenya from England by pioneering parents dreaming of a new life on an African farm, Beryl is raised unconventionally, developing a fierce will and a love of all things wild.
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Pro: It made me want to read "West With the Night"
- By Ilana on 08-01-15
By: Paula McLain
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The Summer Wives
- A Novel
- By: Beatriz Williams
- Narrated by: Kristin Kalbli
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the summer of 1951, Miranda Schuyler arrives on elite, secretive Winthrop Island as a schoolgirl from the margins of high society. When her beautiful mother marries Hugh Fisher, Miranda’s catapulted into a heady new world of pedigrees and cocktails. Isobel Fisher, Miranda’s new stepsister is eager to draw Miranda into the arcane customs of Winthrop society. But there are really two clans: the summer families with their steadfast ways and quiet obsessions, and the working class of Portuguese fishermen and domestic workers. Then Miranda is caught in a catastrophe and banished....
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Oh hum!
- By Ruth M. Penson on 07-26-18
By: Beatriz Williams
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A Fall of Marigolds
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
September 1911. On Ellis Island in New York Harbor, nurse Clara Wood cannot face returning to Manhattan, where the man she loved fell to his death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Then, while caring for a fevered immigrant whose own loss mirrors hers, she becomes intrigued by a name embroidered onto the scarf he carries...and finds herself caught in a dilemma that compels her to confront the truth about the assumptions she's made. Will what she learns devastate her or free her?
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Beautiful!
- By R. Burnham on 03-29-15
By: Susan Meissner
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The Paris Novel
- By: Ruth Reichl
- Narrated by: Kiiri Sandy
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a traumatic childhood has kept her confined to the strict routines of her comfort zone. But when her boss encourages her to take time off, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes.
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Magical, but read the actual book do not listen
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By: Ruth Reichl
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The Venice Sketchbook
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Caroline Grant is struggling to accept the end of her marriage when she receives an unexpected bequest. Her beloved great-aunt Lettie leaves her a sketchbook, three keys, and a final whisper...Venice. Caroline’s quest: to scatter Juliet “Lettie” Browning’s ashes in the city she loved and to unlock the mysteries stored away for more than 60 years.
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Poor character and storyline development
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What listeners say about The Summer Before the War
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- SW Clemens
- 05-03-16
A Masterful and Self-assured Second Novel
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is a hard act to follow, and The Summer Before the War is very different in both language and tone — far more formal. Yet despite being set nearly 90 years apart, these two books share a common theme of characters striving to overcome the restraints and expectations of small town life in England. I was surprised that Simonson decided to do an historical novel for her second effort, and it's a masterful work. She paints an intricate picture of a society straining to evolve away from Victorian standards, and a doomed generation made more poignant because we know what is about to happen to them and how profoundly the war will change society in the following decades. I agree with other reviewers who have noted the slow pace of the narrative, but that didn't bother me. This isn't a fast-paced, action-packed thriller; it's character-driven literature that builds a complete world through the accumulation of details, vivid characterization and relationships. You won't be disappointed.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anne E Karjala-Dobbins
- 05-06-16
Engrossing, moving, and uplifting
Often in historical fiction I find that authors infuse too much of a modern thought process into their characters, or else make them so much an example of the time period being written about that they become flat. This book is one of the rare ones that seems to do a very good job of creating characters that are truly a part of their time and yet able to question some of what is acceptable socially. Feminism, class, and relationships are touched on in a very believable way. Different views are successfully portrayed in well rounded characters. The story line touches on many harsh realities, but in a way that still allows a belief that life is not hopeless. A very satisfying story. The performance was excellent, it's just hard for a person to have a truly believable voice for characters of the opposite gender, and sometimes I was distracted by the female voice for a male character. Worth listening to, nonetheless.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mary J Mittner
- 07-17-18
Interesting Narration
At times, Fiona’s reading was mechanical, pausing over long at commas, stopping where the text should have been fluid. I would become certain that it was a computer generated reading, and then suddenly the reader would become more natural again.
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- SDWagner
- 11-19-17
A moving capture of innocence just before experience crashes into it
Some authors write characters so sympathetic, you feel their loss as keenly as if they were your own friends. I cried ugly tears more than once. I will miss the characters in this book, and it may be awhile before I can start another one. Wartime stories are always heartrending, given we know how the war part of the stories ends - with the useless deaths of the young. But this story did honor to those who died, and conveyed such a sincere sorrow at the whole of war, it didn’t feel in the least gratuitous (Mr. Tillingham represented the vulture who preys on others’ grief to find a good story). Not least important, given this was an Audible book, was the other character - the reader. She was incomparable - managed to clearly convey the personalities of the characters with sometimes the slightest of vocal changes. Really well done.
This is a book for those who appreciate the human side of history, not just the factual events. This novel is about the people - those who fight wars and those who live through sending their loved ones off to fight. To borrow from Frances McDormand’s Emmy Award speech, Sometimes all you need is a good story, well told. That’s what this book is.
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- PCGantz
- 01-21-17
Beautiful
I don't remember a time I laughed so at the ridiculousness of propriety, gasped at the indignity to the women of the period and cried so unashamedly. What an absolutely beautiful book. It painted such a wonderful picture of the time and terrible tragedy and loss of war. The narration was absolutely lovely, capturing the character of each player so beautifully. I'm so grateful for the time I spent on this novel.
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- Brandy
- 02-21-19
Gripping story of the horrors of war
Despite the fact that the srory line was predictable, the writing and fleshing out of characters was so well done as to make it a very worthwhile read. The narrator was excellent as well.
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- Sam
- 06-24-23
A favorite!
I have now read/listened to this 3 times. I loved returning to the well developed characters including that of the town of Rye. A beautifully written, historical novel.
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- Sally
- 04-13-16
Great read
Would you listen to The Summer Before the War again? Why?
This is a great book. It drew me in from the start. The characters come alive, story line good. Narrator is excellent too.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Retired teacher
- 04-11-16
Excellent
After reading Major Pettigrew I have searched and anticipated another treasure from Mrs. Simonson and this story lives up to all my expectations! I am sure I will listen to it many times and hope for more!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Grete
- 04-10-16
Well written, well read
I was thoroughly absorbed in this picture of England before the war. The resilience of both men and women facing not only the horrors of war, but also the barriers of class, sexism, intolerance and social injustice. Strong characters, well drawn, show how life was changing as the war approached, and as it wore on. A very satisfying listen.
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2 people found this helpful