Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Appassionata

  • Rutshire Chronicles, Book 5
  • By: Jilly Cooper
  • Narrated by: Sherry Baines
  • Length: 29 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (213 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Appassionata cover art

Appassionata

By: Jilly Cooper
Narrated by: Sherry Baines
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £23.99

Buy Now for £23.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Harriet cover art
Prudence cover art
Lisa & Co (short stories) cover art
Between the Covers cover art
War Clouds Over Blackberry Farm cover art
Ellie Andrews Has Second Thoughts cover art
What If? cover art
From Venice with Love cover art
Thirty Days in Paris cover art
The Saturday Morning Park Run cover art
The Missing Wife cover art
A Married Man cover art
Georgia cover art
The Start of Something Wonderful cover art
Lime Street Blues cover art
Wise Children cover art

Summary

Effervescent as champagne, Jilly Cooper's novel brings back old favourites like Rupert and Taggie Campbell-Black.

Abigail Rosen, nicknamed Appassionata, was the sexiest, most flamboyant violinist in classical music, but she was also the loneliest and the most exploited girl in the world. 

When a dramatic suicide attempt destroyed her violin career, she set her sights on the male-dominated heights of the conductor's rostrum. Given the chance to take over the Rutminster Symphony Orchestra, Abby is ecstatic, not realising the RSO is composed of the wildest bunch of musicians ever to blow a horn or caress a fiddle. 

Abby finds it increasingly difficult to control her undisciplined rabble and pretend she is not madly attracted to the fatally glamorous horn player Viking O'Neill. And then Rannaldini, arch fiend and international maestro, rolls up with Machiavellian plans of his own.

©1996 Jilly Cooper (P)2018 W. F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"Delicious: light as a souffle and with divine flashes of wit. I could not put the...thing down." (Sunday Express)

"Appassionata - the divine Jilly Cooper's latest and greatest novel." (The Sunday Times)

 "Triumphant...a boisterous tale of sex and Chopin amongst Rutshire folk." (Tatler

What listeners say about Appassionata

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    153
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    128
  • 4 Stars
    40
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    130
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    5

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

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

Audio narration oddly stilted

The audio narration on this is oddly stilted. It almost sounds like a computer reading it. I read the book on kindle and bought the audio file to go with it. I had to stop listening and read it instead. I'm sorry to be negative but the narration really didn't do the book justice.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

My favourite JC novel

It's a wonderful book, but the Scottish accents are truly awful. I cringed hearing them, can you guess I am scottish. Nevertheless i enjoyed this audible translation because of my love of the story.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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

Another great read!

Not as good as Riders and Rivals in my opinion, although to be fair they will take some beating.
Still a great audio book and would recommend.

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

So boring

Iv loved the whole rest of the series but this one literally nothing has happened for the middle 6/8 hours of listening. First book ever not to finish

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Not my favourite from Rutshire so far.

I found the start and the end great but found the middle a little boring,
I’m not musical at all so didn’t really connect.

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

Typical Jilly

I did enjoy this book, but have to agree with a previous review in that it was nowhere near as good as the previous books in this series. However it was very likeable and very Jilly Cooper. I am getting a little fed up with all the puns now, which are becoming very overdone.

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 escapism

I was hooked to this story and listened to it as I did a charity walk during February - great stuff. Thanks Jilly x

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

Old and new friends.

My only gripe is that there is so much champagne drunk and moet is always mispronounced. A small niggle, but I have never been able to afford moet so I suppose I am just wildly jealous.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Well narration

Struggled with it …so many characters …and not easy if you don’t understand classical music :(

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Great book

fab as usual and never ages.wish I was a character on real life. love this book

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!