-
A Tuscan Memory
- Completely Gripping and Emotional Historical Fiction
- Narrated by: Ellie Heydon
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
In a tiny hamlet nestled in the Tuscan mountains, farmers gather after a hard day in the meadows, and children’s laughter rings across the square: But one little boy does not join in their play. Behind his deep brown eyes hides a heartbreaking secret....
Ninety years later. When elderly Giselda Chiozzi discovers a lost little boy, curled up asleep in the beech forest outside her grand but empty home, she can’t help but take pity on him. It’s been a long time since she had a visitor. Waking up to her kind smile and the warming smell of Italian hot chocolate, Davide soon blurts out what drove him into the cold Tuscan night: He’s different from everyone else, he’s never belonged anywhere, and now his beloved mother is ill.
With her heart full of sadness for this lost child, Giselda promises to help Davide trace his family history - she knows better than anyone that connecting with your roots can ground you in the present and hopes it will make Davide realize that home is where he truly belongs.
Together the unlikely pair discovers the story of Davide’s great-grandfather Giuseppe Starnucci, a young boy who spent his days milking cows, helping with the harvest, and hammering horseshoes in the forge. But after a terrible incident that changed his life forever, Giuseppe also ran away. Forced to become a man before his time, Giuseppe joined the treacherous pilgrimage all Tuscan farmers must make from the mountains to the plains, sacrificing everything to ensure the survival of their families.
Engrossed in the story, Davide is slowly starting to heal when he and Giselda discover a shocking secret that Giuseppe took to his grave - and which now threatens to tear apart Davide’s family for good. Will Davide let the pain of the past determine his future, or can he find the courage, love, and loyalty within him to return home...and even if Davide himself finds peace, will it be too late for Giselda?
Inspired by true stories of rural Italian life, perfect for fans of Dinah Jeffries, Rhys Bowen, and anyone who’s ever longed to stroll beneath the cypress trees and taste the fresh mountain air of Tuscany.
Previously published as Now and Then in Tuscany.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Tuscan Secret
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Ellie Heydon
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalizing promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within. The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War Two erupted and the Nazis arrived....
-
-
Frustratingly naive main character (spoilers)
- By Whitney on 11-04-19
By: Angela Petch
-
The Postcard from Italy
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Stephanie Lane
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Italy, 1945. "Where am I"? The young man wakes, bewildered. He sees olive trees against a bright blue sky. A soft voice soothes him. "We saw you fall from your plane. The parachute saved you". He remembers nothing of his life, or the war that has torn the world apart...but where does he belong? England, present day. Antique-shop-owner Susannah wipes away a tear as she tidies her grandmother’s belongings. Elsie’s memories are fading, and every day Susannah feels further away from her only remaining family.
-
-
Well told story.
- By S Pomeroy on 01-22-23
By: Angela Petch
-
The Italian Villa
- An Emotional and Absolutely Gripping WW2 Historical Romance
- By: Daniela Sacerdoti
- Narrated by: Lisa Rost-Welling
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inspired by true events, and for fans of The Beekeeper’s Promise and The Tuscan Child, comes a passionate, heartbreaking and absolutely pause-resisting story of two remarkable women, separated by history, finding the courage to look for light in the darkest places.
-
-
Distracting Italian accent
- By Cinzia Spatuzzi on 04-06-21
-
The Tuscan Child
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble, Katy Sobey
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly 30 years later, Hugo's estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father's funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.
-
-
Knocked this one out of the park
- By Anne on 02-22-18
By: Rhys Bowen
-
These Tangled Vines
- A Novel
- By: Julianne MacLean
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If Fiona has learned anything in life, it’s how to keep a secret - even from the father who raised her. She is the only person who knows about her late mother’s affair in Tuscany thirty years earlier, and she intends to keep it that way...until a lawyer calls with shocking news: her biological father has died and left her an incredible inheritance - along with two half siblings.
-
-
Really enjoyed this story, but it was sad...
