Pianos and Flowers
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Pianos and Flowers
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Narrated by:
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Robert Ian Mackenzie
About this listen
In Pianos and Flowers we are invited, through the medium of sepia images, to glimpse a world long departed. In these stories, inspired by long-lost photographs, the lives of the people in the frame are imagined and then explored, layer by layer. What must have it like to be them? We hold our breath for them. Our heart beats faster for them. We look again at the photograph in a new light, and say Yes, it might have happened just like that.
This journey of exploration takes us to some exotic places. We share the lives of three sisters, brought up in Penang. We hear of what happened to them, and to their Chinese neighbours caught in the tides of war. We see a group of small boys in a Glasgow slum, their young lives stunted by poverty, and hear how life worked out in contrasting ways for them. We follow a young woman's search for love in the unlikely realm of Egyptian antiquities. And through all of these photographs, and all of these stories, there runs the same refrain: the possibilities of love, of friendship, of happiness lie before us.
There are big stories in these simple pictures. At first glance the photographs may seem unexceptional: the mere freezing of a moment in time. But delve deeper and you will realise that these photographs speak volumes.
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WWII Home Front
- By Jerri C on 06-05-19
By: D. E. Stevenson
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The War Nurses: A Moving Wartime Romance Saga Full of Heart
- The War Nurses Series
- By: Lizzie Page
- Narrated by: Marian Hussey
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4 out of 5 stars 71
You will love every moment of this absolutely brilliant wartime saga, perfect for fans of Diney Costeloe, Soraya M. Lane, and Nadine Dorries. As war takes its toll, the love and care of two brave young nurses become everything to the wounded soldiers they tend... 1914. Two plucky young nurses pledge to help the war effort: Mairi, a wholesome idealist hoping to leave behind her past and Elsie, a glamorous single mother with a weakness for handsome soldiers. Despite their differences, the pair become firm friends.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I really really wanted to like this book...
- By Teresa M. Thornborough on 09-26-19
By: Lizzie Page
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The Love Note
- By: Tracy Rees
- Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 160
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 135
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 133
Perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things and The Villa in Italy. Blue lives a charmed life. From her family's townhouse in Richmond, she lives a life of luxury and couldn't want for anything - well, on the surface at least. Then, on the night of her 21st birthday, her father makes a startling toast: he will give his daughter's hand to whichever man can capture her heart best in the form of a love letter. But Blue has other ideas, and, unwilling to play at her father's bewildering games, she sets out on her own path to find her own destiny....
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Love Note❣️
- By Leslie Gail Mnich on 10-25-20
By: Tracy Rees
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What Once Was True
- By: Jean Grainger
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 905
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 804
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 797
Robinswood, Co. Waterford, 1939. The once grand house is home to two very different families. Despite delusions of grandeur, Lord and Lady Kenefick and their adult children live a life of decayed opulence as the money needed to keep such a large house and grounds ever dwindles. Meanwhile, the Murphy family, Dermot, Isabella and their three almost grown-up girls, live and work on the estate and do their best to keep everything running smoothly.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I throughly enjoyed every minute of this book
- By paula wright on 09-16-20
By: Jean Grainger
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Burr
- A Novel (Narratives of Empire, Book 1)
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 939
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 804
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 804
Here is an extraordinary portrait of one of the most complicated - and misunderstood - figures among the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice president, Aaron Burr fought a duel with his political nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, and killed him. In 1807, he was arrested, tried, and acquitted of treason. In 1833, Burr is newly married, an aging statesman considered a monster by many. But he is determined to tell his own story, and he chooses to confide in a young New York City journalist. Burr is the first novel in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Finally! Vidal's Great Take on the Life of Burr
- By John Norton on 06-12-19
By: Gore Vidal
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Sanshiro
- Penguin Classics
- By: Natsume Soseki, Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin
- Narrated by: Andrew Koji
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
One of Soseki's most beloved works of fiction, the novel depicts the 23-year-old Sanshiro leaving the sleepy countryside for the first time in his life to experience the constantly moving 'real world' of Tokyo, its women and university. In the subtle tension between our appreciation of Soseki's lively humour and our awareness of Sanshiro's doomed innocence, the novel comes to life. Sanshiro is also penetrating social and cultural commentary.
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3 out of 5 stars
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This story had no point.
- By icelandicponies on 12-30-21
By: Natsume Soseki, and others
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Summer
- By: Ali Smith
- Narrated by: Juliette Burton
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 65
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Story5 out of 5 stars 65
Here is the exciting culmination of Ali Smith's celebrated Seasonal Quartet, a series of stand-alone novels, separate but interconnected (as the seasons are), wide-ranging in timescale and light-footed through histories.
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5 out of 5 stars
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terrific book, beautifully read.
