
The Kingdoms
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for £14.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Theo Solomon
-
By:
-
Natasha Pulley
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley, read by Theo Solomon.
For fans of Matt Haig, Stuart Turton and Bridget Collins, a sweeping historical adventure from the Sunday Times bestselling author, that takes us from French-occupied London to a remote Scottish lighthouse and back through time itself.
'Original, joyous and horrifying, The Kingdoms is an awe-inspiring feat of imagination and passion which had me in tears by the end' – Catriona Ward
Come home, if you remember.
The postcard has been held at the sorting office for ninety-one years, waiting to be delivered to Joe Tournier. On the front is a lighthouse – Eilean Mor, in the Outer Hebrides.
Joe has never left England, never even left London. He is a British slave, one of thousands throughout the French Empire. He has a job, a wife, a baby daughter.
But he also has flashes of a life he cannot remember and of a world that never existed – a world where English is spoken in England, and not French.
And now he has a postcard of a lighthouse built just six months ago, that was first written nearly one hundred years ago, by a stranger who seems to know him very well.
Joe’s journey to unravel the truth will take him from French-occupied London to a remote Scottish island, and back through time as he battles for his life – and for a very different future.
Mot sure about this one
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Eh.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very creative storyline and so we'll told.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It is classic Natasha Pulley, demanding much from the reader both intellectually and emotionally, skilfully weaving magical reality with plausible history. The first act is simplistic and straightforward, as befits the viewpoint of the character, but from then on the narrative structure opens up, the timeline is anything but straightforward and an emotional and narrative complexity and subtlety is revealed.
One of the sections in the centre of the book I found especially hard to read, fanning to life as it did the withered embers of my patriotism. One of the central mysteries of the book is well telegraphed and so the revelation when it was eventually reached was a little bit of a let-down, however the book still has some surprises up its sleeve and reached a conclusion which was satisfactory. I'm trying hard not to give anything away, if that's not obvious!
Just a word on the narration. I found the style hard to get along with initially, as it was spoken in the manner and style that you might read a Mister Man book to a class of 5 year olds. At the suggestion of some of the reviews on Audible, I sped it up to 1.1x which helped enormously. It's not all bad though, accents sounded authentic and each character was faithfully and consistently performed throughout the book, which I really came to appreciate in the closing chapters.
Overall, well worth your time and your Audible credit.
Loved it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
fantastic story, disappointing narration
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narrator is actually perfect for the main character with his ever so slightly naive tone while effortlessly slipping into other characters giving them all distinct and enjoyable personality.
I enjoyed this book immensely.
fantastic story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
strange and very moving
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I could listen to Theo Solomon talk all day!!!
I loved this!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not as enthralling as Natasha Pulley,'s other book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
However, I never normally have to speed up the narration... but sadly had to in this narration, which made some of the words odd but I found it laboursome to listen to otherwise.
story great... narration sloooooooow!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.