The Children of Willesden Lane
Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival
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 $19.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Mona Golabek
About this listen
Based on the true story of her mother, Mona Golabek describes the inspirational story of Lisa Jura's escape from Nazi-controlled Austria to England on the famed Kindertransport.
Jewish musical prodigy Lisa Jura has a wonderful life in Vienna. But when the Nazis start closing in on the city, life changes irreversibly. Although he has three daughters, Lisa's father is only able to secure one berth on the Kindertransport. The family decides to send Lisa to London so that she may pursue her dreams of a career as a concert pianist.
Separated from her beloved family, Lisa bravely endures the trip and a disastrous posting outside London before finding her way to the Willesden Lane Orphanage. It is in this orphanage that Lisa's story truly comes to life. Her music inspires the other orphanage children, and they, in turn, cheer her on in her efforts to make good on her promise to her family to realize her musical potential. Through hard work and sheer pluck, Lisa wins a scholarship to study piano at the Royal Academy.
As she supports herself and studies, she makes a new life for herself and dreams of reconnecting with the family she was forced to leave behind. The resulting tale delivers a message of the power of music to uplift the human spirit and to grant the individual soul endurance, patience, and peace.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
©2016 Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen (P)2016 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Dr. Benjamin Rush
- The Founding Father Who Healed a Wounded Nation
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A revealing biography of Dr. Benjamin Rush - fiery signer of the Declaration of Independence, prominent physician, ardent politician, zealous social reformer, passionate humanitarian, and dedicated educator. Known primarily as America's most influential and leading physician, Rush was also among the first to call for the abolition of slavery, equal rights for women, free education and health care for the poor, slum clearance, citywide sanitation facilities, an end to child labor, and universal public education, among other causes.
-
-
A Great Humanitarian
- By Jean on 10-08-19
-
Quinny
- A Father and Son's Brave Journey of Sacrifice and Forgiveness
- By: Matthew D. Hutcheson
- Narrated by: Hilary Ferguson
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quinny's father lay on the frozen, snow-covered ground, bleeding to death from a gunshot wound to his neck. Hours earlier, the storm passed over the White Mountains of East Central Arizona, heading toward New Mexico. With no clouds in the sky, the cold was biting, cutting. Every labored breath froze his lungs. Even the pathetic fire struggled for life. She slowly approached him. The beating sound of a helicopter's blades drew his attention away from the woman for just a moment. A spotlight from the helicopter locked on as troops encircled him. When he looked back, she was gone.
-
-
Riveting story
- By gramma mimi on 05-07-23
-
Beneath the Tamarind Tree
- A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram
- By: Isha Sesay
- Narrated by: Isha Sesay
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first definitive account of Boko Haram’s abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, their years in captivity, and why this story still matters - by celebrated international journalist Isha Sesay.
-
-
First Hand Information.
- By Adewuyi t. on 08-28-19
By: Isha Sesay
-
The Little Liar
- A Novel
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis has never told a lie. When the Nazis invade his home in Salonika, Greece, the trustworthy boy is discovered by a German officer, who offers him a chance to save his family. All Nico has to do is persuade his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading “north,” where new jobs and safety await. Unaware that this is all a cruel ruse, the innocent boy reassures passengers on the station platform every day.
-
-
Timeliness and timelessness
- By JStan on 02-25-24
By: Mitch Albom
-
Rather Outspoken
- My Life in the News
- By: Dan Rather, Digby Diehl - contributor
- Narrated by: Dan Rather
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rather - who has won every prestigious journalism award in his distinguished career - discusses all the big stories from his decades of reporting. This very personal accounting includes (but is certainly not limited to) his dismissal from CBS, the Abu Ghraib story, the George W. Bush Air National Guard controversy, his coverage of the JFK assassination, the origin of "Hurricane Dan", as well as inside stories about all the top personalities Dan has either interviewed or worked with over his remarkable career.