- By Debbie on 07-02-21
By: Julianne MacLean
-
Our Italian Summer
- By: Jennifer Probst
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Holly Linneman, Suzanne Toren
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Workaholic, career-obsessed Francesca is fiercely independent and successful in all areas of life except one: family. She struggles to make time for her relationship with her teenage daughter, Allegra, and the two have become practically strangers to each other. When Allegra hangs out with a new crowd and is arrested for drug possession, Francesca gives in to her mother's wish that they take one epic summer vacation to trace their family roots in Italy. What she never expected was to be faced with the choice of a lifetime....
-
-
Couldn't finish
- By WKB on 09-24-21
By: Jennifer Probst
-
The Tuscan Secret
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Ellie Heydon
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalizing promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within. The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War Two erupted and the Nazis arrived....
-
-
Frustratingly naive main character (spoilers)
- By Whitney on 11-04-19
By: Angela Petch
-
The Postcard from Italy
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Stephanie Lane
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Italy, 1945. "Where am I"? The young man wakes, bewildered. He sees olive trees against a bright blue sky. A soft voice soothes him. "We saw you fall from your plane. The parachute saved you". He remembers nothing of his life, or the war that has torn the world apart...but where does he belong? England, present day. Antique-shop-owner Susannah wipes away a tear as she tidies her grandmother’s belongings. Elsie’s memories are fading, and every day Susannah feels further away from her only remaining family.
-
-
Well told story.
- By S Pomeroy on 01-22-23
By: Angela Petch
-
The Italian Villa
- An Emotional and Absolutely Gripping WW2 Historical Romance
- By: Daniela Sacerdoti
- Narrated by: Lisa Rost-Welling
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inspired by true events, and for fans of The Beekeeper’s Promise and The Tuscan Child, comes a passionate, heartbreaking and absolutely pause-resisting story of two remarkable women, separated by history, finding the courage to look for light in the darkest places.
-
-
Distracting Italian accent
- By Cinzia Spatuzzi on 04-06-21
-
The Tuscan Child
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble, Katy Sobey
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly 30 years later, Hugo's estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father's funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.
-
-
Knocked this one out of the park
- By Anne on 02-22-18
By: Rhys Bowen
-
These Tangled Vines
- A Novel
- By: Julianne MacLean
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If Fiona has learned anything in life, it’s how to keep a secret - even from the father who raised her. She is the only person who knows about her late mother’s affair in Tuscany thirty years earlier, and she intends to keep it that way...until a lawyer calls with shocking news: her biological father has died and left her an incredible inheritance - along with two half siblings.
-
-
Really enjoyed this story, but it was sad...
- By Debbie on 07-02-21
By: Julianne MacLean
-
Our Italian Summer
- By: Jennifer Probst
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Holly Linneman, Suzanne Toren
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Workaholic, career-obsessed Francesca is fiercely independent and successful in all areas of life except one: family. She struggles to make time for her relationship with her teenage daughter, Allegra, and the two have become practically strangers to each other. When Allegra hangs out with a new crowd and is arrested for drug possession, Francesca gives in to her mother's wish that they take one epic summer vacation to trace their family roots in Italy. What she never expected was to be faced with the choice of a lifetime....
-
-
Couldn't finish
- By WKB on 09-24-21
By: Jennifer Probst
-
The Venice Sketchbook
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Poor character and storyline development
- By Sasha on 05-19-21
By: Rhys Bowen
-
Where the Sky Begins
- A Novel
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Emma Griffiths
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’ world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service. Her home, a ruin of rubble and ash. Josie’s beloved tearoom boss has been killed, and Josie herself is injured, with nothing left and nowhere to go. Evacuated to the English countryside, Josie ends up at the estate of the aristocratic Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the survivors of the Blitz. Now a threat looms larger than anyone imagined. And a dangerous secret is about to upend Josie’s life again.
-
-
Probably the worst Rhys Bowen book I have read
- By Tony on 08-14-22
By: Rhys Bowen
-
The Italian Ballerina
- A World War II Novel
- By: Kristy Cambron
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rome, 1943. With the fall of Italy’s Fascist government and the Nazi regime occupying the streets of Rome, British ballerina Julia Bradbury is stranded and forced to take refuge at a hospital on Tiber Island. But when she learns of a deadly sickness sweeping through the quarantine wards—a fake disease known only as Syndrome K—she is drawn into one of the greatest cons in history. Alongside hospital staff, friars of the adjoining church, and two Allied medics, Julia risks everything to rescue Jewish Italians from the deadly clutches of the Holocaust.
