
The Austen Escape
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Narrated by:
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Emily Sutton-Smith
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By:
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Katherine Reay
About this listen
When Mary Davies travels to Jane Austen’s Bath for a historical getaway, she expects a luxurious escape from reality. Instead she finds her friendship at a crossroads, her love life upended, and her heart on a journey she never expected.
Mary Davies finds safety in her ordered and productive life. Working as an engineer, she genuinely enjoys her job and her colleagues—particularly a certain adorable and intelligent consultant. But something is missing. When Mary’s estranged childhood friend, Isabel Dwyer, offers her a two-week stay in a gorgeous manor house in England, she reluctantly agrees in hopes that the holiday will shake up her quiet life in just the right ways.
But Mary gets more than she bargained for when Isabel loses her memory and fully believes she lives in Jane Austen’s Bath. While Isabel rests and delights in the leisure of a Regency lady, attended by other costume-clad guests, Mary uncovers startling truths about their shared past, who Isabel was, who she seems to be, and the man who now stands between them.
Outings are undertaken, misunderstandings arise, and dancing ensues as this company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation, work out their lives and hearts.
“Admirers of Jane Austen, especially, will delight in the delicious descriptions and elegant prose as the protagonist is transported to the English countryside, taking readers along for the ride. Both cleverly written and nicely layered, Reay’s latest proves to be a charming escape!”—Denise Hunter, bestselling author of Lake Season on The Austen Escape
“At once sophisticated and smart . . . Clever and classy . . . Whether for the first-time Pride and Prejudice reader or the devotee with an ardent affection for all things Austen . . . The Austen Escape is an equally satisfying retreat into the wilds of Jane’s beloved Regency world. In scenes brilliantly woven with Austen’s classic characterization, Reay goes beyond courtship and manners to explore modern-day scenarios, grappling with themes of brokenness and loss, the weight of decisions and consequences, and the anchor of faith through difficult circumstances. As amiable as an Austen novelist could be—but with a pen just as witty—Katherine Reay proves she’s ready to become Jane to a whole new generation of women.”—Kristy Cambron, bestselling author of The Painted Castle
“Wildly imaginative and deeply moving, The Austen Escape is Katherine Reay at her very best.”—Billy Coffey, author of Steal Away Home
“The Austen Escape has the remarkable ability to be both lighthearted and gripping. The dramatic elements are first rate, the characters even finer. Wonderful writing. Highly recommended.”—Davis Bunn, bestselling author
- Sweet and thoughtful contemporary read
- Stand-alone novel
- Book length: 80,000 words
- Includes a discussion questions and an excerpt from Dear Mr. Knightley
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Overall
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At 40, May Attaway is more at home with plants than people. Over the years, she's turned inward, finding pleasure in language, her work as a gardener, and keeping her neighbors at arm's length while keenly observing them. But when she is unexpectedly granted some leave from her job, May is inspired to reconnect with four once close friends. She knows they will never have a proper reunion, so she goes, one by one, to each of them. A student of the classics, May considers her journey a female Odyssey.
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Charming, poignant, and utterly engaging
- By CDN on 06-22-19
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The Liberty Scarf
- A Story of Three Women, One War, and a Scarf That Binds Them Together
- By: Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, Rachel McMillan
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon, Gary Furlong, Caroline Hewitt, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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From acclaimed authors Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, and Rachel McMillan comes an evocative, three-part novel about a thread of connection during World War I--a single scarf that links three extraordinary women, each battling societal expectations, enduring the devastations of war, and striving for personal growth amidst the chaos.
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Best 2 Out of 3
- By Heather on 01-17-25
By: Aimie K. Runyan, and others
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The Daughter Ship
- A Novel
- By: Boo Trundle
- Narrated by: Xe Sands, Justis Bolding, Michael Crouch, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Katherine, an attentive mother to her teenagers, comfortably married to her strapping provider of a husband, longs to overcome her dark thoughts and intermittent fears of sexual intimacy. This brisk, mesmerizing version of her life is told in alternating short chapters by Truitt, Star, and Smooshed Bug—her inner children, each with their particular strategy for coping with Katherine’s past at the hands of a hopeless mother and a terrifying, seductive father.
