Nine Coaches Waiting

By: Mary Stewart

Narrated by: Ellie Heydon

Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Mary Stewart transports her listeners to mid-century Savoy for a plot of danger and deception, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Barbara Pym. A classic tale by one of the world's most beloved authors.

Linda Martin understands what is to be lonely: her parents died when she was young, and she was raised in an orphanage. When she is hired as a governess to the orphaned young Philippe, Comte de Valmy, Linda finds a kindred spirit in the lonely little boy. But Philippe is the heir to a vast estate in Savoy, and his dangerously handsome uncle may be willing to kill to ensure that Philippe never inherits it.

Mary Stewart's wonderful novel of suspense and intrigue set in the idyllic countryside of Savoy. A classic tale by one of the world's most beloved authors.

©1958 Mary Stewart (P)1958 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

"A wonderful wordsmith." (Scotsman)

"She built the bridge between classic literature and modern popular fiction. She did it first and she did it best." (Herald)

"One of the great British storytellers of the 20th century." (Independent)

My favorite book for decades!

I fell in love with “Nine Coaches Waiting”, written 1958, when I was in 7th grade. Don’t let the age of this book keep you from experiencing the joys of Lady Mary Stewart, who developed the romantic mystery genre of smart, adventurous heroins, able to be strong and capable in dangerous situations. And Ellie Heydon is the perfect narrator for my favorite of all of Lady Stewart’s books. And yes, her title is Lady, since her husband was knighted, though she never used the title. You won’t find the explicit sex of today’s romantic thrillers, but neither will you miss it. The book (and many of her other books) make the romance itself enough. Thank you, Audible, for finally making them available.

An excellent audio version of one of the classic mystery romance novels.

I have enjoyed Mary Stewart’s novels for decades. Nine coaches waiting was one of my first novels of this genres I read back when I was 15. Since then I’ve read and reread all of her works over the decades. So I was waiting impatiently for them to be transferred to audible format and praying that the choice of narrator would do justice to the work. This was OUTSTANDING! Her voices are excellent, her expression is perfection, the pacing and diction are flawless. You will not regret adding this audio volume to your collection.

Mary Stewart’s Best

Nine Coaches Waiting is the first Mary Stewart book that my mother read to me when I was a kid, and it has remained my favorite of her books since that time. I was beyond excited when I saw that the book was being released on audible, and fervently hoped that the narrator would do the book justice. Ellie Heydon did not disappoint. The only caution I will give is that after reading this book (the best romantic suspense) , other romantic suspense authors and novels will seem a little lacking in the comparison.

Favorite, well read

This is one of my favorite Mary Stewart suspense novels. It is a Cinderella/Jane Eyre romance with a horrible twist; someone is trying to murder her charge.
The reading is good, not exemplary when it comes to voices or accents but enjoyable and clear.

Curl up and escape!

What a wonderful little story! Spooky romantic gothic setting, truly lovable heroine, and a terrible villain! The only thing I didn’t love was the romance. It was a good love story but it felt just a little bit abrupt. Especially when you realize the entire story takes place over just a few weeks. Despite that, the setting, time period, and use of language make it an all time favorite cozy romance to read and re-read.

Superb rendition

Superbly read! The narrator flawlessly switches from accent to accent, character to character, to help the listener keep pace of the various voices on the story. A superb rendition in English and French.

Beautifully performed. Wonderful story!

This was one of my favorite books as an adolescent. This year it was finally available as an audiobook. I had high expectations of whoever would be the voice artist and she surpassed them. Simply wonderful. Mary Stewart is more known for her Merlin stories but she is unsurpassed in the romantic suspense genre I believe. Treat yourself to exotic locations and thrilling stories mixed with interesting characters.

Marvellous!

I had read this book many years ago. But I didn't remember much of it. But the whole experience of listening enthralled me.

Predictable plot, unlikable characters

This Cinderella pastiche starts out well. It is the story of two orphans and it is not clear which one is the real Cinderella of the story. Both the main character, Linda, and her young charge, Count Philip, have a split personality of sorts. Both appear and act helpless, feeble and weak. But then, on occasion, seem to find an inner core of courage which allows them some agency. I could not really empathize with the simpering Linda who is ready to submit to whatever crumbs Raoul is willing to drop on her by way of affection, attention or respect.

In some ways, the fact that the listener/reader can easily figure out what is going on but the characters themselves seem totally oblivious works two ways. It makes the reader apprehensive and so raises the tension of the story, but at the same times it makes the characters seem obtuse.