-
-
Took me halfway through...
- By Mona-Alisa on 05-26-23
By: Kristy Cambron
-
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
- By: Lori Nelson Spielman
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Kathleen Garrett, Lori Nelson Spielman
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A trio of second-born daughters sets out on a whirlwind journey through the lush Italian countryside to break the family curse that says they’ll never find love, by New York Times best seller Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List.
-
-
You Will Not Be Disappointed
- By Lynette on 12-17-20
-
A Postcard from Italy
- Postcard Series, Book 1
- By: Alex Brown
- Narrated by: Sophie Bentinck
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grace Quinn loves her job at Cohens Convenient Storage Company, finding occasional treasure in the forgotten units that customers have abandoned. Her inquisitive nature is piqued when a valuable art collection and a bundle of letters and diaries are found that date back to the 1930s. Delving deeper, Grace uncovers the story of a young English woman, Connie Levine, who follows her heart to Italy at the end of the Second World war. The contents also offer up the hope of a new beginning for Grace, battling a broken heart and caring for her controlling mother.
-
-
Easy read
- By KatieB on 09-22-23
By: Alex Brown
-
The Italian Island: An absolutely heartbreaking and totally WW2 romance
- By: Daniela Sacerdoti
- Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty-year-old Annie arrives on the Sicilian island of Galatea carrying nothing but grief for the father she just lost in her heart and the weight of the mystery she just inherited on her shoulders. All she knows about her grandmother is that she died in a concentration camp during World War Two. But when handsome local fisherman Salvo’s sea-blue eyes sparkle at the sight of the delicate gold band around her wrist, Annie knows she’s come to the right place.
-
The Glovemaker's Daughter
- By: Shari J. Ryan
- Narrated by: Henry Nott, Hannah Genesius
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1943. German soldiers drag me out onto the cobbled street and push me toward the waiting truck. I force myself to face forward as tears stream down my cheeks. If I look back, they’ll know. I can’t let them find my baby girl....
-
-
Not your typical WWII story
- By Amazon Customer on 08-04-24
By: Shari J. Ryan
-
The Riviera House
- By: Natasha Lester
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1939: The Nazis think Éliane can't understand German. They’re wrong. They think she’s merely cataloging art in a Louvre museum and unaware they’re stealing national treasures for their private collections. They have no idea she’s carefully decoding their notes and smuggling information to the Resistance. But Éliane is playing a dangerous game. Does she dare trust the man she once loved with her secrets, or will he only betray her once again?
-
-
Intriguing story
- By Kristen on 10-11-21
By: Natasha Lester
-
Hearts of Resistance
- By: Soraya M. Lane
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Hazel is given the chance to parachute into Nazi-occupied France, she seizes the opportunity to do more for the British war effort than file paperwork. Alongside her childhood friend, French-born Rose, she quickly rises up the ranks of the freedom fighters. For Rose, the Resistance is a link to her late husband, and a way to move forward without him. What starts out as helping downed airmen becomes a bigger cause when they meet Sophia, a German escapee and fierce critic of Hitler who is wanted by the Gestapo.
-
-
Grabbed my attention and held it
- By tbarta on 04-24-18
By: Soraya M. Lane
-
P.S. Come to Italy
- By: Nicky Pellegrino
- Narrated by: Jane McDowell
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Belle started writing to Enrico, she certainly wasn't looking to fall in love! Everything about his life in southern Italy is so different to hers - but somehow, across half the world, a magical friendship forms. And so, when Enrico signs off one of his messages, P.S. Come to Italy, Belle decides to follow her heart!
