Preview
  • Behind the Scenes at the Museum

  • A Novel
  • By: Kate Atkinson
  • Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt
  • Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (467 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

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

A deeply moving family story of happiness and heartbreak, Behind the Scenes at the Museum is best-selling author Kate Atkinson's award-winning literary debut.

National Best seller

Winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year

Ruby Lennox begins narrating her life at the moment of conception, and from there takes us on a whirlwind tour of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of an English girl determined to learn about her family and its secrets.

Kate Atkinson's first novel is "a multigenerational tale of a spectacularly dysfunctional Yorkshire family and one of the funniest works of fiction to come out of Britain in years" (The New York Times Book Review).

©1995 Kate Atkinson (P)2018 Tantor
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    284
  • 4 Stars
    104
  • 3 Stars
    54
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    8
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    315
  • 4 Stars
    64
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    245
  • 4 Stars
    95
  • 3 Stars
    45
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    5

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

Easily one of the best I’ve wcer read

Atkinson always delights, and this is no different. Just a wonderful family story about love, relationships and how we develop them.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

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

An entertaining and page turning story

Beautifully read and acted. The story teller kept the reader interested and engaged. Plenty of twists to keep the narrative fresh. All in all a delightful interlude of escaping into the life of a family’s trials and tribulations

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Deep Dive

I liked how focused the story was on one individual so we really came to know her. The reader seemed to respect the character and had kindness in her voice which influenced the listener.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

women rule this family saga

It makes sense that narrator Ruby's scorn for her mother, Bunty starts in the womb because this is a novel about how women run the show through the generations. Though she will never make Mother of the Year, Bunty at least endures her daughter's relentlessly scorn-filled memories with fortitude and at least a little dignity intact. Further, because she is the narrator's connection to her grandmother, aunts, great-aunts, and great-grandmother, her presence provides crucial continuity for this tale of generations of working class women in Yorkshire and one in which men are the bit players--good to start the occasional unwed pregnancy, romance someone away from her life made miserable by another, die prematurely, die in war, die at sea, or, in Bunty's case, to stay until death but make her undone with his philandering. Though she suffers greatly from her daughter's opinion, she is paid the ultimate compliment of becoming the book's most memorable presence.

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

Hard to figure out who everybody is at first, but worth the trouble

A well written intriguing book, but at times hard to figure out who the characters were from prior chapters. I imagine that reading it, rather than listening, would eliminate most of the initial confusion.Well worth the trouble, and once you get into the flow, really a great read.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Not the best Kate Atkinson

This was the only KA novel I hadn’t yet read so I had to give it a go. I almost stopped several times because the story didn’t seem to go anywhere. You can tell it is her first novel; and it is ambitious for a first novel. Still, it was long and a bit tedious at parts.

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wonderful!

I was delighted to see that Audible had this early book by Kate Atkinson! It shares many of the characteristics of her two great novels, Life after Life and A God in Ruins, namely back-and-forth woven family history involving the World Wars, humour, and dogs. A pretty delightful read.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Quite a Biography

From conception to her mother’s death, Ruby Lennox tells her lifetime story. Amazing writing.
And I love that Pearl Hewitt narrates. Her voice is perfect for Ruby.

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Never met a Kate Atkinson book I didn't love. This is no exception. Having read and listened to the book, my only question is, can anyone explain the picture on the cover of this Audible edition?

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

So Creative

Wow such a creative and dynamic reflection on family dysfunction. Really enjoyed the writing. The vocabulary choices gave incredible depth and nuance to the feelings of the characters.
The narrator did a terrific job bringing the story alive and understandable in a multigenerational and nonlinear story. Most importantly (for me) narrator did not overly perform the book.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!