-
-
Excellent first-hand exploration of media today
- By J. James-Long on 05-07-12
By: Dan Rather, and others
-
Once We Were Brothers
- By: Ronald H. Balson
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser is convinced he is right and engages attorney Catherine Lockhart to bring Rosenzweig to justice.
-
-
5-Star Thriller with History and Heart
- By Ella on 11-22-14
By: Ronald H. Balson
-
Dr. Benjamin Rush
- The Founding Father Who Healed a Wounded Nation
- By: Harlow Giles Unger
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A revealing biography of Dr. Benjamin Rush - fiery signer of the Declaration of Independence, prominent physician, ardent politician, zealous social reformer, passionate humanitarian, and dedicated educator. Known primarily as America's most influential and leading physician, Rush was also among the first to call for the abolition of slavery, equal rights for women, free education and health care for the poor, slum clearance, citywide sanitation facilities, an end to child labor, and universal public education, among other causes.
-
-
A Great Humanitarian
- By Jean on 10-08-19
-
Quinny
- A Father and Son's Brave Journey of Sacrifice and Forgiveness
- By: Matthew D. Hutcheson
- Narrated by: Hilary Ferguson
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quinny's father lay on the frozen, snow-covered ground, bleeding to death from a gunshot wound to his neck. Hours earlier, the storm passed over the White Mountains of East Central Arizona, heading toward New Mexico. With no clouds in the sky, the cold was biting, cutting. Every labored breath froze his lungs. Even the pathetic fire struggled for life. She slowly approached him. The beating sound of a helicopter's blades drew his attention away from the woman for just a moment. A spotlight from the helicopter locked on as troops encircled him. When he looked back, she was gone.
-
-
Riveting story
- By gramma mimi on 05-07-23
-
Beneath the Tamarind Tree
- A Story of Courage, Family, and the Lost Schoolgirls of Boko Haram
- By: Isha Sesay
- Narrated by: Isha Sesay
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first definitive account of Boko Haram’s abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, their years in captivity, and why this story still matters - by celebrated international journalist Isha Sesay.
-
-
First Hand Information.
- By Adewuyi t. on 08-28-19
By: Isha Sesay
-
The Little Liar
- A Novel
- By: Mitch Albom
- Narrated by: Mitch Albom
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis has never told a lie. When the Nazis invade his home in Salonika, Greece, the trustworthy boy is discovered by a German officer, who offers him a chance to save his family. All Nico has to do is persuade his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading “north,” where new jobs and safety await. Unaware that this is all a cruel ruse, the innocent boy reassures passengers on the station platform every day.
-
-
Timeliness and timelessness
- By JStan on 02-25-24
By: Mitch Albom
-
Rather Outspoken
- My Life in the News
- By: Dan Rather, Digby Diehl - contributor
- Narrated by: Dan Rather
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rather - who has won every prestigious journalism award in his distinguished career - discusses all the big stories from his decades of reporting. This very personal accounting includes (but is certainly not limited to) his dismissal from CBS, the Abu Ghraib story, the George W. Bush Air National Guard controversy, his coverage of the JFK assassination, the origin of "Hurricane Dan", as well as inside stories about all the top personalities Dan has either interviewed or worked with over his remarkable career.
-
-
Excellent first-hand exploration of media today
- By J. James-Long on 05-07-12
By: Dan Rather, and others
-
Once We Were Brothers
- By: Ronald H. Balson
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser is convinced he is right and engages attorney Catherine Lockhart to bring Rosenzweig to justice.
-
-
5-Star Thriller with History and Heart
- By Ella on 11-22-14
By: Ronald H. Balson
-
Those Who Are Saved
- By: Alexis Landau
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Holly Linneman, Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a Russian Jewish émigré to France, Vera's wealth cannot protect her or her four-year-old-daughter, Lucie, once the Nazis occupy the country. After receiving notice that all foreigners must report to an internment camp, Vera has just a few hours to make an impossible choice: Does she subject Lucie to the horrid conditions of the camp, or does she put her into hiding with her beloved and trusted governess, safe until Vera can retrieve her? Believing the war will end soon, Vera chooses to leave Lucie in safety.