-
-
À completely ridiculous story
- By Amazon Customer on 12-05-23
By: Nicky Pellegrino
-
The Neil Gaiman Reader
- Fiction
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman, George Guidall, Lenny Henry, and others
- Length: 27 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning Gaiman’s career to date, The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction is a captivating collection from one of the world’s most beloved writers, chosen by those who know his work best: his devoted fans. A brilliant representation of Gaiman's groundbreaking, entrancing, endlessly imaginative fiction, this captivating volume includes excerpts from each of his five novels for adults—Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Anansi Boys, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane—and nearly fifty of his short stories.
-
-
52 Bits of Awesome
- By Southard on 08-11-21
By: Neil Gaiman
-
Under the Light of the Italian Moon
- By: Jennifer Anton
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nina Argenta doesn’t want the traditional life of a rural Italian woman. The daughter of a strong-willed midwife, she is determined to define her own destiny. But when her brother emigrates to America, she promises her mother to never leave. When childhood friend Pietro Pante briefly returns to their mountain town, passion between them ignites while Mussolini forces political tensions to rise. Just as their romance deepens, Pietro must leave again for work in the coal mines of America. Nina is torn between joining him and her commitment to Italy and her mother.
-
-
Bravo!
- By BlueBoots6 on 05-01-24
By: Jennifer Anton
Related to this topic
-
The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted
- By: Robert Hillman
- Narrated by: Daniel Lapaine
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1968 in rural Australia and lonely Tom Hope can't make heads or tails of Hannah Babel. Newly arrived from Hungary, Hannah is unlike anyone he's ever met - she's passionate, artistic, and fiercely determined to open sleepy Hometown's first bookshop. Despite the fact that Tom has only read only one book in his life, the two soon discover an astonishing spark. Recently abandoned by an unfaithful wife - and still missing her sweet son, Peter - Tom dares to believe that he might make Hannah happy.
-
-
Listener beware
- By Little old lady from Iowa on 06-11-23
By: Robert Hillman
-
Foster
- By: Claire Keegan
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas' house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household—where everything is so well tended to—and this summer must soon come to an end.
-
-
A story that will stay with me a long time
- By CTKG on 11-01-22
By: Claire Keegan
-
Married to a Bedouin
- By: Marguerite van Geldermalsen
- Narrated by: Cat Gould
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Where you staying?" the Bedouin asked. "Why you not stay with me tonight - in my cave?" Thus begins Marguerite van Geldermalsen's story of how a New Zealand-born nurse came to be married to Mohammad Abdallah Othman, a Bedouin souvenir-seller from the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. It was 1978, and she and a friend were travelling through the Middle East when Marguerite met the charismatic Mohammad who convinced her that he was the man for her.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Ellen on 12-03-23
-
Lark Rise
- By: Flora Thompson
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lark Rise is Flora Thompson's childhood memories of a north Oxfordshire village, the people who lived and worked in it, and a way of life that has totally disappeared. The story is built around Laura and her brother Edmund, through whose eyes are seen 'old Sally', whose grandfather built the house she lived in before the enclosure of the heathland, children's games, the interaction of village and gentry, and the way in which the seasons governed life.
-
-
A glimpse...
- By Shananiganians on 05-31-20
By: Flora Thompson
-
Small Things Like These
- By: Claire Keegan
- Narrated by: Aidan Kelly
- Length: 1 hr and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery that forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.
-
-
Charming and Inspiring
- By David P on 09-05-22
By: Claire Keegan
-
The Star of Kazan
- By: Eva Ibbotson
- Narrated by: Ruth Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1896, in a pilgrim church in the Alps, an abandoned baby girl is found by a cook and a housemaid. They take her home, and Annika grows up in the servants' quarters of a house belonging to three eccentric Viennese professors. She is happy there but dreams of the day when her real mother will come to find her. One day a glamorous stranger arrives at the door.
-
-
not recommended for pleasure
- By SEE on 08-27-17
By: Eva Ibbotson
-
The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted
- By: Robert Hillman
- Narrated by: Daniel Lapaine
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1968 in rural Australia and lonely Tom Hope can't make heads or tails of Hannah Babel. Newly arrived from Hungary, Hannah is unlike anyone he's ever met - she's passionate, artistic, and fiercely determined to open sleepy Hometown's first bookshop. Despite the fact that Tom has only read only one book in his life, the two soon discover an astonishing spark. Recently abandoned by an unfaithful wife - and still missing her sweet son, Peter - Tom dares to believe that he might make Hannah happy.
