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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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The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
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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.
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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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rogayah
- 04-04-17
If music be the food of love...
This is a wonderful feel-good story of the women of a Kentish village who loose the church choir at the start of WW II, form a ladies' choir under the baton of Prim and despite hardships, uncertainties and growing pains find themselves. Written in the form of journals and letters by various characters it is a rounded, amusing and tragic record of events. The inclusion is music sung by a real ladies' choir makes a welcome and delightful novelty.
With all the recent commendations of events of both the world wars in is good to recognize the effects of war on life in an English village.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shelagh
- 17-03-17
wow!
I loved this book from beginning to end.
I laughed, empathised and cried.
A fabulous story, brought to life by the wonderful readings.
I look forward to re-listening . . . . Maybe, in August ♡
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Neil
- 08-09-17
Gentle, exciting and uplifting. Really good story.
The story held my interest throughout. Not so much so that I couldn't stop listening but enough for me to delve in and out and want to finish it. The characters are brought to life by those reading their parts and you want to know what happens to them.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 03-06-18
Great listen
Immensely enjoyable story , brought to life by the narrators in a most engrossing way.
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