Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
My Dear Bessie: A Love Story in Letters  By  cover art

My Dear Bessie: A Love Story in Letters

By: Chris Barker, Bessie Moore
Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch, Jane Slavin, Louise Brealey
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.07

Buy for $13.07

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Benedict Cumberbatch and Louise Brealey read a love story in letters, played out against the backdrop of the Second World War.

'Can you feel, as you read these words, that I am thinking of you now; aglow, alive, alert at the thought that you are in the same world, and by some strange chance loving me.'

A small blue box opened in 2008 revealed a wartime world of love, longing and frustration. Inside were bundles and bundles of letters written neatly in pen, in pencil, on thin blue airmail paper or headed army notepaper. Envelopes covered in postmarks, redirections, censor's stamps. A love affair in letters between two people who barely knew each other, thousands of miles apart, in the middle of a war, with no idea when or whether they would ever see each other again.

On September 5th, 1943, Chris Barker, a signalman stationed near Tobruk in North Africa, decided to write to a former work colleague, Bessie Moore, a Morse code interpreter at the Foreign Office back in London. The unexpected warmth of Bessie's reply changed their lives forever.

Chris and Bessie's love letters first appeared in Simon Garfield's book To the Letter. They toured literary festivals as part of Letters Live before being published in a book, My Dear Bessie.

Written by Chris Barker and Bessie Moore.

Letters compiled by Simon Garfield.

Adapted by Sara Davies.

Produced and directed by Gemma Jenkins.

Cast:

Chris - Benedict Cumberbatch
Bessie - Louise Brealey
Irena - Jane Slavin

©2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
  • Radio/TV Program
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about My Dear Bessie: A Love Story in Letters

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    186
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    192
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    164
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tender Lusting

The words of love are one thing. This couple's sentences of longing and imagining are tender and breathy. There is a depth not easily attained in today's text, tweet and swipe relationships. Quite a treasure and a terrific way to get ready for en evening with your partner. What a turn-on!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sweet romance, top notch narration

What made the experience of listening to My Dear Bessie: A Love Story in Letters the most enjoyable?

The quality of narration stands out. They can really act, and it shows.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Bessie. She sounded so sweet and hopeful!

Any additional comments?

I'm now in the mood of writing a love letter to my husband!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Swept off my feet

I love this story, half because it truly happened, and half because of the superb reading by Benedict and Louise. The language is so vivid and rich (and sensuous), and I feel almost guilty eavesdropping on them. But I do anyway, and get thoroughly invested in their fates, which, without trying to spoiler, is a good one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Falling in love with romanticism

I first heard this story on bbc one radio when it was first put on air last year, and I absolutely loved it. Being a realist and a non sentiment about love: this audio brought out the romance in me and love for the story.

Benedict Cumberbatch Jane Slavin and Louise Brealey narrative absorb me into the love story of Bessie and Chris. Love it and would hear it again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Altering!!

I chose “Altering” as my header, because that is what this story has done to me. I have read and listened to hundreds of romance novels. Some good, some average, and some unforgettable. But this simple collection of letters has altered me. The love in every line is staggering. Also, as to the narrators of this story, Benedict and Louise’s conveyance of the emotion of these two very real people is beyond description. They are magnificent and I would love to listen to them over and over again. So, if you are considering getting this audiobook please download and listen to it as soon as possible and let it alter you as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • JP
  • 06-01-18

wonderful to hear the full story in one sitting

I've seen the Letters Live performances of some of these. So awesome to get the entire story, and BC and LB do a terrific job of embodying the lovers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Beautiful Abridged Version of a Love Story

I first picked up Dear Bessie in print form and brought it with me on a backpacking trip with my family. The early letters were breathtaking to read, but I found it became tedious over time - especially since many of Bessie's letters are missing.

This audiobook adapts the correspondence between Chris and Bessie beautifully. I love how Bessie chimes in where her original replies would for into the narrative. All in all, an experience made for the better on both the audio form and the focusing of the love story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazingly wonderful!

this story is the sweetest thing to listen to. I love so much that is a true story which makes it all the better! the reading though is superb! they do the feeling or the letters so well! a must listen to!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great lil love story

Def worth the download. It’s short, but I know I’ll listen to it more than once. Such a sweet story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Waste of a credit

This item was a waste of a credit. It isn’t really s story. There are so many books of letters that are worth your time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!