Pearl in a Cage cover art

Pearl in a Cage

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
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.

Pearl in a Cage

By: Joy Dettman
Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Confirm Purchase
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.
Cancel

About this listen

On a balmy midsummer's evening in 1923, a young woman - foreign, dishevelled and heavily pregnant - is found unconscious just off the railway tracks in the tiny logging community of Woody Creek. The town midwife, Gertrude Foote, is roused from her bed when the woman is brought to her door. Try as she might, Gertrude is unable to save her, but the baby lives. Gertrude's daughter Amber - who has recently lost a son in childbirth - and her husband Norman take the child in. Loved by some but scorned by more, including her stepmother and sister, baby Jenny survives her childhood and grows into an exquisite and talented young woman. But who were her parents? And why does she so strongly resemble an old photograph of Gertrude's philandering husband?©2009 Joy Dettman. (P)2009 Bolinda Publishing Contemporary Fiction Marriage Heartfelt Young Adult
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Silent Inheritance cover art
As the Earth Turns Silver cover art
I Wish I Could Say I Was Sorry cover art
The Valentine House cover art
Rush Home Road cover art
The Plague of Doves cover art
Lights of Liverpool cover art
That Liverpool Girl cover art
The Long Gaze Back cover art
A Field Full of Butterflies cover art
A House for Mr. Biswas cover art

Editor reviews

Joy Dettman's compelling saga is set in the rural Australian logging town of Woody Creek in the early 1900s, when Gertrude Foote discovers a pregnant woman near the railroad, unconscious and near death. She doesn't survive, but the child does, and is soon taken in by Gertrude's daughter, Amber, and her husband, Norman, who have recently lost their son in childbirth. The fairy tale turns dark, though, as young Jenny suffers under the neglect and abuse of her new mother. Diedre Rubenstein's performance is sharp and precise, bringing deft characterization and heightening the emotions of this brutal tale.

Critic reviews

"Joy Dettman is a natural-born storyteller whose dark tales of rural life are addictive." (The Age)

What listeners say about Pearl in a Cage

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Beautifully Read

I like this book initially, and thought the story sounded hopeful, but found it incredibly depressing. The story spent far too much time the some of the characters who weren’t the main person described in the description details, so the story seems to lie it’s way. Then a sudden change in direction really does bring the book to its lowest point in the later stages, so quite disappointed, it is reasonably well written, but I wouldn’t recommend this book on.
But the reader was brilliant, if not for her I would have persisted with it.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Would have liked more in the end....

19 CD's on one book and then ended in a way that the listener feels dispointed, like something is missing. The book captures your attention to listen, well written and narrated but ends as if a lot can still be said and explained.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful