The Winter Sea

By: Susanna Kearsley

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 15 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

History has all but forgotten...

In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.

But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth-the ultimate betrayal-that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her...

Please note: This novel has also been published under a different title: Sophia's Secret.

Please note, this title is the original recording, which is now known as Sophia's Secret

©2010 Susanna Kearsley (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Romance, 2012

"Rosalyn Landor provides delightful Scottish accents for many of the characters Carrie meets inside and outside her novel....Landor adds a poetic edge to her storytelling while at the same time giving a dreamy aura to the historical side of the story." ( Audiofile)

Good Story???Superb Performance

What did you like best about this story?

If you like historical fiction, you'll enjoy this book. The characters are vividly drawn, the background info is interesting. Best all of, the protagonists are intelligent, sympathetic characters that don't get into situations by doing stupid things???both the writer in the present and the heroine of the story she is writing.

What about Rosalyn Landor???s performance did you like?

One of the marks of a really talented voice performer is that you quickly forget there's only one person doing all the work! And the voices are so distinct, you don't depend on the text sentence structure (he said, she said, the captain said, etc) to know who's talking.

As soon as I finished this book I looked up Landor's other performances. The strength of her work alone is enough to make me seek out other books she reads. I do think this must be a great opportunity for talented performers to tackle characters they'd never have the chance to play on stage or in movies.

And really, Landor's men are just as strong as her female characters. Bravo!

I didn't want it to end!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I've already gotten my book club to read Winter Sea, as well as my daughter. I loved the reader and the story grabbed my attention and made me look forward to my long drives so I could visit with Sophia again. The introduction of the Jacobites was a little difficult to get through at first, but once I got the gist of the history it brought the story to life and made me want to learn more about the Scottish kings.

Great story!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would recommend this audiobook to my friends. The characters were wonderful, vibrant and engaging. And the narrator had the perfect accents and voices for each character. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, characters, and setting.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Graham was my favorite character. Intelligent, thoughtful, loves animals, tender and has eyes like the winter's sea!

Which scene was your favorite?

When John Murray ask Sofia if she has been running any foot races along the coast trail recently.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The thrill of the touch, Sofia and John and Graham and Kari.

Any additional comments?

I didn't really like the "double" ending where she rewrote the ending for the editor, but I am a sucker for happy endings. Loved the book and the narrator.

A Most Satisfying Blend of Past & Present

I enjoy historical fiction and this book was a pleasant surprise. This period in Scotland's history is one I don't know much about so I appreciated learning a little more about King James. The narrator did an excellent job with the accent as well as the different voices. An easy book to enjoy and a fun listen in an ice storm with no power.

intriguing history of love

this book held my interest into what life would bring these two women and their men

the Intriguing circumstances that brought and kept their lives together

Caught Me By Surprise!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Graham, just because of the way he treats Carrie.

If you could rename The Winter Sea, what would you call it?

Slains

Any additional comments?

I do not usually cry while reading/listening to books, but this one had me in tears. The way the author wrote about love and desire just spoke to me. Which surprised me because I had tried to listen to this book twice before, and couldn't get past the first half hour or so. Now I'm wondering how I can find myself a Scottish gentleman!

What a unique story line!

This was a wonderful book and it will be Re read over the years. Love!

Beautiful and Captivating

The two parallel love stories are beautifully written. The performance is fabulous. The ride through history is interesting. I listened to it three times through.

Scottish History

To really enjoy this story, you need to have an appreciation for history of British Isles. That was not especially true for me. However, it is very well researched and written. I enjoyed the current time story of a writer’s process writing historical material.
Perhaps this book deserves more stars than I gave it.

1708 Scotland And North Sea--Wonderful Adventure

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, yes, yes!! I loved this book from the moment Cary wanders off the main road and meets Angus and Graham until she finishes the book she is writing. This period in Scotland is a historian readers dream period. The intrigue, the spying among everyone watching everyone else down to the romance.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Winter Sea?

When you find out that Murray may be someone else. This story has it all. It has the ships arriving and the captains pretending to be one thing when really not. Strong women in the story and in the writer in the story.

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

No but I would listen too her perform other books. She did a marvelous job on this one. Her men, especially Graham and John Murray had wonderful deep Scots. I liked her narration. She really made the book live.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It had me close to tears in a few places. I was happy when the ending was extended to show a possibility for happiness.