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The Other Family

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The Other Family

By: Joanna Trollope
Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
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About this listen

Chrissie knew that Richie had loved her for all the twenty-three years they’d been together, loved their three daughters and their house in Highgate and their happy, chaotic existence. Richie gave her everything, except the one thing that would have made her life perfect.

She even had a sparkling ring - but it was not a wedding ring, and did not bring with it the security of marriage. That belonged to Margaret, back in Newcastle where Richie had started off as a musician, before he became famous. Margaret and her son Scott never saw Richie, and had never met the three girls. They were his other family, not mentioned but always there in Chrissie’s mind as an obstacle to her complete happiness.

And then, suddenly and shockingly, Richie was no longer there, and Chrissie and the girls had to learn to manage without him. The presence of the other family became, all at once, impossible to ignore – not least because they were involved in Richie’s will. Old resentments, feelings of abandonment and loss, had to jostle with the practicalities of money and property...

©2010 Joanna Trollope (P)2010 Random House Audio Romance Happiness

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Critic reviews

Joanna Trollope’s The Other Family Fenella Woolgar reads with sensitivity, nicely contrasting the Londoners with the Tynesiders. ( 'The Times' March 6, 2010)
"Trollope explores, with infinite delicacy, the strands that make a family and Fenella Woolgar’s superb reading enhances it in every way."( Daily Express March 26, 2010 )
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I really enjoyed listening to The Other Family. I didn’t initially think I’d warm to the characters, but got drawn into their lives and how they interacted with one another. It made me reflect on how we often judge others without remembering their back story.

A tale that draws you in

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This is one of my favourite Joanna Trollope books and I have read the story several times. A poignant investigation of bereavement and it’s effect on two families, the original wife and son in Newcastle, and the ‘other woman’, who was never granted the status of wife, despite having three daughters with the central male character.
It’s a beautifully observed and cleverly written story, full of emotion and humanity, but what lifts this already captivating tale is Fenella Woolgar’s wonderful narration. She slips effortlessly between Geordie no-nonsense Margaret and polished London Chrissie, even the three teenage daughters are all given individual, completely believable voices. It’s a tour de force of narration, wonderful to listen to, that brings every character to life and makes an already thoroughly enjoyable book even better. Bravo Fenella!

A Lovely Story, Made Better With Stellar Narration

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To those who know her books this is typical Joanna Trollope territory: the exploration of family dynamics under stress, in this case, the anguish and anger caused by the death of a partner complicated by the fact that he has a wife and son from an earlier relationship. The author deftly evokes the feelings of the children of the two partnerships the man has had and the antagonism between the two mothers of his children. Fenella Woolgar does a splendid job of narration and to my ears caught the various regional accents to a tee. I'd categorize this book has having more appeal to women with a special resonance to those of us who are second wives.

A sensitive exploration of bereavement

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