-
-
Listener beware
- By Little old lady from Iowa on 06-11-23
By: Robert Hillman
-
Foster
- By: Claire Keegan
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas' house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household—where everything is so well tended to—and this summer must soon come to an end.
-
-
A story that will stay with me a long time
- By CTKG on 11-01-22
By: Claire Keegan
-
Married to a Bedouin
- By: Marguerite van Geldermalsen
- Narrated by: Cat Gould
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Where you staying?" the Bedouin asked. "Why you not stay with me tonight - in my cave?" Thus begins Marguerite van Geldermalsen's story of how a New Zealand-born nurse came to be married to Mohammad Abdallah Othman, a Bedouin souvenir-seller from the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. It was 1978, and she and a friend were travelling through the Middle East when Marguerite met the charismatic Mohammad who convinced her that he was the man for her.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Ellen on 12-03-23
-
Lark Rise
- By: Flora Thompson
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lark Rise is Flora Thompson's childhood memories of a north Oxfordshire village, the people who lived and worked in it, and a way of life that has totally disappeared. The story is built around Laura and her brother Edmund, through whose eyes are seen 'old Sally', whose grandfather built the house she lived in before the enclosure of the heathland, children's games, the interaction of village and gentry, and the way in which the seasons governed life.
-
-
A glimpse...
- By Shananiganians on 05-31-20
By: Flora Thompson
-
Small Things Like These
- By: Claire Keegan
- Narrated by: Aidan Kelly
- Length: 1 hr and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery that forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.
-
-
Charming and Inspiring
- By David P on 09-05-22
By: Claire Keegan
-
The Star of Kazan
- By: Eva Ibbotson
- Narrated by: Ruth Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1896, in a pilgrim church in the Alps, an abandoned baby girl is found by a cook and a housemaid. They take her home, and Annika grows up in the servants' quarters of a house belonging to three eccentric Viennese professors. She is happy there but dreams of the day when her real mother will come to find her. One day a glamorous stranger arrives at the door.
-
-
not recommended for pleasure
- By SEE on 08-27-17
By: Eva Ibbotson
-
I Couldn't Love You More
- A Novel
- By: Esther Freud
- Narrated by: Niamh Cusack
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A sweeping story of three generations of women, crossing from London to Ireland and back again, and the enduring effort to retrieve the secrets of the past.
By: Esther Freud
-
All for Nothing
- By: Walter Kempowski, Anthea Bell - translator, Jenny Erpenbeck - introduction
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In East Prussia, January 1945, the German forces are in retreat, and the Red Army is approaching. The von Globig family's manor house, the Georgenhof, is falling into disrepair. Auntie runs the estate as best she can since Eberhard von Globig, a special officer in the German army, went to war, leaving behind his beautiful but vague wife, Katharina, and her bookish 12-year-old son, Peter. As the road fills with Germans fleeing the occupied territories, the Georgenhof begins to receive strange visitors - a Nazi violinist, a dissident painter, a Baltic baron, even a Jewish refugee.
-
-
All for Nothing
- By Lynn on 03-16-19
By: Walter Kempowski, and others
-
Shadows on the Rock
- By: Willa Cather
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1697, Quebec is an island of French civilization perched on a bare gray rock amid a wilderness of trackless forests. For many of its settlers, Quebec is a place of exile, so remote that an entire winter passes without a word from home. But to 12-year-old Cécile Auclair, the rock is home, where even the formidable Governor Frontenac entertains children in his palace and beavers lie beside the lambs in a Christmas créche.
-
-
wonderful
- By carol perez on 05-18-21
By: Willa Cather
-
Pearl in a Cage
- By: Joy Dettman
- Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein
- Length: 20 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a balmy midsummer's evening in 1923, a young woman - foreign, dishevelled and heavily pregnant - is found unconscious just off the railway tracks in the tiny logging community of Woody Creek. The town midwife, Gertrude Foote, is roused from her bed when the woman is brought to her door. Try as she might, Gertrude is unable to save her, but the baby lives.
