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The Silent Boy
- Narrated by: Leon Williams
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
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The Silent Boy
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Summary
From the No. 1 bestselling author of THE AMERICAN BOY comes a brilliant new historical thriller set during the French Revolution. Selected as Historical Novel of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times, and picked as one of Radio 4’s Crime Books of the Year.
Paris, 1792. Terror reigns as the city writhes in the grip of revolution. The streets run with blood as thousands lose their heads to the guillotine. Edward Savill, working in London as agent for a wealthy American, receives word that his estranged wife Augusta has been killed in France. She leaves behind ten-year-old Charles, who is brought to England to Charnwood Court, a house in the country leased by a group of émigré refugees.
Savill is sent to retrieve the boy, though it proves easier to reach Charnwood than to leave. And only when Savill arrives there does he discover that Charles is mute. The boy has witnessed horrors beyond his years, but what terrible secret haunts him so deeply that he is unable to utter a word?
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Critic reviews
‘In this taut thriller, Andrew Taylor deftly weaves unobtrusive historical research with a page-turning plot’ The Times, Books of the Year
‘Great tale, great history, great Taylor’ Radio 4, Crime Books of the Year
‘Taylor has not only succeeded in constructing a labyrinthine plot that is gripping to the last page, but he also created an entirely believable child, traumatised but resolute, whose plight is the fuel for true suspense’ Guardian
‘As a writer, Taylor wears his learning lightly and shares with Hilary Mantel the capacity to take the reader directly into a vanished world’ Times Literary Supplement
‘Taylor is a wonder; once again he marries flawlessly integrated historical detail … and a knotty and involving mystery as strong as anything in the historical crime fiction field. I suspect Taylor should start clearing a space next to his current writing trophies’ Financial Times
‘Don’t keep quiet about The Silent Boy. Tell everyone: it’s a really excellent page-turning thriller set in a fascinating period in Anglo-French history’ Robert Goddard
‘Many elements of The Silent Boy bring Dickens … It is utterly gripping, extremely well executed and suspenseful to the last’ Spectator
'Taylor's mastery of plot and character show to great effect in a story that has a depth few other historical crime novels can match' Sunday Times
'I enjoyed this book very much indeed. I found the evocation of late 18th Century England, and the French exiles, effortlessly authentic, the hunt for Charles gripping, and the portrayal and first-person narrative of the helpless, traumatised, yet strong and resourceful little boy moving and believable. An excellent work.' C J Sansom, author of Revelation
‘A gripping and atmospheric thriller – the perfect blend of dark suspense, appealing characters and fascinating history. I loved it!’ Antonia Hodgson, author of The Devil in the Marshalsea
What listeners say about The Silent Boy
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
- Geriwood
- 08-08-22
Cracking good tale!
I've read most books by Andrew Taylor and this one's definitely in my top ten!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Olwen
- 29-08-23
A riveting mystery
A really good historic mystery. Beautifully read, despite some mispronunciation (e.g. gabble for gable) which was distracting.
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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
- Robert J. Punton
- 01-11-18
Delightful A must to hear
This is a delightful book a modern classic of Dickens Tale of Two Cities Great characters the central figures a delight Charles's story told as if in his mind a great idea, Savill a plausible hero. A brilliant twist at the end. Well done to the author Mr Taylor..I highly recommend you lend your ears to hear this tale. Let us not forget the narrator Leon Williams for his brilliant performance
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ali
- 23-02-22
Disappointing narration
The mispronunciation of some relatively common words was irritating,eg gable pronounced as gabble. I’m surprised that there isn’t a proof listening.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Padraig
- 22-01-17
Great Narration.
Great twists and turns. I found it a very good listen and would recommend it to anyone.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- J C Clark
- 06-08-16
Narrator spoils enjoyment
How could the performance have been better?
The narrator spoils my enjoyment of this novel. His mispronunciations show his lack of knowledge of the english language; he fails to read ahead, so certain sentences lack sense, the stresses being in the wrong places; and there is no, or little, differentiation in the various voices, so it's hard to tell who is talking. His voice is hard, and lacks timbre and tone.
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 16-11-19
as good as Dickens.
excellent. both the story and the narration. I have never heard of this author before but I am pleasantly surprised at his ability to bring history alive as he does. The descriptions of old London are as good as dickens. It is also a good mystery with horrible villains and the an incite into the way a little boy would look at a world full of pain and sadness. I will "read" more by this author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jean Mc
- 23-11-23
Excellent story.
I loved this book literally could not put it down. The narrator was good except for his habit of mis pronouncing certain words. Are these books not checked before release?
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SEB
- 16-02-15
Super story, poor narrator
What did you like most about The Silent Boy?
The tale is atmospheric and rattles along
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Silent Boy?
The discovery of the corpse in the boathouse.
How could the performance have been better?
Too many mispronunciations:
gable pronounced gabble, gavel pronounced gavelle, primly pronounced prime-ly all occur within one hour!
Failure to read ahead leads frequently to dmeaning being misrepresented.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
no
Any additional comments?
Look out for more written by Andrew Taylor, but only if there is a different narrator.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- museumkate
- 27-08-16
The Silent Boy- excellent but not perfect
This is a fantastic Andrew Taylor story that drags you in and keeps you imprisoned until the last, final shocking twists.
The narration is better than some I've heard but I was annoyed at the repeated mis-pronunciation of "gable" as "gabble", "purlin" as "purelin" and "gavel" as "gavelle", to name but a few. Not enough effort was made to use different voices for different characters and the character with the most distinct voice, Rampton, mysteriously lost it towards the end of the book. I've heard other Audible books where the editing has been a bit slap-dash so I don't blame the narrators. I hope others will be able to look past these faults and see the story unravel in all its Eighteenth Century glory.
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1 person found this helpful