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Behind the Scenes at the Museum

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Behind the Scenes at the Museum

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Susan Jameson
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About this listen

Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty and born while her father, George, was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster, telling a woman in an emerald dress and a D cup that he wasn't married. Bunty had never wanted to marry George, but there she was, stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster, with sensible and sardonic Patrica, aged five; greedy, cross-patch Gillian, who refused to be ignored; and Ruby...

Ruby tells the story of the family, from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice and her children, like flowers in amber, to the startling, witty, and memorable events of Ruby's own life.

©1995 Kate Atkinson (P)2014 AudioGo Ltd. Published by Random House Audiobooks
Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Witty Funny Heartfelt Tear-jerking Feel-Good

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All stars
Most relevant  
Absolutely loved this. Incredibly funny and sad in equal measures. An amazing observation of family life ...... well worth a read

Superb!

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What a great book. It will have you laughing and heartbroken in turns. I loved Ruby and her make do and mend chipper personality. I loved the writing about the clothes, food, domestic drudgery and the many mother wounds. This narrator is the best I’ve listened to on Audible. Really brought it alive. X

A masterpiece of writing and narration

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I have the hard copy of this book on my shelf for many years and for some reason I have never read, how I wish I had. I so enjoyed this story that I didn’t want it to end. The narration was brilliant, bringing each of the characters to life. I would thoroughly recommend this story and recording to anyone.

Brilliant from start to finish

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A truly moving story by the brilliant Kate Atkinson. I had to wipe away tears more than once; some from laughter and some from sadness. Cannot recommend too highly.

Wonderful

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I read this book years ago when it was first published and it's every bit as brilliant as I remembered. Narration by Susan Jameson catches the humour and quirks of the writing brilliantly.
It's an unusually written book, and I wondered if it would translate well to audio format. I remember from reading it, for example, that the author had a habit of using bracketed exclamation marks (!) when the narrator notices something significant, like hearing somebody talking about rubies, because her name is Ruby. I wondered if the narrator would manage to bring that out somehow, and she managed it! Also the narrative bounces around in time via the medium of lengthy footnotes, and I wondered if that would work in an audiobook - but I needn't have worried.
This is a brilliant novel about a young girl's journey to maturity amongst a rather dysfunctional and flawed but strangely charming family, with flashbacks to the stories of earlier generations which give insight and depth to the characters. The writing is funny, charming, and pacy, and the narration matches it. A great listen.

Great narration, great book.

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A fantastic ramble through a family's history, great characters and sense of place. The narration was brilliant - very comic and engaging.

Excellent narration

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Having been born in York in the mid fifty's I felt a real connection with this book, I know the streets and the sights so well - it is poignant and evokes such memories for me. I could listen to it again and again. Beautifully narrated.

A lovely story

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A wonderful evocation of life in the fifties and sixties. Very well read the best I've heard.

Excellent

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A rollicking ride with wonderful imagery and poignancy at the end. Images that will stay with me for a lifetime.

A wonderful heady book with lovely finale

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There are some very depressing and upsetting parts to this book I nearly gave up after a few hours as I was very confused with all the characters and time-shifting but I am very glad I stick with it. Very interesting story much like her others that touch on time and place . Really enjoyed it by the end . But not the first read for someone who has not read previous books by this author

stick with it

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