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The Spoilt City

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The Spoilt City

By: Olivia Manning
Narrated by: Harriet Walter
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About this listen

It is 1940, and Guy and Harriet Pringle and their friends in the English colony in Bucharest find their position growing ever more precarious. The phony war is over and invasion by the Germans is an ever-present threat...

This is the second part of The Balkan Trilogy, which began with The Great Fortune and concludes with Friends and Heroes.

©1962 The Estate of Olivia Manning (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Suspense Thriller & Suspense

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I loved it. Felt totally immersed in that period. Characters are utterly believable and fascinating.

Top quality story of Brits in wartime Europe

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I first read this book in my 20s and enjoyed it then. Now, 50 years later it is just as enjoyable and fascinating. The narration couldn’t be better and does it justice.

Brilliant story and narration

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I’m rereading this series and enjoying even more than first time. I’m learning a little about Eastern Europe before the war; and about what the beginning of the war was like, what happens to your day to day life as civilians- how it closes down bit by bit and without realising it, you’re trapped. And this is a grown up book about relationships. Marriage is the start of dismantling illusions about the other. Harriet finds that Guy, though a good man, gives himself to others in priority to her and she has has to adjust to the fact that.
All the characters are well chosen and portrayed as is the city of Bucharest. I was gripped by the narrative and Harriet Walter the perfect narrator.

Fascinating

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Excellent Very good account of war on the continent as experienced by somebody who lived through it

Very good account of life World War Two written by some body who lived the experience

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Beautifully written, with a clear and razor sharp grasp on the complex politics of the time which emerges fluently in the conversation of the cleverly drawn characters - never boring or repetitive, makes me hungry to read the third volume.

Memorable

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Beautifully narrated by Harriet Walter, this is the second book in Manning’s Balkan Trilogy. I didn’t feel it was as strong as the Fortunes of War - the first novel in the sequence - there’s quite a lot of telling rather than showing and it’s weakened in places by unexpected shifts in narrative perspective that seem to be there simply to keep narrative moving rather than give deeper insights into character. However, the gorgeous scene setting is still there, and it provides a thought provoking insight into the human cost of political turbulence and upheaval that has contemporary resonances. I will be listening to the third novel.

Uneven story but truly interesting listen

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I enjoyed listening to this story so much. Harriet Walter is such a good narrator and I was totally immersed in the world of 1940s Bucharest. I feel like I know the Pringles and can't wait to listen to the final part of the trilogy.

A Wonderful story

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The narration in this book is brilliant.
Beautiful use of language but I found myself unable to engage with these mid century toffs abroad and hang on to the plot. I just had to let it flow over me and enjoy.

It goes on a bit...but excellently narrated.

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Interesting aspect of world war 2 very rarely told
Showed the genteel life they lived in Budapest but for me not enough about the threat

Historical

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