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So accurate
- By AJ250 on 07-18-23
By: Boo Trundle
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Songbirds
- A Novel
- By: Christy Lefteri
- Narrated by: George Georgiou, Indira Varma, Art Malik, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Living on the island of Cyprus, Nisha is far from her native Sri Lanka. Though she longs to return home, she knows that working as a nanny and maid for a wealthy widow is the only way to earn enough to support her daughter, left behind to be raised by relatives. Yiannis is a poacher, trapping the tiny protected songbirds that stop in Cyprus as they migrate each year from Africa to Europe and selling them on the illegal market. He dreams of finding a new way of life, and of marrying Nisha.
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Lovely prose, heartbreaking story
- By RueRue on 12-10-23
By: Christy Lefteri
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Shiner
- A Novel
- By: Amy Jo Burns
- Narrated by: Catherine Taber
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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An hour from the closest West Virginia mining town, 15-year-old Wren Bird lives in a cloistered mountain cabin with her parents. Every Sunday, Wren's father delivers winding sermons in an abandoned gas station. But over the course of one summer, a miracle performed by Wren's father quickly turns to tragedy. As the order of her world begins to shatter, Wren must uncover the truth of her father's mysterious legend and her mother's harrowing history and complex bond with her best friend.
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Victim complexes extraordinaire
- By Dora on 08-21-20
By: Amy Jo Burns
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The Light of Luna Park
- By: Addison Armstrong
- Narrated by: Rachel L. Jacobs, Karissa Vacker
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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New York City, 1926. Nurse Althea Anderson's heart is near breaking when she witnesses another premature baby die at Bellevue Hospital. So when she reads an article detailing the amazing survival rates of babies treated in incubators in an exhibit at Luna Park, Coney Island, it feels like the miracle she has been searching for. But the doctors at Bellevue dismiss Althea and this unconventional medicine, forcing her to make a choice between a baby's life and the doctors' wishes that will change everything.
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So not believable and extremely sappy * Spoilers*
- By gogacks on 09-26-23
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The Paris Novel
- By: Ruth Reichl
- Narrated by: Kiiri Sandy
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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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
- By Gina DiMartino on 04-25-24
By: Ruth Reichl
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The Borrower
- A Novel
- By: Rebecca Makkai
- Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Lucy Hull, a young children's librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both a kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, 10-year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home. The precocious Ian is addicted to reading but needs Lucy's help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother, who has enrolled Ian in weekly antigay classes with celebrity Pastor Bob. Lucy stumbles into a moral dilemma when she finds Ian camped out in the library after hours with a knapsack of provisions and an escape plan.
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Great story and great performance!
- By Anonymous User on 01-29-21
By: Rebecca Makkai
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Between You and Us
- A Novel
- By: Kendra Broekhuis
- Narrated by: Anna Caputo
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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When Leona Warlon heads across the city to meet her husband, David, for a rare dinner out, she hopes they can share a moment of relief after their year of loss. But Leona quickly realizes this is no ordinary date night. She hasn’t just stepped into an upscale ristorante; she’s stepped into a different version of her life. One in which her marriage is no longer tender, in which her days are pressured by her powerful in-laws, and in which her precious baby girl lived.
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Such a great book!!
- By Mykayla Johnson on 10-10-24
By: Kendra Broekhuis
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Whoever You Are, Honey
- A Novel
- By: Olivia Gatwood
- Narrated by: Olivia Gatwood
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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On the Santa Cruz, California, waterfront, every house is a flawless glass monolith. Except for one. In a dilapidated bungalow, Mitty and her elderly roommate, Bethel, are the oddball pair who represent the last vestiges of a free-spirited town taken over by the tech elite. But their lives are about to be forever changed when a new couple, Sebastian and Lena, move in next door. Sebastian is a renowned tech founder and Lena is his girlfriend. But Lena has secrets; she feels uneasy about her oddly spotty memory and is growing increasingly wary of the way Sebastian controls their relationship.