Almost all of the characters are unlikable either because of their arrogance, timidity, or willingness to use others for their own gain and then feel free to eliminate them from their lives once they have served their purpose. Essentially, this is a teenage level romance, complete with fashion, good looks, exotic locale, sneaking around, and belle of the ball scenes. It might be perfect for someone looking for this kind of story, but it did not work for me. I listened on double speed half way and then to the last chapter to see if I had nailed the plot. It was not worth my time to listen to the last third however.

Enjoyed this more than the first time I read it.

There are some authors whose work survives changing fashions. Stewart sets her early novels in the time she wrote them. They reflect the time in which they were written, but her characters deal with their current problems and pleasures just as people have through the ages. These books will be loved through even more generations.

I want to be ironic about the standard governess falling for the son of the castle and being taken off to riches. Except this trope is dealt with in ways that could and have happened in yesterday's news. Words do matter and in this book the twisted truth could have resulted in death.

Current authors who set their stories during WWII or the Roaring Twenties, or the time between the wars will never give us the feeling that we get from Mary Stewart"s descriptions of time place and people.

I love that her early work is still in print. I wish the choice of people reading her work had stronger voices. They are lovely voices, but they do not sound like a woman who fights back the way these heroines do. Not with swords, but their minds and voices.

Just as good as I remembered!

This was always one of my favourite Mary Stewart books and it didn’t disappoint. The only issue I had was that there were some odd pronunciations - I’m very surprised no editor picked up on the fact that the author of The a Thirty Nine Steps was not called ‘John Bushanne’ instead of John Buchan. Doesn’t half jerk you out of the story! That said, a lot of care was given to a French characters speaking with an accent when speaking English but not in their own language, which was very thoughtfully done.

What a joy to meet this old friend again!

Well worth the long wait

This book has been my number one comfort read since I was thirteen, so I was a little nervous that this audio version wouldn't live up to it. But it did. The narrator clearly understood that a very great part of Mary Stewart's gift is her sense of place, so where some readers might have rushed through the descriptions of landscape, of nature, this reader brought everything to it that the memorable, evocative writing deserves. And she was even better with nuances of character. All the heroine's deapth of personality came through perfectly, and ditto for Raoul. And, if anything, her rendering of young Philippe was even better. He was absolutely the haunted, brave but blossoming young boy I just love to bits. On top all this the narrator's French pronunciation, and French accented English, was, to my ears, and to those of Francophone family members, so spot on I'd love to know if she has French family of her own. So, I couldn't have enjoyed this more.

The joy of an old favourite recovered!

This Mary Stewart was the first I ever read, and I have returned to it with much pleasure over the years. To be able now to listen to her marvellous and evocative landscapes and relish the thrill of her narrative is unalloyed pleasure. Thank you Audible for this production!

Lovely but odd pronunciation

I adore Mary Stewart and know this book back to front. The narration is lovely but the story hangs on Linda Martin being French... And the French pronunciation is talented schoolgirl... Not enough to convince. Also characters' accents change all the time. It's a lack of preparation.

I can't help it... I'm a linguist so it grates a bit.

But it's nicely done aside from the quibble!

Wonderful

My favourite Mary Stewart. Beautifully read. Well paced. A treat. I've been waiting for a long time for more Mary Stewsrt books to become available and I'm glad to see many more will be available this year. I've just downloaded 'Airs above the ground " -another great favourite. Mary Stewart is a consummate story teller and if the other performances are as good as this I'll be kept enthralled for quite a while.

Really, really enjoyed this!

Although I read this many years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed it as an audio book. The narration was excellent and the story and characters pulled me in. One of Mary Stewarts's best.

Beautifully written

A slow start at first built up to what I can only describe as a beautiful book. Rich language, believable characters for the time - a different era perfectly portrayed and a good story to boot!

Wonderful book, great narration

This is not only my favourite Mary Stewart book but one of my favourite books of all time. So beautifully written and exciting. The narrator really brought the text to life. Thank you Hodder for making it into audio!

Great story, excellent narration

It's so good to see these Mary Stewart books available on Audible. This is one of her best, re-recorded with excellent narration. Thank you Audible

My Favourite Mary Stewart Book

A delight, and thoroughly enjoyed the narration of this old favourite. Not having re read for about 30 years it was a wonderful journey to travel again with the Nine Coaches. Thank you!