-
-
Pearl in a Cage
- By Verita on 06-16-17
By: Joy Dettman
-
Owls Do Cry
- By: Janet Frame
- Narrated by: Heather Bolton
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Owls Do Cry is Janet Frame's first novel. She describes her idea behind it in the second volume of her autobiography: 'Pictures of great treasure in the midst of sadness and waste haunted me and I began to think, in fiction, of a childhood, home life, hospital life, using people known to me as a base for main characters, and inventing minor characters.'
-
-
well told but a wee bit depressing.
- By Muzza on 11-03-19
By: Janet Frame
-
The Wapshot Chronicle
- By: John Cheever
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based in part on Cheever's adolescence in New England, the novel follows the destinies of the impecunious and wildly eccentric Wapshots of St. Botolphs, a quintessential Massachusetts fishing village. Here are the stories of Captain Leander Wapshot, venerable sea dog and would-be suicide; of his licentious older son, Moses; and of Moses' adoring and errant younger brother, Coverly.
-
-
Beautiful 1950s Great Expectations-like Novel
- By Darwin8u on 05-31-13
By: John Cheever
-
Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories
- By: Isaac Bashevis Singer
- Narrated by: Theodore Bikel
- Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These 4 stories are infused with the wit and imagination, the humor and wisdom, that characterizes all of Isaac Bashevis Singer's work. Theodore Bikel reads these wise and funny tales in classic Yiddish storyteller cadence, injecting special warmth and resonance. The tales include "Gimpel the Fool," "Esther Kreindel the Second," "The Spinoza of Market Street," and "The Black Wedding."
-
-
Incredible narration
- By Frances on 01-10-19
-
Girl in Hyacinth Blue
- By: Susan Vreeland
- Narrated by: Loren Lester, Sheryl Bernstein
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A professor shows a colleague a painting that he has kept secret for decades. The professor swears it is a Vermeer - but why has he hidden this important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of stories that trace ownership of the painting back to World War II and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work's inspiration.
-
-
wonderful
- By Sybil on 04-07-03
By: Susan Vreeland
-
A Tale of Love and Darkness
- By: Amos Oz
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the story of a boy growing up in the war-torn Jerusalem of the 40s and 50s in a small apartment crowded with books in 12 languages and relatives speaking nearly as many. His mother and father, both wonderful people, were ill-suited to each other. When Oz was 12 and a half years old, his mother committed suicide - a tragedy that was to change his life. He leaves the constraints of the family and the community of dreamers, scholars, and failed businessmen to join a kibbutz.
-
-
His life was interesting, but not his memoir
- By DR Harle on 01-27-19
By: Amos Oz
-
Jane of Lantern Hill
- By: L.M. Montgomery
- Narrated by: Lauren Saunders
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For as long as she can remember, Jane Stuart and her mother have lived with her controlling grandmother in a dreary mansion in Toronto. Jane always believed her father was dead, so she was shocked to receive an invitation to stay with him for the summer on Prince Edward Island. But from their very first meeting, Jane fell in love with her charming father and his whimsical cottage. During her stay with him, she even found herself daring to dream that there could be such a house back in Toronto.
-
-
Adore the book. The recording needs to be EDITED!
- By Island Girl on 06-17-20
By: L.M. Montgomery
-
A Wayside Tavern
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Wayside Tavern tells the story of a Suffolk drinking place from the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, until the present day. The Roman veteran, crippled and left behind, worshipped Mithras, so the place became known as the One Bull and down through the centuries it became a clearing house for contraband, a miniature Hell Fire Club, a fashionable hotel, a mere pub. Across the yard, was the church of St Cerdic, king and martyr, who fought the Danes and was famous for the miracles performed at his shrine.
-
-
An enjoyable tale
- By Gordon on 10-07-11
By: Norah Lofts
-
Maggie-Now
- A Novel
- By: Betty Smith
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Brooklyn's unforgiving urban jungle, Maggie Moore is torn between answering her own needs and catering to the desirous men who dominate her life. Confronted by her quarrelsome Irish immigrant father, the feckless lover who may become her husband, and others, Maggie must learn to navigate a cycle of loss, separation, and hope as she forges her own path toward happiness.
