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)

A masterpiece, impossible to put down

Bryce Courtenay is that rare thing, a master storyteller who is also a wonderful and deep writer. A modern Dickens, without the inflated prose but with the same completely credible yet larger-than-life characters and even better plotting. Humphrey Bower does an absolutely perfect job of reading the book, with ideal voices for every character., One of the best books I have ever read on Audible, in the same class as Pillars of the Earth, American Gods and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Also one of the best historical novels I have ever read, communicating a vivid feeling for a different time and place and the people who populated and made it.

Love Bryce Courtenay

I had never heard of the author but so glad I found him and am looking forward to the rest of this trilogy. Fabulous story beautifully brought to life by Humphrey Bower.

Excellent!

This is the first of 3 books regarding Australia and Tazmania. The detail and descriptiveness makes the characters breathe and live in the listener's mind. Excellent, excellent reading.

An Outstanding Story Read By A Very Talented Man

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

This is a most engaging story, telling the history of early Australia and the lives of convicts. Humphrey Bower is a very talented man and reads this story with the utmost conviction, engaging the listener with the various voices and accents with precise accuracy.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ikey Soloman, an intriguing character.

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

No, but this performance will lead me to look for other books he has read.

Any additional comments?

I have really enjoyed this book, and reach for it at every spare and convenient moment.

Outstanding

Wrapped in a wonderful story about memorable characters, a great deal is learned about the early history of Australia. Outstanding. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

Another winner by Bryce!

I have thoroughly enjoyed every book by Bryce Courtenay and will load the next in the series immediately. 👏👏👏

Best of the Series

Of the series of three books, The Potato Factory is a solid 4-star while the two sequels are average 3-star books. The first book reads much like a Dickens novel especially the first half plus set in London. It is a nice story with villains you love to hate but enjoy following. The second and third installments are more formulaic and too politically correct in some ways. They are worth listening to if you want to continue the story into the next generations. The narrator is fantastic in this series.

The Best

Of the zillions of books I have listened to this one is by far my favorite. The narrator is great. I loved reading about the real Ikey Soloman after I finished the book. I loved it so much I am ordering the other two books in the trilogy.

Bravo.

I found this book by mistake! I typed into Audible "New Zealand" and saw that the second book in this series had the highest ratings under my NZ search... so I took a chance and listened to all 3 books. I loved them all. I loved the history, the fictional characters, and most of all I was astounded by Humphrey Bower's AMAZING versatility in terms of accents and voices. This is a brilliant AUDIObook thanks to him. Don't get me wrong, I still would have enjoyed all three books if I had read them, but Bower's voices and accents are like nothing I have ever heard come out of one person in one audiobook.
I LOVED the 1st & 2nd books in their own right. I liked the 3rd book, and needed to read it just to know the end of the story, and I have no regrets. Courtenay doesn't mind dragging his characters through hell and back in order to tell this historical amazing story of England, Australia, and New Zealand. Being an American who has spent significant time in all three countries I found it exciting, educational, and, do to his strong character development, I was also emotionally invested. I was devastated when characters were hurt and jubilant when something good happened to them. And this emotion was heightened due to Humphrey Bower's amazing characterizations through accent and intonations.
Bravo, and thanks to both Courtenay and Bower for making these three books a great experience for me, and I can only say that I am sad that the saga is over.

Shortens the car ride

A fun story - bit silly to have Dickens, Artful Dodger show up - but I understand the reference, even though the attempt to mimic Dickens' atmospherics is strained at times.

It sounds like I am alone in my assessment of the narration - the droning, whiney voice was hard to deal with. Also could not help noticing that there was the same "once-size-fits-all" voice for each upper class Brit, and the voice of Ikey is straight from Fagin's in the "Oliver" musical.So I would recommend for the car ride - otherwise stick to "Oliver Twist" and "The Fatal Shore".