The Potato Factory

The Australian Trilogy, Book 1

By: Bryce Courtenay

Narrated by: Humphrey Bower

Length: 23 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Always leave a little salt on the bread...

Ikey Solomon's favorite saying is also his way of doing business, and in the business of thieving he's very successful indeed. Ikey's partner in crime is his mistress, the forthright Mary Abacus, until misfortune befalls them. They are parted and each must make the harsh journey from thriving nineteenth century London to the convict settlement of Van Diemen's Land.

In the backstreets and dives of Hobart Town, Mary learns the art of brewing and builds The Potato Factory, where she plans a new future. But her ambitions are threatened by Ikey's wife, Hannah, her old enemy. The two women raise their separate families, one legitimate and the other bastard. As each woman sets out to destroy the other, the families are brought to the edge of disaster.

©2013 Christine Courtenay (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"In the tradition of Charles Dickens, Courtenay creates a unique cast of characters from the outset of this epic novel....Humphrey Bower's performance is a marvel...making this one of those rare books with a sweep of characters the readers come to care about deeply." (AudioFile)

Bryce world is still a worthwile visit

What made the experience of listening to The Potato Factory the most enjoyable?

A good story with really interesting , nasty, nice tough , characters. everybody plays a part and are knitted together well

What other book might you compare The Potato Factory to and why?

Power of one, pretty obvious really

Have you listened to any of Humphrey Bower’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

one of his best

If you could take any character from The Potato Factory out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Mary, just to meet her

Any additional comments?

another book worth investing your time to, very good traveling book,

Great Insights Into Austalia's Early Years

What did you love best about The Potato Factory?

This is the first Bryce Courtenay's book I've listened to or read, but it won't be the last by any means. The attention to details, without becoming overbearing, and the fast pace of the story lines, makes this an easy read.
Being stuck in traffic is now a real pleasure.
I moved from England to live in Australia 45 years ago and although I've seen a lot of the country and learned quite a bit of its history it's never been in such an enthralling way.
Bryce Courtenay has fleshed out his characters to such an extent that I really felt worried about the awful things that befall Mary - really physically actually worried!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Potato Factory?

I felt much of the anguish that Mary felt having her boys suddenly disappear. By this point in the story I felt I knew the family.

Have you listened to any of Humphrey Bower’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first time I've heard Humphrey Bower, but I would rate him as one of the best - if not THE best of any of the narrators I've heard - his constancy of the characters' voices and inflections are a marvel to listen to, and even when listening to narrative I feel that he's just recounting a story rather than reading from a page.

If you could rename The Potato Factory, what would you call it?

The Nation-Building Convicts

Any additional comments?

This book goes for almost 24 hours.
When I started listening I thought I'd need something a bit lighter before starting on the next book in the trilogy, but now I've almost finished it I can't wait to get stuck into Tommo and Hawk.
All in all a great read well narrated and a tremendous insight into the people who laid the foundations for what is now the greatest, luckiest country in the world.

Loved it!!!

It was perfect! Humphrey is amazing at reading the story. I couldn't wait to listen. 24 hours well spent.

the best

phenomenal in every way. great story and narration. looking forward orward to rest of trilogy

Captivating

The author's writing is creative and captivating and character development so good , I hated for the book to end.

The reader was perfect !

You will be so pleased .

Sincerely,

JR

wonderful

what a great story wonderfully told! the narrator is terrific. WHY are the 2nd and 3rd volumes
unavailable?

Good, but not satisfying

Would you try another book from Bryce Courtenay and/or Humphrey Bower?

I thought the reading of the story was very good. He was able to differentiate the characters in this story and paint a picture of them with his voice. I think the story was well researched and provided insight to a period of time and place that I did not know much about. However, the ending of the story felt rushed. it was almost as if he found it easier to describe the horrific things that happened, but didn't know how to end it. I was ultimately left feeling unsatisfied. After listening to so many hours of terrible things, even with the indomnitable spirit of Mary Abacus, I found myself saying, really, that's how you're going to end it.

However, the characters were well drawn and the story was told without apology for the good and bad in each. These are characters that will stay with me for awhile. That is saying something.

Get Past the Start

This book starts out like a violent porno movie ( what I’ve heard they are like ) with no cruel, grotesque act left unmentioned. Once Courtenay establishes the horror of the mean streets of 19th Century London and its effect on its denizens it begins to level out as a ripping good historical fiction yarn and moves along to the equally cruel penal colony of Australia. Don’t listen to it aloud with your grandmother or your children no matter what. That said it really grew on me and I’ve ordered the next in line!

By the way, Humphrey Bower is an extraordinary narrator with many voices. His women don’t sound like castrati or cartoon characters. Reminds me of Jim Dale.

LOVE The Narrator

Which character – as performed by Humphrey Bower – was your favorite?

It wasn't "which character," it was ALL of the characters. Humphrey Bower had a way of making each character, even side characters have different voices and different connotations to their voices, so that even if you were listening to two lower class women speaking, you could tell the difference between the two. I really enjoyed this book.

A fantastic historical read

I love to listen to audiobooks that have a great story, interesting characters, and teach me something at the same time- these are a treasure. The Potato Factory is just such a historical novel and I almost missed it because of the boring title! How glad I am that I didn't. Onto Book 2- Tommo and Hawk....