-
-
no unabridged
- By sally on 08-03-21
By: Betty Smith
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Tuscan Secret
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Ellie Heydon
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalizing promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within. The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War Two erupted and the Nazis arrived....
-
-
Frustratingly naive main character (spoilers)
- By Whitney on 11-04-19
By: Angela Petch
-
Under the Light of the Italian Moon
- By: Jennifer Anton
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nina Argenta doesn’t want the traditional life of a rural Italian woman. The daughter of a strong-willed midwife, she is determined to define her own destiny. But when her brother emigrates to America, she promises her mother to never leave. When childhood friend Pietro Pante briefly returns to their mountain town, passion between them ignites while Mussolini forces political tensions to rise. Just as their romance deepens, Pietro must leave again for work in the coal mines of America. Nina is torn between joining him and her commitment to Italy and her mother.
-
-
Bravo!
- By BlueBoots6 on 05-01-24
By: Jennifer Anton
-
The Postcard from Italy
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Stephanie Lane
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Italy, 1945. "Where am I"? The young man wakes, bewildered. He sees olive trees against a bright blue sky. A soft voice soothes him. "We saw you fall from your plane. The parachute saved you". He remembers nothing of his life, or the war that has torn the world apart...but where does he belong? England, present day. Antique-shop-owner Susannah wipes away a tear as she tidies her grandmother’s belongings. Elsie’s memories are fading, and every day Susannah feels further away from her only remaining family.
-
-
Well told story.
- By S Pomeroy on 01-22-23
By: Angela Petch
-
The Girl Who Escaped
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As fascists march across the cobbled piazzas and past the towered buildings of her beloved home city, 20-year-old Devora’s worst fears come true. Along with her Jewish parents and twin little brothers they are torn away from everything they love and sent to an internment camp huddled in the mountains. Her father promises this war will not last long....
-
-
Loved the story
- By Kindle Customer on 01-04-24
By: Angela Petch
-
One Italian Summer
- A Novel
- By: Rebecca Serle
- Narrated by: Lauren Graham
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.
-
-
Not the best
- By constance mcnamara on 03-12-22
By: Rebecca Serle
-
Our Italian Summer
- By: Jennifer Probst
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Holly Linneman, Suzanne Toren
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Workaholic, career-obsessed Francesca is fiercely independent and successful in all areas of life except one: family. She struggles to make time for her relationship with her teenage daughter, Allegra, and the two have become practically strangers to each other. When Allegra hangs out with a new crowd and is arrested for drug possession, Francesca gives in to her mother's wish that they take one epic summer vacation to trace their family roots in Italy. What she never expected was to be faced with the choice of a lifetime....
-
-
Couldn't finish
- By WKB on 09-24-21
By: Jennifer Probst
-
The Tuscan Secret
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Ellie Heydon
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna is distraught when her beloved mother, Ines, passes away. She inherits a box of papers, handwritten in Italian and yellowed with age, and a tantalizing promise that the truth about what happened during the war lies within. The diaries lead Anna to the small village of Rofelle, where she slowly starts to heal as she explores sun-kissed olive groves, and pieces together her mother’s past: happy days spent herding sheep across Tuscan meadows cruelly interrupted when World War Two erupted and the Nazis arrived....
-
-
Frustratingly naive main character (spoilers)
- By Whitney on 11-04-19
By: Angela Petch
-
Under the Light of the Italian Moon
- By: Jennifer Anton
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nina Argenta doesn’t want the traditional life of a rural Italian woman. The daughter of a strong-willed midwife, she is determined to define her own destiny. But when her brother emigrates to America, she promises her mother to never leave. When childhood friend Pietro Pante briefly returns to their mountain town, passion between them ignites while Mussolini forces political tensions to rise. Just as their romance deepens, Pietro must leave again for work in the coal mines of America. Nina is torn between joining him and her commitment to Italy and her mother.
