The Little House

By: Philippa Gregory

Narrated by: Alix Dunmore

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

It was easy for Elizabeth. She married the man she loved, bore him two children and made a home for him which was the envy of their friends.

It was harder for Ruth. She married Elizabeth’s son and then found that, somehow, she could never quite measure up...

Isolation, deceit and betrayal fill the gaps between the two individual women and between their different worlds.

In this complex thriller, Philippa Gregory deploys all her insight into what women want and what women fear, as Ruth confronts the shifting borders of her own sanity.

Laying bare the comfortable conventions of rural England, this spine-tingling story pulses with suspense until the whiplash double-twist of the denouement.

©2010 Philippa Gregory Ltd (P)2024 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

'Fiendishly plotted...this is Gregory at her most chillingly convincing.' (Cosmopolitan)

'This brilliant psychological chiller...is utterly, nail-nibblingly plausible. You will relish its explosive climax and be gripped through to its final, superb, double-twist finish.' (Daily Mail)

'Insidiously gripping.' (The Independent)

Surprise ending did not save it

The whole book I was so angry with the main character, Ruth, for her compliant, whimpy behavior. The whole story was full of whining complaints from a dishrag of a daughter in law who just can’t stand up for herself. The in laws are horrible, and her husband is a spoiled man-baby. Then at the very end, Ruth shows that she’s even more evil-minded than her controlling mother in law. BAH. Not PG’s best at all.

I felt her anguish

The character development was good enough you could just feel the pain of being downtrodden, mistreated; there was a feeling of justice when attempts to label her backfired and actually provided her the help she needed to become her own person. The end was satisfactory! Was engaging story.

Splendid!

Such a perfect ending! I read this far into the night a few times because it pulled me in. Very satisfying.

irritating

I had hard time believing in the level of immaturity the characters displayed. I quit listening with only one hour left because I just couldn't care less. I liked other books by the author much more

Great job, Phillipa!

I've long been a fan of Phillippa Gregory whose ability to wind together beautiful narratives with rigorous research is well known. This foray into modern fiction is a triumph! Her illustration of the abuse done to women through misogyny and patriarchy is all too real and deeply felt. This is particularly painful when wielded by another woman. I predict that this book is going to be taught in Literature classes for future generations.

I loved this so much!!!!

I didn't want to stop listening until the end. I kept me on my toes with the snappy writing.

Impossible to stop listening

I loved this book. I couldn’t stop listening to it and finished it much too quickly. The reader is perfect. And the ending perfect as well. I’m glad it was the special audiobook of the day because otherwise I never would’ve known about it.

The gift of hearing excellent writing.

Delicious! Characters we all know with an ending about which we may only fantasize. Pitch-perfect narration for this story.

Tedious and anti-climatic

Love Philippa Gregory but this was not her finest hour. Kept waiting for the story to become more sinister but it just dragged on.

What a wonderful delicious book!!!

Compelling from the opening sentence. I couldn’t stop listening, it was one of the best books I’ve read, you can’t help but wonder what will happen next. The whole book absolutely delicious