-
-
Amazing story, great performance
- By M Davis on 03-01-21
By: Alexis Landau
-
The Book Thief
- By: Markus Zusak
- Narrated by: Allan Corduner
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's just a small story really, about, among other things, a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist: books.
-
-
Glad I took a chance.
- By Robert on 08-20-11
By: Markus Zusak
-
Echo
- By: Pam Muñoz Ryan
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews, Mark Bramhall, David deVries, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Audie Award, Middle Grade, 2016. Lost and alone in the forbidden Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and suddenly finds himself entwined in a puzzling quest involving a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica. Decades later Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California each become sinterwoven when the very same harmonica lands in their lives, binding them by an invisible thread of destiny. All the children face daunting challenges: rescuing a father, protecting a brother, holding a family together.
-
-
One of the best audio productions I have heard
- By tru britty on 07-28-15
By: Pam Muñoz Ryan
-
The Day the World Came to Town
- 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
- By: Jim DeFede
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of US airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill.
-
-
👍👍 From one of the Plane People
- By Timothy on 12-30-19
By: Jim DeFede
-
Ella Minnow Pea
- A Novel in Letters
- By: Mark Dunn
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo, Renata Friedman, Michael Crouch, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal phrase containing all the letters of the alphabet: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop.
-
-
A lighter version of The Hand Maidens Tale
- By Chris Lane on 09-30-21
By: Mark Dunn
-
The Book of Gutsy Women
- By: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chelsea Clinton
- Narrated by: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chelsea Clinton
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, share the stories of the gutsy women who have inspired them - women with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done.
-
-
More encyclopedia than book
- By Fountain of Chris on 10-09-19
By: Hillary Rodham Clinton, and others
-
Becoming Dr. Seuss
- Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination
- By: Brian Jay Jones
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive, fascinating, all-reaching biography of Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss is a classic American icon. Whimsical and wonderful, his work has defined our childhoods and the childhoods of our own children. The silly, simple rhymes are a bottomless well of magic, his illustrations timeless favorites because, quite simply, he makes us laugh. The Grinch, the Cat in the Hat, Horton, and so many more are his troupe of beloved and uniquely Seussian creations.
-
-
Good enough to read but not listen to.
- By Vetbo on 05-21-19
By: Brian Jay Jones
-
Deaf Utopia
- A Memoir—And a Love Letter to a Way of Life
- By: Nyle DiMarco, Robert Siebert
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before becoming the actor, producer, advocate, and model that people know today, Nyle DiMarco was half of a pair of Deaf twins born to a multi-generational Deaf family in Queens, New York. At the hospital one day after he was born, Nyle “failed” his first test—a hearing test—to the joy and excitement of his parents.
-
-
ASL is more important as a curriculum than foreign languages in American schools
- By mama bird on 02-03-23
By: Nyle DiMarco, and others
-
The Last Year of the War
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 16 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elise Sontag is a typical Iowa 14-year-old in 1943 - aware of the war but distanced from its reach. Then her father, a legal US resident for nearly two decades, is suddenly arrested on suspicion of being a Nazi sympathizer. The family is sent to an internment camp in Texas, where behind the armed guards and barbed wire, Elise feels stripped of everything beloved and familiar, including her own identity. The only thing that makes the camp bearable is meeting fellow internee Mariko Inoue, a Japanese-American teen from Los Angeles.
-
-
Historical Fiction at its Best!
- By KAT M K on 04-06-19
By: Susan Meissner
-
When Women Invented Television
- The Untold Story of the Female Powerhouses Who Pioneered the Way We Watch Today
- By: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- Narrated by: Nan McNamara
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was the Golden Age of Radio and powerful men were making millions in advertising dollars reaching thousands of listeners every day. When television arrived, few radio moguls were interested in the upstart industry and its tiny production budgets, and expensive television sets were out of reach for most families. But four women - each an independent visionary - saw an opportunity and carved their own paths, and in so doing invented the way we watch TV today.
