Mrs. England

By: Stacey Halls

Narrated by: Imogen Wilde

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A Sunday Times bestseller!

"Highly atmospheric and tense."--Richard Osman, New YorkTimes bestselling author of The Thursday Murder Club

Simmering with slow-burning menace, Mrs. England is a portrait of an Edwardian marriage, an enthralling tale of men and women, power and control, courage, truth and the very darkest deception.

West Yorkshire, 1904. When recently graduated Ruby May takes a nanny position looking after the children of Charles and Lilian England, a wealthy couple from a powerful dynasty of mill owners, she hopes it will be the fresh start she needs. But as she adapts to life at the isolated Hardcastle House, it becomes clear something is not quite right about the beautiful, mysterious Mrs. England.

Distant and withdrawn, Lilian shows little interest in her children or charming husband and is far from the angel of the house Ruby was expecting.

As the warm, vivacious Charles welcomes Ruby into the family, a series of strange events forces her to question everything she thought she knew. Ostracized by the servants and increasingly uneasy, Ruby must face her own demons in order to prevent history from repeating itself. After all, there's no such thing as the perfect family—she should know.

This captivating new feminist novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Stacey Halls is her third work of fiction and proves her one of the most exciting and compelling new storytellers of our time.

©2022 Stacey Halls (P)2022 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Only stopped listening to sleep

Because it is written in the first person I was pulled deeply into the story, as if experiencing everything myself. As a long time student of writing I appreciate the small details that make each scene vivid. Although I only learned when Nurse May did, from the start each character was depicted as an individual, not a type.
The narrator also was excellent with the ability to use distinctive voices and accents.

Great

Great story with a little bit of everything and a surprise ending. I liked it.

You get used to the narration

The narrator employs a stilted delivery seemingly to enhance the protagonist’s description as an employee at the hands of employers. It’s not a riveting decision. However, it’s doable. The story is not quite as engrossing as the author’s previous work, “The Lost Orphan”, but it has its own special nuance and I enjoyed the listen. I look forward to more from Stacey Halls.

Fantastic reader

I enjoyed the story very much and this reader made Ruby’s voice come alive for me!

Loved it!

One of the best books I’ve read. The writing is beautiful and the story captivating. The characters were so real and relatable and have depth. The performance was outstanding. I loved every minute.

loved it

I was shocked when listening that it had ended. I was expecting to hear more. That time me is a great book.

Beautifully descriptive

Beautifully descriptive. Wish there was more voice intonations to separate voices/times, the hops between past and present were a bit foggy to keep up with where the listener is, but I managed.

Fabulous!!

I listen while on my commute and found myself driving around the block just to keep the suspense going. Sure kept me intrigued!

Love the narrator's voice and deliveey. Well done!

Couldn’t put this down

Loved this book. What a great story. And the reader made it more enthralling. Heartily recommend.

Disappointing

Slow moving. It seemed like it could be an intriguingly plot, but hardly got there even at the end.