- By Sasha on 02-07-21
By: Ali Smith
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Tender Is the Night
- By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,064
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 943
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Story4 out of 5 stars 936
Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character - lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Subtle yet grand
- By jb on 10-12-15
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Maeve's Times
- In Her Own Words
- By: Maeve Binchy
- Narrated by: Kate Binchy
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, Maeve's Times gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers in all its diversity - revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humor, and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A GLIMPSE THROUGH MAEVE'S LOOKING GLASS
- By jstrfic on 08-08-17
By: Maeve Binchy
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The Pursuit of Love
- Radlett and Montdore Trilogy Series, Book 1
- By: Nancy Mitford
- Narrated by: Bessie Carter
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 95
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
Mitford's most enduringly popular novel, The Pursuit of Love, is a classic comedy about growing up and falling in love among the privileged and eccentric. Mitford modeled her characters on her own famously unconventional family. We are introduced to the Radletts through the eyes of their cousin, Fanny, who stays with them at Alconleigh, their Gloucestershire estate. Uncle Matthew is the blustering patriarch; Aunt Sadie is the vague but doting mother; and the seven Radlett children, despite the delights of their unusual childhood, are recklessly eager to grow up.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unlistenable
- By Michael on 10-17-21
By: Nancy Mitford
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Clara Callan
- By: Richard B. Wright
- Narrated by: Anne Twomey, Joanna P. Adler
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 96
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 24
Two sisters, small-town Ontario, 1934. Canadian author Richard Wright tells their story, from the ordinary to the extraoridinary with an eye for the commonplace and poignant sense of the larger undercurrents that change people's lives.
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5 out of 5 stars
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charming intimate refreshing
- By L on 09-10-04
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Fire and Hemlock
- By: Diana Wynne Jones
- Narrated by: Gemma Dawson
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 105
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
Polly has two sets of memories.... One is normal: school, home, friends. The other, stranger memories begin nine years ago, when she was 10 and gate-crashed an odd funeral in the mansion near her grandmother's house. Polly's just beginning to recall the sometimes marvelous, sometimes frightening adventures she embarked on with Tom Lynn after that. And then she did something terrible, and everything changed. But what did she do? Why can't she remember? Polly must uncover the secret, or her true love - and perhaps Polly herself - will be lost.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Finally!!!
- By Jamie D. on 07-10-21
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The Rise of Silas Lapham
- By: William Dean Howells
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4 out of 5 stars 50
Howells’ best-known work and a subtle classic of its time, The Rise of Silas Lapham is an elegant tale of Boston society and manners. After garnering a fortune in the paint business, Silas Lapham moves his family from their Vermont farm to the city of Boston in order to improve his social position. The consequences of this endeavor are both humorous and tragic as the greedy Silas brings his company to the brink of bankruptcy.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Important for the Era
- By Brent on 03-19-23
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Queen of the Mersey
- By: Maureen Lee
- Narrated by: Maggie Ollerenshaw
- Length: 17 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
Queenie is only 14 and has been deserted by her mother. Set in Liverpool and Wales at the outbreak of World War II, this story explores themes of female friendship and betrayal from the perspective of a group of women of widely different ages.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Entertaining
- By W on 05-27-08
By: Maureen Lee
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Tempest-tost
- The Salterton Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Robertson Davies
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 129
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story4 out of 5 stars 100
An amateur production of The Tempest provides a colorful backdrop for a hilarious look at unrequited love. Mathematics teacher Hector Mackilwraith, stirred and troubled by Shakespeare's play, falls in love with the beautiful Griselda Webster. When Griselda shows she has plans of her own, Hector despairs on the play's opening night.
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3 out of 5 stars
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First of the first (and shows it)
- By Mary on 12-22-09
By: Robertson Davies
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The Pavilion in the Clouds
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 63
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It is 1938 and the final days of the British Empire. In a bungalow high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old; her father Henry—owner of Pitlochry, a tea plantation—and her mother Virginia. The story centres around the Pavilion in the Clouds, set in the idyllic grounds carved out of the wilderness. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess, Miss White’s intentions.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Get Over It
- By SW Clemens on 12-28-22
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44 Scotland Street: The Complete Series 1-5
- Full-Cast BBC Radio Adaptations of the Much-Loved Novels
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Crawford Logan, Carol Ann Crawford, Belle Jones, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 10
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
The complete BBC radio adaptations of Alexander McCall's bestselling series. Inspired by Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, 44 Scotland Street started life as a serial in The Scotsman. It was a huge hit, and was soon novelised, adapted on stage and dramatised for BBC Radio 4. Collected here are all five radio series, in which we follow the interconnected lives of the residents of adjoining flats in a tenement in Edinburgh's Georgian New Town.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very entertaining
- By Anonymous User on 09-26-23
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Trains and Lovers
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 133
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In the words of Alexander McCall Smith: "You feel the rocking of the train, you hear the sound of its wheels on the rails; you are in the world rather than suspended somewhere above it. And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently make myself and know well, the journey between Edinburgh and London. It is best read on a train, preferably that one."