-
-
Must Read T.V.
- By cindy on 05-18-21
-
Code Talker
- A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
- By: Joseph Bruchac
- Narrated by: Derrick Henry
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Although the mission school bans all that is Navajo, Ned secretly clings to his native language and culture. Proudly joining the U.S. Marines in 1943, he becomes a top-secret Navajo Code Talker. During bloody battles for Japanese islands, Ned and his brave band of code-talking brothers save thousands of lives using Navajo encryption the enemy never cracks.
-
-
Terrible audio
- By Amazon Customer on 02-13-18
By: Joseph Bruchac
-
The Poet X
- By: Elizabeth Acevedo
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo
- Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers - especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, whom her family can never know about.
-
-
Better
- By KSS on 01-09-19
Related to this topic
-
For Freedom
- The Story of a French Spy
- By: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
- Narrated by: Carine Montbertrand
- Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one would guess that a 13-year-old schoolgirl and singer named Suzanne would become one of France's great heroes. But when the German army occupies her hometown of Cherbourg during World War II, Suzanne learns that there are some things worth fighting for any way she can. Recruited by the French Resistance, Suzanne becomes a spy covertly working for a noble cause. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's historical novel is a captivating tale of courage.
-
-
Good historical book
- By joan on 04-29-19
-
Grand Central
- Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion
- By: Melanie Benjamin, Amanda Hodgkinson, Pam Jenoff, and others
- Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On any particular day, thousands upon thousands of people pass through New York City's Grand Central Terminal, through the whispering gallery, beneath the ceiling of stars, and past the information booth and its beckoning four-faced clock, to whatever destination is calling them. It is a place where people come to say hello and good-bye. And each person has a story to tell.
-
-
Grand Central: Memories
- By ZacharyKindle Customer on 05-03-17
By: Melanie Benjamin, and others
-
Courage to Run: A Story Based on the Life of Young Harriet Tubman
- Daughters of the Faith Series
- By: Wendy Lawton
- Narrated by: Shilynne Cole
- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harriet Tubman was born a slave on a Maryland plantation in the 1800s. She trusts in God, but her faith is tested at every turn. Should she obey her masters or listen to her conscience? This story from Harriet's childhood is a record of courage. Even more, it's the story of God's faithfulness as He prepares her for her adult calling to lead more than 300 people out of slavery through the Underground Railroad.
By: Wendy Lawton
-
Someone Named Eva
- By: Joan M. Wolff
- Narrated by: Rachel Botchan
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
M. Wolf traveled to the Czech Republic, birthplace of her great-grandmother, for further insight into this remarkable story. Someone Named Eva is the devastating tale of a young girl whose identity is threatened by the allconsuming sweep of Nazi aggression. Before she loses everything, Milada is a normal, happy girl. But then come the Nazis, tearing her from her family’s arms and leaving her with little but her grandmother’s lingering words: “Remember who you are.”
-
-
It was good
- By S. R. Jordan on 02-20-24
By: Joan M. Wolff
-
Secrets of a Charmed Life
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden--one that will test her convictions and her heart.
-
-
Rare 5-Star Across the Board!
- By Imamomof4 on 06-14-15
By: Susan Meissner
-
Goodnight from London
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Robson
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1940, ambitious young American journalist Ruby Sutton gets her big break: the chance to report on the European war as a staff writer for Picture Weekly newsmagazine in London. She jumps at the chance, for it's an opportunity not only to prove herself, but also to start fresh in a city and country that know nothing of her humble origins. But life in besieged Britain tests Ruby in ways she never imagined.
-
-
Light story
- By Bev Holdgate on 08-10-17
By: Jennifer Robson
-
For Freedom
- The Story of a French Spy
- By: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
- Narrated by: Carine Montbertrand
- Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one would guess that a 13-year-old schoolgirl and singer named Suzanne would become one of France's great heroes. But when the German army occupies her hometown of Cherbourg during World War II, Suzanne learns that there are some things worth fighting for any way she can. Recruited by the French Resistance, Suzanne becomes a spy covertly working for a noble cause. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's historical novel is a captivating tale of courage.
