Katie Mulholland

By: Catherine Cookson

Narrated by: Susan Jameson

Length: 20 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

Some women are destined to arouse in men either fierce hatred or insatiable desire. Such a woman was Katie Mulholland.

At 15, a scullery maid in the house of the Rosires, she had been raped by the master. Now, many years later, she had enough money to maintain three carriages if she wanted to, and she was on her way to see Bernard Rosier under very different circumstances.

There was no pride in Katie Mulholland's heart, however, only fear, for half of Tyneside still talked about the way she had flouted convention, and sniggered about the way she had made her money. So she had decided that her only hope was to climb above them, and that she would conquer her fear with power....

©1967 Catherine Cookson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Loved it!

It's hard for me to find a book over 20 hours that I can't wait to listen to, but this book was great. It is all clean language which was a definite plus!

Love Catherine Cookson

Always a terrific story that inspires kindness love and forgiveness One of her very best

excellent... best book in a very long time.

this is the best book I have read in a very long time. the narrator was superb. I will be looking for more books by this author.

Classic Catherine Cookson

As a lifelong Catherine Cookson fan I was happy to find this Audible Original. Wonderful story, stretching over 90 years. Excellent listen, excellent narrator.

Enthralling Story!

I loved this wonderfully written and narrated book from start to finish. Best audio book ever!

great story

so many stories wrapped up into one great story . I really couldn't stop listening to it

Did not want it to end !

One of the best books I've had in a long time. You can't beat a good Catherine Cookson story.

loved it

I first read this book 45 years ago and it is still fantastic , the narrator was excellent. If you have not read Catherine Cookson this is the one to try.

Over long melodramatic trial by misery

This book is, if I'm honest, out of my prefered genre but I gave it a fair chance. Eleven hours in however I find I cannot stand another minute of the protagonist's cloying sentimentality and utter lack of grit. It is an extremely 'feminine' book and yet far from feminist; a young girl lurches from one earth shattering tragedy to another, in turns victimised by men or saved by them and not once does she find the strength or inner resource to defend herself. At no point so far has she actually struck out on her own and tried to rescue or change her own situation. It's infuriating how passive and weak she is, never really growing up or maturing in her outlook as the story progresses, making naive decisions and generally breaking down in tears and jumping into big strong arms. Her chief and only attribute seems to be a great beauty; both her fatal weakness and greatest asset. Male characters either desire and abuse her or get down on their knees to worship her. It is always a man's action that dictates the next character arc; a man hurts her, another rescues her, someone supports her financially. As a woman I keep finding myself asking her why she keeps allowing herself into these dangerous situations. Quite apart from my problems with the central character, I do also have a bit of difficulty with the sense of martyrdom running through the book. It comes down to this sense of the feminine agian, the ideal woman perhaps. She gives her sexual self up to save the family, she gives up her right to be a mother to care for others, she actively sinks into poverty to keep others from harm, she allows the same man to keep heaping indigities upon her head in order to save the feelings of another man. I guess the pay off for all this will be that only through great suffering will she acheive and be worthy of great happiness. Personally I think she has missed more than one opportunity for a delicious slice of ice cold revange along the way. Readers may disagree and that's fine. If you are a lover of Catherine Cookson you may well like this well. I would point out however that the accents grate after a while, portaying neither a young Geordie girl or a Swedish man with any kind of authenticity. Everyone speaks like your gran only vaguely northern. Sorry narrator.

another brilliant tale from Catherine Cookson

Where does Katie Mulholland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

near the top of the list

What was one of the most memorable moments of Katie Mulholland?

too many to remember

Which scene did you most enjoy?

so many

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

some of both reactions as with most of the Cookson books

A PAGE TURNER I COULDN'T PUT DOWN!

CATHERINE COOKSON was one of the best storytellers of the twentieth century and she is sorely missed by her many fans. She reigned supremely for a long time until her death in 1998 and I'm so pleased that Audible has started to have some of her books in their library. It would be appreciated if they could do more for I'm sure she'd reach another generation who would find her books compelling!

I first read this book on the 1970's and it's not lost any of its impact. in fact having it read by Susan Jameson, a Geordie actress, has added another dimension to the story. It's more compelling and I'd definitely recommend it to the many readers out there.

The best Catherine Cookson book

Really well narated. A book that holds you from start to finish. Ready to start listening again. Total value for money.

brilliant read brilliant narrator classic

brilliant narrator holds yout attention a Catherine cookson classic love her books I think they are timeless

oh ! Katieeee !!

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

Absolutely without a doubt this is a wonderful story and expertly narrated.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Katie Mulholland?

when into Katherine's life steps Andy,,## wow it was so intense I had to switch me I pod off.. what a Man and what a Woman.. but they were a lot more memorable moments that thrilled me ..but cant say .you will find out and love them!!

Have you listened to any of Susan Jameson’s other performances? How does this one compare?

no I haven't but I thought she was Perfect for this northern classic *****

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No way I loved every minute of it and savoured every word ah ! ah ! I didn't want it to end.

Any additional comments?

I have read a lot of K. C books over the years so I was delighted to see them available on Audible I will listen to them all. these endearing stories are" Amazing to listen to " even if you have read the books. thank you audible keep them coming.

Full of twists and turns - an epic journey

I haven’t read a Catherine Cookson book for about 25yrs since I was a teenager. I remember them always being very good historical stories so I thought I’d try one again as an audio and I wasn’t disappointed at all! It was very very good. The story was very full, lots happened, lots of characters and lots of twists and turns until the final conclusion. It was very similar to the Deverill series by Santa Montefiore and I could imagine being turned into another tv adaptation similar to Downton Abbey. My only criticism is that towards the end it became very complicated in terms of who was what family connection. I’m not sure if there is a family tree in the physical book but it certainly could do with it (not that that would help the audio version). The book was also broken down into six ‘books’ and yet it was probably 2 books too long. The last 2 which jumped on quite a stage felt more rushed and tagged on and were not in my opinion as necessary. However it didn’t detract from the story overall for me and I shall definitely be looking out for more Catherine Cookson books again now I know I still enjoy them!

Very good!

I used to read Catherine Cookson years ago, I wasn’t sure about jumping into her world again as I always felt really sad about situations in the books, mainly treatment of the downstairs staff and the arrogance of the upper classes, I believe that she had some personal experience in this field. However, I think her writing is so good, and her characters are so well drawn that I was immersed from the very start. Quite an amazing book!