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved It
- By sharon on 07-20-14
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44 Scotland Street
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,791
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,421
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,417
The brilliant Alexander McCall Smith became an international sensation with his New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. His award-winning wit, made famous through that series, is fully on display in 44 Scotland Street.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Smith's answer to Maupin
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-05
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The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even
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- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humor and warmth to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself—quite convincingly—as a nun. In another, an invitation to join the Vatican Secret Service sends a prospective operative down a rabbit hole of controversy and confusion. A third story finds an author, on the brink of public ruin, seeing the error of his ways after an act of kindness saves the day.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant
- By C. Gall on 12-12-23
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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Lisette Lecat
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,735
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,890
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Mma "Precious" Ramotswe sets up a detective agency in Botswana on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, making her the only female detective in the country. At first, cases are hard to come by. But eventually, troubled people come to Precious with a variety of concerns. Potentially philandering husbands, seemingly schizophrenic doctors, and a missing boy who may have been killed by witch doctors all compel Precious to roam about in her tiny van, searching for clues.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Transcends its Genre
- By Gene on 12-07-03
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The Pavilion in the Clouds
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
It is 1938 and the final days of the British Empire. In a bungalow high up in the green hills above the plains of Ceylon, under a vast blue sky, live the Ferguson family: Bella, a precocious eight-year-old; her father Henry—owner of Pitlochry, a tea plantation—and her mother Virginia. The story centres around the Pavilion in the Clouds, set in the idyllic grounds carved out of the wilderness. But all is not as serene as it seems. Bella is suspicious of her governess, Miss White’s intentions.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Get Over It
- By SW Clemens on 12-28-22
-
44 Scotland Street: The Complete Series 1-5
- Full-Cast BBC Radio Adaptations of the Much-Loved Novels
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Crawford Logan, Carol Ann Crawford, Belle Jones, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 10
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
The complete BBC radio adaptations of Alexander McCall's bestselling series. Inspired by Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, 44 Scotland Street started life as a serial in The Scotsman. It was a huge hit, and was soon novelised, adapted on stage and dramatised for BBC Radio 4. Collected here are all five radio series, in which we follow the interconnected lives of the residents of adjoining flats in a tenement in Edinburgh's Georgian New Town.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Very entertaining
- By Anonymous User on 09-26-23
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Trains and Lovers
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 133
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Story4 out of 5 stars 113
In the words of Alexander McCall Smith: "You feel the rocking of the train, you hear the sound of its wheels on the rails; you are in the world rather than suspended somewhere above it. And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently make myself and know well, the journey between Edinburgh and London. It is best read on a train, preferably that one."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved It
- By sharon on 07-20-14
-
44 Scotland Street
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,791
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,421
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,417
The brilliant Alexander McCall Smith became an international sensation with his New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. His award-winning wit, made famous through that series, is fully on display in 44 Scotland Street.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Smith's answer to Maupin
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-05
-
The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even
- Stories
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
In this dual collection of short stories, Alexander McCall Smith brings his trademark humor and warmth to inventive tales of spying and vengeance. In one story, a spy dropped deep into enemy territory manages to disguise himself—quite convincingly—as a nun. In another, an invitation to join the Vatican Secret Service sends a prospective operative down a rabbit hole of controversy and confusion. A third story finds an author, on the brink of public ruin, seeing the error of his ways after an act of kindness saves the day.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant
- By C. Gall on 12-12-23
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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Lisette Lecat
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 5,735
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,890
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,892
Mma "Precious" Ramotswe sets up a detective agency in Botswana on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, making her the only female detective in the country. At first, cases are hard to come by. But eventually, troubled people come to Precious with a variety of concerns. Potentially philandering husbands, seemingly schizophrenic doctors, and a missing boy who may have been killed by witch doctors all compel Precious to roam about in her tiny van, searching for clues.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Transcends its Genre
- By Gene on 12-07-03
What listeners say about Pianos and Flowers
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
- Frank King
- 10-10-23
Loved the warm poignancy
The warm poignancy of these stories was lovely. My parents both survived harrowing experiences during WWII, and I appreciated the light shone on the people of this time.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- sharon
- 02-02-21
Rather Depressing
I usually love Alexander McCall Smith books but I found this assortment of short stories to be rather
depressing, Some of them were a little disconnected . Not a lot of likeable characters either.
The best thing about it was the pleasing voice of the narrator Robert Ian Mackenzie.
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5 people found this helpful