-
-
Good historical book
- By joan on 04-29-19
-
Grand Central
- Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion
- By: Melanie Benjamin, Amanda Hodgkinson, Pam Jenoff, and others
- Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On any particular day, thousands upon thousands of people pass through New York City's Grand Central Terminal, through the whispering gallery, beneath the ceiling of stars, and past the information booth and its beckoning four-faced clock, to whatever destination is calling them. It is a place where people come to say hello and good-bye. And each person has a story to tell.
-
-
Grand Central: Memories
- By ZacharyKindle Customer on 05-03-17
By: Melanie Benjamin, and others
-
Courage to Run: A Story Based on the Life of Young Harriet Tubman
- Daughters of the Faith Series
- By: Wendy Lawton
- Narrated by: Shilynne Cole
- Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harriet Tubman was born a slave on a Maryland plantation in the 1800s. She trusts in God, but her faith is tested at every turn. Should she obey her masters or listen to her conscience? This story from Harriet's childhood is a record of courage. Even more, it's the story of God's faithfulness as He prepares her for her adult calling to lead more than 300 people out of slavery through the Underground Railroad.
By: Wendy Lawton
-
Someone Named Eva
- By: Joan M. Wolff
- Narrated by: Rachel Botchan
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
M. Wolf traveled to the Czech Republic, birthplace of her great-grandmother, for further insight into this remarkable story. Someone Named Eva is the devastating tale of a young girl whose identity is threatened by the allconsuming sweep of Nazi aggression. Before she loses everything, Milada is a normal, happy girl. But then come the Nazis, tearing her from her family’s arms and leaving her with little but her grandmother’s lingering words: “Remember who you are.”
-
-
It was good
- By S. R. Jordan on 02-20-24
By: Joan M. Wolff
-
Secrets of a Charmed Life
- By: Susan Meissner
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden--one that will test her convictions and her heart.
-
-
Rare 5-Star Across the Board!
- By Imamomof4 on 06-14-15
By: Susan Meissner
-
Goodnight from London
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Robson
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1940, ambitious young American journalist Ruby Sutton gets her big break: the chance to report on the European war as a staff writer for Picture Weekly newsmagazine in London. She jumps at the chance, for it's an opportunity not only to prove herself, but also to start fresh in a city and country that know nothing of her humble origins. But life in besieged Britain tests Ruby in ways she never imagined.
-
-
Light story
- By Bev Holdgate on 08-10-17
By: Jennifer Robson
-
The Girl from the Train
- By: Irma Joubert
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Auschwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks. As World War II draws to a close, Jakób fights with the Polish resistance against the crushing forces of Germany and Russia. They mean to destroy a German troop transport, but Gretl's unscheduled train reaches the bomb first. Gretl is the only survivor.
-
-
Excellent story covering the middle of the 20th C.
- By john on 04-12-16
By: Irma Joubert
-
Wild Lavender
- By: Belinda Alexandra
- Narrated by: Kate Hood
- Length: 20 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Simone Fleurier is wrenched from her home on a Provencal lavender farm at the age of 14 after the accidental death of her father. Forced to become a maid at the boarding house of her Aunt Augustine in Marseilles, Simone's life is hard and impoverished. But one of her aunt's boarders, the beautiful Camille Casal, a star at the local music hall, gives Simone a dream: that one day she too will be a famous singer and dancer.
-
-
An Extrodinary Story
- By Wade on 08-16-08
-
The Postcard
- By: Leah Fleming
- Narrated by: Elaine Claxton
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
2002, Australia. When Melissa discovers a postcard addressed to 'Desmond' among her recently deceased father's effects, she is determined to discover this person's identity and his relationship to her father. She soon embarks on a journey that will take her across oceans and into the past...