-
-
Bravo!
- By BlueBoots6 on 05-01-24
By: Jennifer Anton
-
The Postcard from Italy
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Stephanie Lane
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Italy, 1945. "Where am I"? The young man wakes, bewildered. He sees olive trees against a bright blue sky. A soft voice soothes him. "We saw you fall from your plane. The parachute saved you". He remembers nothing of his life, or the war that has torn the world apart...but where does he belong? England, present day. Antique-shop-owner Susannah wipes away a tear as she tidies her grandmother’s belongings. Elsie’s memories are fading, and every day Susannah feels further away from her only remaining family.
-
-
Well told story.
- By S Pomeroy on 01-22-23
By: Angela Petch
-
The Girl Who Escaped
- By: Angela Petch
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As fascists march across the cobbled piazzas and past the towered buildings of her beloved home city, 20-year-old Devora’s worst fears come true. Along with her Jewish parents and twin little brothers they are torn away from everything they love and sent to an internment camp huddled in the mountains. Her father promises this war will not last long....
-
-
Loved the story
- By Kindle Customer on 01-04-24
By: Angela Petch
-
One Italian Summer
- A Novel
- By: Rebecca Serle
- Narrated by: Lauren Graham
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.
-
-
Not the best
- By constance mcnamara on 03-12-22
By: Rebecca Serle
-
Our Italian Summer
- By: Jennifer Probst
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Holly Linneman, Suzanne Toren
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Workaholic, career-obsessed Francesca is fiercely independent and successful in all areas of life except one: family. She struggles to make time for her relationship with her teenage daughter, Allegra, and the two have become practically strangers to each other. When Allegra hangs out with a new crowd and is arrested for drug possession, Francesca gives in to her mother's wish that they take one epic summer vacation to trace their family roots in Italy. What she never expected was to be faced with the choice of a lifetime....
-
-
Couldn't finish
- By WKB on 09-24-21
By: Jennifer Probst
-
The Italian Girl
- By: Lucinda Riley
- Narrated by: Yolanda Kettle
- Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rosanna Menici is just a girl when she meets Roberto Rossini, the man who will change her life. In the years to come, their destinies are bound together by their extraordinary talents as opera singers and by their enduring but obsessive love for each other - a love that will ultimately affect the lives of all those closest to them. For, as Rosanna slowly discovers, their union is haunted by irreversible events from the past....
-
-
Moving story
- By Kindle Customer on 06-22-21
By: Lucinda Riley
-
These Tangled Vines
- A Novel
- By: Julianne MacLean
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If Fiona has learned anything in life, it’s how to keep a secret - even from the father who raised her. She is the only person who knows about her late mother’s affair in Tuscany thirty years earlier, and she intends to keep it that way...until a lawyer calls with shocking news: her biological father has died and left her an incredible inheritance - along with two half siblings.
-
-
Really enjoyed this story, but it was sad...
- By Debbie on 07-02-21
By: Julianne MacLean
-
The Venice Sketchbook
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Poor character and storyline development
- By Sasha on 05-19-21
By: Rhys Bowen
-
The Tuscan Child
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble, Katy Sobey
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly 30 years later, Hugo's estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father's funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.
-
-
Knocked this one out of the park
- By Anne on 02-22-18
By: Rhys Bowen
-
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
- By: Lori Nelson Spielman
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Kathleen Garrett, Lori Nelson Spielman
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A trio of second-born daughters sets out on a whirlwind journey through the lush Italian countryside to break the family curse that says they’ll never find love, by New York Times best seller Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List.
-
-
You Will Not Be Disappointed
- By Lynette on 12-17-20
-
The Italian Villa
- An Emotional and Absolutely Gripping WW2 Historical Romance
- By: Daniela Sacerdoti
- Narrated by: Lisa Rost-Welling
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inspired by true events, and for fans of The Beekeeper’s Promise and The Tuscan Child, comes a passionate, heartbreaking and absolutely pause-resisting story of two remarkable women, separated by history, finding the courage to look for light in the darkest places.
-
-
Distracting Italian accent
- By Cinzia Spatuzzi on 04-06-21