That Bonesetter Woman

By: Frances Quinn

Narrated by: Sophie Roberts

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

It’s usual, they say, for a young person coming to London for the first time to arrive with a head full of dreams. Well, Endurance Proudfoot did not. When she stepped off the coach from Sussex, on a warm and sticky afternoon in the summer of 1757, it never occurred to her that the city would be the place where she’d make her fortune; she was just very annoyed to be arriving there at all.

Meet Endurance Proudfoot: clumsy as a carthorse, strong as an ox, with a tactless tongue and a face she’s sure only a mother could love. Durie wants one thing in life: to become a bonesetter like her father. It’s physically demanding work, requiring nerves of steel, and he’s adamant it’s not a job for a woman.

Strong-willed and stubborn, Durie’s certain that in bonesetting, her big, usually clumsy hands have found their natural calling. So when she’s bundled off to London with her beautiful sister, she won’t let it stop her realising her dream. As her sister finds fame on the stage, Durie becomes England’s most celebrated bonesetter – but what goes up must come down, and her success may become her undoing.

Inspired by the true stories of two of Georgian England’s most famous celebrities, That Bonesetter Woman is an uplifting tale about finding the courage to go your own way, when everyone says you can’t – and about realising that what makes you different can also make you strong.

©2022 Frances Quinn (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, UK

Critic reviews

"What a heroine Endurance Proudfoot is! I loved her from the start. An unconventional woman who takes us on a fascinating—if bumpy—ride through a man’s world. I laughed, cried and most of all cheered! Can’t stop thinking about it...an absolute cruncher of a tale." (Janice Hallett)

"Durie Proudfoot is a brilliant heroine: stubborn, flawed and so entertaining to spend time with. I loved every step of her journey, and Frances Quinn is fast becoming one of my favourite historical novelists." (Louise Hare)

"Filled with hope and humour, That Bonesetter Woman is a novel that truly champions the underdog. I devoured it with as much gusto as the inimitable heroine sets people’s bones." (Polly Crosby)

Hidden treasure

Loved this lovely hidden treasure of a story ! Excellent historical fiction. Durie Proudfoot is one of the best characters I’ve read in quite some time. The narration was wonderful. Really, this is such a good book 🙂

Extremely Entertaining

Lightweight drama that's incredibly enjoyable. I loved every sentence.
The writer covered every character & made them believable. Great summer adventure!

So different!

I've never read anything about the bonesetter profession before, so all of this was brand new and interesting. The character development was also interesting, and while the book ended in some expected ways, other events were quite unexpected. The narration was good; to my American ears, the regional accents sounded authentic.

heartwarming

I loved the fact that the author found a REAL bonesetter woman! I am a huge fan of love stories and knowing the heroine and her true love ended up together in the end was the cherry on top.

Enjoyable

Quite enjoyable. I listened to this with my kids and older family. The book appealed to everyone from age 8-90. I was glad to have no inappropriate content for kids in the book (there is kissing, but no graphic content). Will certainly recommend. My 8 year old wanted to restart as soon as it finished.

Read This Book!

The narrator was fantastic! I just wanted to keep listening to, not only the story, but the way it was read as well. And the story, in a word… superb.

great listen

loved the story and the narration. the characters are interesting and based on real events.

Overall intriguing

Started out a bit slow but midway became very intriguing and hard to put down.