Amberwell

By: D. E. Stevenson

Narrated by: Lesley Mackie

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Five young Ayrtons all grew up at Amberwell, playing in the gardens and preparing themselves to venture out into the world. To each of these children, Amberwell meant something different, but common to all of them was the idea that Amberwell was more than just where they lived - it was part of them.

Amberwell drove one of its children into a reckless marriage and healed another of his wounds...and there was one child who stayed at home and gave up her life to keep things running smoothly.

©1955 D. E. Stevenson (P)2008 Soundings

Positively perfect!

D. E. Stevenson is my favorite author, and Amberwell is one of her best books.

The reader has the perfect accent for the story - just a slight Scottish inflection - quite appropriate for the setting.

Please add more of Ms. Stevenson's books to the catalog!

Scotland is great

Lesley Mackie's gentle voice brings the authentic feel of Scotland to this first book in a set by D. E. Stevenson. The book is a delight to listen to, making one need to get the next one, Summerhills, as soon as possible. Also, inspiring a strong desire to travel to Scotland and try to find Amberwell!

A gem

Amberwell is my favorite of D.E. Stevenson's novels. I have read it over and over and I'm thrilled to be able to listen now, too.
Please, please, Audible, offer us more of this author's books! I would absolutely love to see Miss Buncle's Book or Celia's House here, among others.

Loved this series

These were really sweet novels. The author does a wonderful job depicting the secret world children build away from adults, the love of place that runs through generations for a family home, and bittersweet pain involved in having a "difficult" parent and living with the choices we make to escape that person....

Amberwell Revisited

I read this book years ago and didn't remember much about it. It gets off to a rather slow start, but you find yourself caught up in the Ayrton family's doings...you want to hug the children and slap some other folks, but you are definitely engaged.

Satisfying family country drama.

I liked it. Didn't love love love it. I really liked her Mrs. Buncle series, however. This was a very pleasant and happy slice of upper crust (but not aristocratic) English country life during WWII. If you enjoy both of these styles you will like it. Not unhappy I read it or anything. Was pretty good.

Fantastic

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the narrator is wonderful, she brought the story to life. I would highly recommend this audiobook.

A Charming Story

A lovely story, set in a world that vanished long ago. Amberwell is a place I wish I could visit.

One of her best

I love the works of DE Stevenson. In my opinion, this is one of her best, which means it is very good indeed. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. If you’re a fan, I think you’ll love it just as much as I did. If you’re not a fan, this would be a good place to start.

Very nice meander

I appreciated how this book dealt with good situations and difficult situation. But it was never filled with overt tension. Such a talented writer.

A pleasant family saga

Any additional comments?

My favourite D.E. Stevenson will always be Celia's House. This is not unlike it, but never quite as good. The saga of the Ayrtons takes us through 2 generations living in a cloistered, middle class world in the Borders where the daughters at least have no concept of the world outside. The parents aren't quite the Barretts of Wimpole Street but emulate them at times and Aunt Beatrice and Mr Orme, the minister, are the most sympathetic characters, whilst Nell and Dennis bring overtones of Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson. Having said all that, I enjoyed it as a change and will probably listen to again. Just have to be in the right mood...