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The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Glaister, Imogen Wilde, Laura Kirman, Adjoa Andoh, Tom Clegg
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
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Summary
‘The writing glows with emotional intelligence. This atmospheric debut…had me sniffing copiously’ Daily Mail
IN WARTIME, SURVIVAL IS AS MUCH ABOUT FRIENDSHIP AS IT IS ABOUT COURAGE…
Kent, 1940. In the idyllic village of Chilbury change is afoot. Hearts are breaking as sons and husbands leave to fight, and when the Vicar decides to close the choir until the men return, all seems lost.
But coming together in song is just what the women of Chilbury need in these dark hours, and they are ready to sing. With a little fighting spirit and the arrival of a new musical resident, the charismatic Miss Primrose Trent, the choir is reborn.
Some see the choir as a chance to forget their troubles, others the chance to shine. Though for one villager, the choir is the perfect cover to destroy Chilbury’s new-found harmony…
An uplifting and heart-warming novel perfect for fans of Helen Simonson’s The Summer before the War and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
Critic reviews
‘The writing glows with emotional intelligence. This atmospheric debut, based on the author’s own family history, had me sniffing copiously’ Daily Mail
‘I am completely and utterly in love with this book. What a joy! It may be in my all-time top five – I just adore every single thing about it’ JILL MANSELL
‘Lyrical, poetic, emotional, funny, endearing, surprising – it is a masterpiece’ VERONICA HENRY author of How to Find Love in a Book Shop
‘I adored it, it made me want to sing with joy’ ALEX BROWN, author of The Secret of Orchard Cottage
‘Delightful… it manages to be sad and funny, exciting and heart-warming, all at the same time. Quite an achievement’
BARBARA ERSKINE author of Sleeper’s Castle
‘I adored The Chilbury Ladies' Choir! The pages sing with such wonderful characters, and through them wartime England really comes alive. Warm, witty, touching and uplifting, I will be recommending this to all my friends’ HAZEL GAYNOR author of The Girl from the Savoy
What listeners say about The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- AmyAlice
- 25-08-17
humourous but gripping story
If you could sum up The Chilbury Ladies' Choir in three words, what would they be?
uplifting, funny, excellent
What other book might you compare The Chilbury Ladies' Choir to, and why?
can't think of a book but one of the characters is a 'Hyacinth Bucket' type!!
What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
The narrators are excellent and really add to the whole experience. We listened to this on a long car journey and it was brilliant. There are lots of different characters, some serious and dealing with difficult issues, and others frivolous and self-centred.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There is a point when a character who is a nurse carries out the dying wish of a patient, the scene where she actually does that is very moving.
Any additional comments?
I think some people might see that this is 'funny' and think it is therefore not weighty, or that it is small village life and is therefore just a 'cosy' and not for them - that would be a shame. It is amusing but also intricate with many threads weaving together, widows in the war, pregnant women and no fathers, bombing, class-clashes, homosexuality, coming of age and growing up - all contained within this small community who we first meet at a choir. I tried it due to a recommendation and loved it.
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- Mrs. Judith Warburton-Avis
- 30-10-20
wonderful and charming story
I have just finished listening to this book for the 3rd time and am still captivated. Each character is so believable and the narration of each character so well done. Thank you Jennifer Ryan.
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- Dave
- 26-09-22
Brilliant
We have just read this as part of our Bookclub read for September 2022 . Brilliant book . I have laughed and cried with some of the characters.
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- Jennifer Chennell
- 12-09-17
a jolly good yarn
this is a perfect holiday/cold sunday afternoon read. light and fluffy with a few twists that you dont expect. i really enjoyed as a 'palate cleanser' between more challenging books. if you love a rip roaring tale that will make you smile and give you that warm fuzzy feeling you cant go wrong with this.
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- christine macbrien
- 19-09-17
Characters a bit too 'noble'
Family intrigues, stereotype aristocratie bullies, heroïsche women coming into their own....the story emerges from the personal accounts from the main characters. Trite, sacharine,predictable.
A pleasant listen, but not especially memorable.
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- Colin
- 15-12-21
Delightful Story
Such a good read. Full of characters one could instantly recognise. I loved it. Set in world war 2 with all the prejudices of the era and some of the good things too. A gentle read perhaps but none the worse for that. If you want a story to feel good about, this is for you.
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- Tony
- 23-05-17
Enjoyable
Charming story with realistic characters. It makes a change to have different characters read by different readers.
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1 person found this helpful
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- J. Watts
- 12-01-18
Brilliant narration!
One of my favourite audible books. Heartwarming story read by wonderful actresses. Hats off especially to the voice of Mrs Paltry for those wonderful rolling Rs.
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- Jessica, London
- 25-02-18
A feel-good story of women’s liberation in WW2
I went for this because of having enjoyed Adjoa Andoh’s narration in Naomi Alderman’s The Power and I was not disappointed: the narration of this book is also brilliant and really brings the work to life.
In so many ways, this is a story of women standing up to men and of working together. I loved the characters and the pace and Adjoa Andoh’s narration is again outstanding.
The end is a little soppy, but it makes you smile. It has definitely lifted my spirits to listen to this audiobook.
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- Malin Jarbo
- 10-08-17
Wonderful and uplifting
This book made me cry and giggle, and I loved getting to know all the characters, even Edwina... The performances were brilliant.
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