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Interesting…..but kept me listening
- By Kate on 04-10-25
By: Olivia Gatwood
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At the Edge of the Orchard
- By: Tracy Chevalier
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber, Mark Bramhall, Kirby Heyborne, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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1838: James and Sadie Goodenough have settled where their wagon got stuck - in the muddy, stagnant swamps of northwest Ohio. They and their five children work relentlessly to tame their patch of land, buying saplings from a local tree man known as John Appleseed so they can cultivate the 50 apple trees required to stake their claim on the property. But the orchard they plant sows the seeds of a long battle. James loves the apples, reminders of an easier life back in Connecticut; while Sadie prefers the applejack they make, an alcoholic refuge from brutal frontier life.
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The performance was superb
- By cheryl retired bookseller on 05-30-17
By: Tracy Chevalier
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The Stars Are Fire
- A Novel
- By: Anita Shreve
- Narrated by: Suzanne Elise Freeman
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In October 1947, after a summer-long drought, fires break out all along the Maine coast, from Bar Harbor to Kittery, and are soon racing out of control from town to village. Five months pregnant, Grace Holland is left alone to protect her two toddlers when her husband, Gene, joins the volunteer firefighters. Along with her best friend, Rosie, and Rosie's two young children, Grace watches helplessly as their houses burn to the ground, the flames finally forcing them all into the ocean as a last resort.
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Disaster Strikes In 1947
- By Sara on 06-02-17
By: Anita Shreve
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Marigold Mind Laundry
- A Novel
- By: Jungeun Yun, Shanna Tan - translator
- Narrated by: Sofia Jin
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Born with mysterious powers she does not know how to control, young Jieun accidentally causes her family to vanish. She vows to live a million lives in search of them. Finally, one night, she brings the Marigold Mind Laundry into existence. Its service: to remove the deepest pain from our hearts. Jieun listens while customers share their unhappy memories. As they speak, she transfers their sadness onto T-shirts as stains. After a spin in the washing machine, the stains become flower petals that soar into the air, and Jieun’s customers find solace.
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Sometimes finding what we want, means letting go of everything.
- By Rebecca A. Frager on 01-29-25
By: Jungeun Yun, and others
I was surprised by the story. It was unpredictable in some aspects
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narration was fine.
cute
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Regardless, this is a story that I will re-read.
The narrator did a wonderful job as well, and this story heard over and over again.
🥇
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Predicable
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I loved this!
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bad accent
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Lovely, I enjoyed the Story.
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Isabella her best friend from childhood convinces her to go on a vacation to England, to stay in a refurbished manner home where people come to stay for a week or two and dress in Regency England attire. Part of this experience requires they choose a character preferably out of Jane Austen's books.
It is here that the fractures in Isabella and Mary's relationship start unfolding--and then are halted by Isabella's break from reality. Mary is required to stay with her friend until she returns to the present world while they live in a pretend world.
What I loved about the story, -the description of the manor house, the clothing, and the people as they engaged in this pretend world for a few moments. I really wanted this to be a thing that one could do. But let's face it, if it were something that we could pay for and pretend we are in Jane Austen England in authentic clothes, living in beautiful rooms- it would be wildly popular, but tarnished by workers acting as servants who would end up being cynical and bored ( look at any theme park). Still- an exquisite idea.
What I didn't like--I struggled with Mary the main character in trying to understand her reasoning and how she dealt with people. I'm not sure if she was trying to make her analytical and awkward alike many Engineers are (I live in a town full of them) but I was frustrated in her inability to ask questions or clarify things especially with the hero Nathan. I also didn't understand her friendship with Isabella who did some very terrible things throughout their life and I struggle with that, because the good things didn't offset some of the bad things she did. You will have to read this book to understand what I'm saying. I'm just hinting at things I'm not going to give any spoilers.
this was an enjoyable read and I do recommend it.
I like this foray into Jane Austin
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Just so so
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