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The Key

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The Key

By: Kathryn Hughes
Narrated by: Joanne Froggatt
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About this listen

A hidden note. A lost love. A second chance....

From the number one best-selling author of The Letter, Kathryn Hughes, comes The Key, an unforgettable story of a heartbreaking secret that will stay with you for ever.

1956

It's Ellen Crosby's first day as a student nurse at Ambergate Hospital. When she meets a young woman admitted by her father, little does Ellen know that a choice she will make is to change both their lives for ever....

2006

Sarah is drawn to the now abandoned Ambergate. Whilst exploring the old corridors she discovers a suitcase belonging to a female patient who entered Ambergate fifty years earlier. The shocking contents, untouched for half a century, will lead Sarah to unravel a forgotten story of tragedy and lost love, and the chance to make an old wrong right.

©2018 Kathryn Hughes (P)2018 Headline Publishing Group Ltd. Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Women's Fiction Heartfelt Tear-jerking

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Critic reviews

"A wonderful, enthralling story; one that I didn't want to end." (Lesley Pearse on The Key)

"Gripping." (Good Housekeeping on The Secret)

"Hughes creates a sense of time and place effortlessly. The social context is incredibly important and once again, conveyed so well that the reader feels immersed in the world of Ambergate. Even though some of the story is set in the past, it still feels relevant and still raises questions about attitudes to mental illness, trauma, motherhood and grief." (Bibliomaniac on The Key)
All stars
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Beautifully narrated by the talented actress Joanne Froggatt. Such a moving story - had me gripped from the start. Rarely does a book stay with you and have you thinking about it long after you've finished it. I didn't want it to end.

Wow, Fantastic read

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This is such a wonderful story. I have listened to The Letter and The Secret and I was looking forward to listening to The Key.

Joanne Foggart is an exceptional narrator, she really can draw you into the story.
Despite the present, past and present (again) aspect of the book, there is no constant shift back and forth in time, making the book very easy to follow.
The characters are so vivid and the environment is so vivid, you can really imagine being there.
I listened to this book in 1 and a half days and I was gripped from the start.
A wonderful, wonderful story.

Incredible!

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This is the first book I’ve felt completely immersed in for a very long time. Delicate subjects sensitively and beautifully described. The audio version is brilliantly read by Joanne Froggatt.

Beautifully written

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Thoroughly enjoyed this story from beginning to end. Excellently narrated too. Film material . Great characters

Brilliant

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This was a brilliant read, really enjoyed it! It was hard to put down and sorry it ended......

Great book

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Just brilliant. Captured me the whole way through. The characters were realistic and the story was gripping

Probably the best book I’ve ever read

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Have to say i wondered where it was going to start off with, with different characters all in different years. it all came together really well and i was hooked. certainly one to listen to.

Really worth a listen to

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I found the reader’s voice ‘too young’ for many of the parts and did no justice to the male characters.
Her younger female characters were very good

A lovely storyline

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The author has done a lot of research into Mental Hospitals in the fifties. I worked in a large "asylum" in the sixties and this book brought back so many memories about the conditions these people lived in.
I highly recommend this book and even if you have no knowledge of these hospitals believe this is the way the were. Nothing in it is untrue. The narrator was excellent and added a wealth to the story.

Brilliant

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Maybe a slightly rosy picture of how people were treated with mental illness but you like the caricature in the book and enjoy the twists x well written well spoken

Safely moving

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