-
-
Meh
- By Summer Layne on 03-06-15
By: Leah Fleming
-
The Invisible Wall
- A Love Story That Broke Barriers
- By: Harry Bernstein
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This enchanting true story, written when the author was 93, is a moving tale of working-class life, the social divide, and forbidden love on the eve of the first World War. The narrow street on which Harry grew up appeared identical to countless other working-class English neighborhoods, except for the invisible wall that ran down the center of the street, dividing the Jewish families on one side from the Christians on the other.
-
-
A Powerful Tale
- By Sara on 11-29-13
By: Harry Bernstein
-
Life in a Jar
- By: Jack Mayer
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During World War II, Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker, organized a rescue network of fellow social workers to save 2,500 Jewish children from certain death in the Warsaw ghetto. Incredibly, after the war her heroism, like that of many others, was suppressed by communist Poland and remained virtually unknown for 60 years.
-
-
Love of neighbor
- By minime on 03-26-16
By: Jack Mayer
-
The Seamstress
- By: Sara Tuvel Bernstein, Louise Loots Thornton, Marlene Bernstein Samuels
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Told with the same old-fashioned narrative power as the novels of Herman Wouk, The Seamstress is the true story of Seren (Sara) Tuvel Bernstein and her survival during wartime. This powerful eyewitness account of survival, told with power and grace, will stay with listeners for years to come.
-
-
Overcome with Emotion
- By Meryl on 05-16-13
By: Sara Tuvel Bernstein, and others
-
Playing with Fire
- A Novel
- By: Tess Gerritsen
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Will Damron
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first time violinist Julia Ansdell picked up the "Incendio Waltz" in a darkened antique shop in Rome, she knew it was a strikingly unusual composition. The minor key and complex feverish arpeggios have a life of their own. But when she plays the piece, Julia blacks out and awakens to find her small daughter implicated in acts of surprising violence. When she travels to Venice to find the previous owner of the music, she uncovers a heart-stoppingly dark secret....
-
-
Somewhat off-key
- By Janice on 11-16-15
By: Tess Gerritsen
-
Call Me Zelda
- By: Erika Robuck
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From New York to Paris, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald reigned as king and queen of the Jazz Age, seeming to float on champagne bubbles above the mundane cares of the world. But to those who truly knew them, the endless parties were only a distraction from their inner turmoil and from a love that united them with a scorching intensity.
-
-
If you want to read about Zelda and Scott, move on
- By Leahmgordon on 11-14-17
By: Erika Robuck
-
The Women in the Castle
- By: Jessica Shattuck
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set at the end of World War II, in a crumbling Bavarian castle that once played host to all of German high society, a powerful and propulsive story of three widows whose lives and fates become intertwined - an affecting, shocking, and ultimately redemptive novel from the author of the New York Times notable book The Hazards of Good Breeding.
-
-
Skating On The Thin Ice Of Life
- By Sara on 04-29-17
By: Jessica Shattuck
-
Anne Frank Remembered
- By: Miep Gies, Alison Leslie Gold
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For more than two years, Miep Gies and her husband helped hide the Franks from the Nazis. Like thousands of unsung heroes of the Holocaust, they risked their lives each day to bring food, news, and emotional support to the victims. From her own remarkable childhood as a World War I refugee to the moment she places a small, red-orange, checkered diary -- Anne's legacy -- in Otto Frank's hands, Miep Gies remembers her days with simple honesty and shattering clarity.
-
-
A Fast Reading Could-Not-Put-It-Down book
- By Starlet on 03-07-10
By: Miep Gies, and others
-
Modern Girls
- By: Jennifer S. Brown
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1935, Dottie Krasinsky is the epitome of the modern girl. A bookkeeper in midtown Manhattan, Dottie steals kisses from her steady beau, meets her girlfriends for drinks, and eyes the latest fashions. Yet at heart, she is a dutiful daughter, living with her Yiddish-speaking parents on the Lower East Side. So when, after a single careless night, she finds herself in a family way by a charismatic but unsuitable man, she is desperate: unwed, unsure, and running out of options.
-
-
Super annoying voiceover
- By Amazon Customer on 04-25-17
-
The Girl from the Savoy
- A Novel
- By: Hazel Gaynor
- Narrated by: Jennifer Jones, Lucy Rayner, Paul Fox
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dolly Lane is a dreamer, a downtrodden maid who longs to dance on the London stage, but her life has been fractured by the Great War. Memories of the soldier she loved, of secret shame and profound loss, by turns pull her back and spur her on to make a better life. When she finds employment as a chambermaid at London's grandest hotel, The Savoy, Dolly takes a step closer to the glittering lives of the Bright Young Things who thrive on champagne, jazz, and rebellion.
-
-
WONDERFUL‼️❤️❤️❤️
- By Leslie Gail Mnich on 12-05-19
By: Hazel Gaynor
What listeners say about The Children of Willesden Lane
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Derek F Gasser
- 02-20-24
The strength of the human spirit when faced with tragedy and heartache.
Beautiful and touching story. Brought me to tears many times. I was inspired by the strength of the human spirit.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrea
- 03-12-22
Read this
It’s a beautiful story ….It was obviously a work of love that has resulted in a worthy book of history.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K.A.
- 10-16-19
Wow
This book is AMAZING!! I loved it! I’m speechless! It’s just so incredible! The music was incredible and so beautiful! Just wow.
-SEA age 11
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- CHARMAINE
- 05-10-20
Thank you
A very deep bow of gratitude for sharing your mother's story with so much tenderness 🙏🙏
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lissa Goldman
- 11-19-21
Inspiring and beautifully done
Although this could have been categorized as YA it was inspiring and so well done. The PDF accompanying the book is well worth the credit!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Daryl
- 12-27-16
Of Music and Loving and Longing
I have been fascinated by the Kindertransport ever since I first heard about it years ago. I was taught classical piano and a child and teenager, though I was not the caliber of player that Lisa was. That being said, I loved this book.
It neither bogs down with unnecessary musical information nor leaves behind readers who are not familiar with musical terms.
Lisa comes of age during WWII. She witnesses the Night of Broken Glass in Vienna and is sent to England on the Kindertransport, but her sisters and parents remain behind. After things don't turn out the way she hopes, she winds up at a Jewish boarding home for other refugee children and continues her musical studies through hours and hours of practices, even recklessly practicing during air raids.
Lisa's daughter both wrote and performed this book, and it is clear that she oved her mother deeply. Her words are easily accessible, her performance (though unpolished and with slightly flat dialogue) is pleasant to listen to. The recordings of important political speeches, or the songs that Lisa was playing, were much more enhancing to the story than the background of a crowded train station early in the book.
Overall, this book is important if you are interested in learning about coming of age during WWII, how love and loss and forces outside of your control change you. How music can transcend language and culture and tragedy, but also be a cruel taskmaster.
Well worth your time and credit.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cliente de Amazon
- 09-02-17
Beautiful!!!
So inspiring! I cried a lot while I was listening to the story. Lisa was such an incredible woman. The story is very well conveyed, one can easily picture the various scenarios, places, people around Lisa.
Thanks to the author for writing and sharing this amazing story.
I highly recommend this book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- sharon
- 04-28-16
A Beautiful Memoir
I really loved this memoir! It was well written,and had a great narrator. It was a very touching story about a Jewish girl rescued from the Nazis in Austria. She was one of the more than 10,000 children of the Kinder transport in 1939. The book told of her courageous journey to become a concert pianist in London. Memorable Characters and a real historical feel for the Blitz and
WW2 England. The addition of the sound effects and the insertion of the classical music.at key points really enhanced my listening experience. It would make a WONDERFUL movie!
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 04-28-16
Amazing Performance
This is not just a beautifully told story but a performance you will never forget.
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sefra
- 03-23-16
Best Audio Book I've ever listened to.
The story alone is moving, but the extra touches added to this audio book and the performance was spot on. I was brought to tears. A MUST read if the ever was one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful