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The Unseen

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The Unseen

By: Katherine Webb
Narrated by: Clare Wille
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About this listen

England, 1911. Reverend Albert Canning, a vicar with a passion for spiritualism - and his naive wife, Hester - led a happy existence in the sleepy parish of Cold Ash Holt, Berkshire. As summer dawns, their quiet lives are changed forever by two new arrivals. First comes Cat, the new maid; a free-spirited and disaffected young woman sent down from London after entanglements with the suffragette movement and with the law. Over-educated for her station, Cat baulks at her life of servitude, quickly finding a place for herself in the secret underbelly of local society as she plots her escape. Then comes Robin Durrant, a leading expert in the occult, with whom Albert has been in correspondence, enticed to visit Cold Ash Holt by the vicar's tales of elemental beings in the water meadows around the village. A young man of magnetic charm and beauty, Robin Durrant soon becomes an object of fascination and repressed passion for Albert. During a long spell of oppressive summer heat, the rectory at Cold Ash Holt becomes charged with ambition, love and jealousy; a mixture of emotions so powerful that it leads, ultimately, to murder.

©2011 Katherine Webb (P)2011 Orion Publishing Group Limited Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction England Emotionally Gripping Feel-Good

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All stars
Most relevant  
Brilliant story with very likeable characters, especially Cat. my only grievance is the lack of pause between chapters, it felt like it was all the one chapter, even going from past to present, which is why it has only 4 stars for performance unfortunately. loved it.

investigating the past

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Would you consider the audio edition of The Unseen to be better than the print version?

I liked the 1911 parts of the story and would have been happy to skip the present day narrative as the connection was rather weak. However, it was well read and enjoyable throughout and I would most certainly try another of her books. The climax was not as I expected and that made it all the better.

A bit different

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What a change to have a book that holds you from beginning to end
An amazing story from a brilliant writer and beautifully read by a very talented narrator
Looking forward to my next from Katherine Webb

Wonderfully written and narrated

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This is a good listen. Recommend to others and listen and enjoy. You will never be bored listening to it.

Awesome Listen

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I really enjoyed this book, the characters were likeable (or unlikeable - at least getting a response from me!) and the story was a delight, swapping from the time of the first world war to present times chasing the story that happened all those years ago.
There were a few leaps of thought that came up with correct theories, but they were easily swallowed.
I was hooked from the start, and having fancied the book by an author unknown to me I will certainly investigate her other offerings.

Lovely story, well told and nicely narrated.

Most enjoyable

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Good story, easy to listen to, slightly cliche ending. Problem with chapters on audible app not always aligning with book chapters though.

Really enjoyable

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A captivating and magnificent story, extremely well written and beautifully narrated! This book has made it to the top of my favourites list.

Simply magnificent!

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This was a bit of a gamble for me, not having read any Katherine Webb before, and thankfully it was a gamble that paid off: I very much enjoyed it. It's a historical book, and is well written. The narration is also good, I think. I felt in turns annoyed by and sorry for the Rev - he is a little naive, but very constrsined by both his profession and the times. It's an interesting time to set a novel, I think: lots of interesting social tensions and changes that can be brought into the book. I think this has been done well.

Very enjoyable

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Any additional comments?

I usually like stories set in two time periods but for me this isn't one of the best.
the first hour had a lot of description in it and I was about to give up but carried on. the story settled down and I had high hopes for it.
I enjoyed the parts of the story set in 1911, it was well written and narrated by clare wille.
I liked Katherine (kat) who had been taught to read but having come from a lowly background had to be a maid. her strength at a young age to be faithful to her beliefs.
the parts set in 2006 were a means of starting the story and although there were only a few of them I feel the book would have been better without them. the historical part was good enough to stand on its own.

it was disappointing.

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This book was missing something ... usually with Audio books the audio adds to the characters, gives them personality and distinguishes them from one another, for me this one didn't. I loved the story but despite what I did to the audio - sped it up, slowed it down, I wanted to stop the lady reading to me, pick up the book and read it myself.

A good story but the audio lacks something ...

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