Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Light Behind the Window

  • By: Lucinda Riley
  • Narrated by: Miranda Raison
  • Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (735 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.
The Light Behind the Window cover art

The Light Behind the Window

By: Lucinda Riley
Narrated by: Miranda Raison
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 £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

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...

The Midnight Rose cover art
The Italian Girl cover art
The Girl on the Cliff cover art
Hothouse Flower cover art
The Love Letter cover art
The Angel Tree cover art
The Murders at Fleat House cover art
The Butterfly Room cover art
The Olive Tree cover art
The Dressmaker of Paris cover art
The Seven Sisters cover art
The Memory Box: A beautiful, timeless, absolutely heartbreaking love story and World War Two historical fiction cover art
A Secret Garden Affair cover art
The Words We Whisper cover art
The House on the Hill cover art
A Fire Sparkling cover art

Summary

From the Sunday Times best-selling author of the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley's The Light Behind the Window is a breathtaking and intense story of love, war and, above all, forgiveness.

The present: Emilie de la Martiniéres has always fought against her aristocratic background, but after the death of her glamorous, distant mother, she finds herself alone in the world and sole inheritor of her grand childhood home in the south of France. An old notebook of poems leads her in search of the mysterious and beautiful Sophia, whose tragic love affair changed the course of her family history. As Emilie unravels the story, she too embarks on her own journey of discovery, realising that the château may provide clues to her own difficult past and finally unlock the future.

The past: London 1943. A young office clerk, Constance Carruthers, is drafted into the SOE, arriving in occupied Paris during the climax of the conflict. Separated from her contact in her very first hours in France, she stumbles into the heart of a wealthy family who are caught up in a deadly game of secrets and lies. Forced to surrender her identity and all ties to her homeland and her beloved husband, Constance finds herself drawn into a complex web of deception, the repercussions of which will affect generations to come.

Note to listeners: in the US, this book is published under the title The Lavender Garden.

©2020 Lucinda Riley (P)2020 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd

Critic reviews

A sweeping, engrossing work. Riley is talented, delighting in the small details of aristocratic luxury and the pastoral countryside . . . The heroines of [The Light Behind the Window] struggle to master circumstances seemingly beyond their control, a common thread in Riley's work. A tale of family secrets, wartime espionage, and loyalties gained and gambled, The Lavender Garden will appeal to fans of historical fiction, Kate Morton, and Helen Bryan (Booklist)
A fast-paced, suspenseful story flitting between the present day and World War II . . . Riley expertly weaves Emilie's story into a dual narrative . . . A real old-fashioned romance which manages to have a compelling narrative as well as something of a history lesson in the Special Operations Executive. Brilliant escapism (Red)
Two superb storylines for the price of one here. In 1998 Emilie de la Martinieres inherits her grand South of France childhood home. She begins to uncover the past and finds a tiny room hidden in the wine cellar. Why has it been sealed for 50 years? As if that wasn't enough, there's also the part set in 1944. Constance Carruthers is sent to Paris as a spy, but loses her contact and falls in with an aristocratic family involved with the Resistance. Seriously, what could be more divine? Just sink in and wallow (Kate Saunders, Saga)

What listeners say about The Light Behind the Window

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    629
  • 4 Stars
    86
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    593
  • 4 Stars
    72
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    582
  • 4 Stars
    71
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    3

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

A beautiful Story

I read The Seven Sisters series of books by Lucinda Riley and loved them so much i searched out other books written by her. The reviews on this one were good so thought id give it a try.
I wasn't sorry, it was such a touching and gripping story i couldnt stop listening to it! You really get the characters and feel their emotions, The narrator read it so well too, highly recommended.
im off to find another one now!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

15 people found this helpful

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

Loved...

Loved every minute of it. Very clear narration and a brilliant story line. Highly recommend!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

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

Captivating storyline

I was absolutely captivated by this story and had to listen to the book in all my spare time, spending a whole day completely engrossed in it. Lucinda captivates the listener into a brilliantly presented story line with twists and turns that keep you wanting to know more. This is the first of her books that I’ve read/ listened to but it won’t be the last. Looking forward to disappearing into another of her books and experiencing the story and characters in a way that whisks you away from your own reality to a world where the characters come to life and create a whole new world for you to enjoy

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

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

Loved this book

Amazing story I was gripped from beginning to end, historical and a love story. So beautiful read.

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

Best one yet!

I've read a lot of Lucinda Riley's books and this is my favourite so far. Kept me intrigued right up to the end. Lovely narration too.

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

beautiful

another brilliant story by Lucinda Riley, could wait to listen to it. Beautiful match of present day and history

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

Utterly mesmerising story, brilliant narrator!

couldn't stop listening to this compelling story of war heroinism, self sacrifice, romance, fear, greed over money, ancestral trails and the deep seated consequences of sibling envy. Brilliantly narrated! Extraordinary story...these characters will stay with me for so long!

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

Wonderful listen

As always Lucinda Riley story telling is incredible. You live the characters and the story she tells is always an emotional journey. I have learnt so much from books and have always been enriched by them in my own life. At some point I will always listen them again . So sad there no more .
We have lost a great writer and story teller. RIP Lucinda Riley

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

Gripping as the story progresses

Another triumph for Lucinda Reilly. I wasn't sure at the start but as the story and characters developed, I was hooked!

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

Wonderful

What a great book. I have read the Seven Sisters books and loved them so much I search for more by the author. So sad to also discover that Lucinda Riley died last year. What a loss. 😢

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful