The Glittering Hour

A Novel

By: Iona Grey

Narrated by: Imogen Church

Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

"The Glittering Hour is an exceptional novel about choosing how to live amid powerful grief and true love." (Bookpage)

Award-winning author Iona Grey's next unforgettable historical about true love found and lost and the secrets we keep from one another

Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing. Her life is a whirl of parties and drinking, pursued by the press and staying on just the right side of scandal, all while running from the life her parents would choose for her.

Lawrence Weston is a penniless painter who stumbles into Selina's orbit one night and can never let her go even while knowing someone of her stature could never end up with someone of his. Except Selina falls hard for Lawrence, envisioning a life of true happiness. But when tragedy strikes, Selina finds herself choosing what's safe over what's right.

Spanning two decades and a seismic shift in British history as World War II approaches, Iona Grey's The Glittering Hour is an epic novel of passion, heartache and loss.

"An absorbing tale of love, loss, and the ties that bind... A sweeping historical saga that captures the desires and dilemmas of the heart." (Booklist)

©2019 Iona Grey (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Give it a chance, it is beautiful.

I bought this 2 weeks ago on a whim. It took a minute to get into it, but I listen during my commute to and from work. With Covid19 clearing the roads, I finally was able to focus on it. The story really blossoms after Lawrence enters the fold. Give it a chance, it will surprise you. I work in a Doctor's Office and all I have wanted to do all day at work while life implodes around me is listen to this book. The narrator makes you slow down, focus, and listen. This book was exactly what I needed. ❤️

Outstanding story & performance

Once again Imogen Church is outstanding as a narrator. The story is wonderfully written, takes you back in time but tells you a wonderfully painful love story. I absolutely loved it all!!

"Does not disappoint. Beautiful. Spend the credit!

Not enough praise can be given. The details the author weaves so you feel like you're there, the characters, the achingly beautifully told love story, The narration is Amazing. I usually listen to Psychological Thrillers, but veered in a different lane. So glad I did. It took my breath away.

Good but sad

Well written, narrator was fantastic. But if you are a down, wait to listen to this one until you’re feeling a bit more chipper, then it will bring you down again 🤣🤣

Loved it

Such a sweet story and very stirring. I loved the performance and am so glad I listened rather than read this story.

Gorgeous and True

This. All the feels for this book, with its deep emotion. Something like The Thirteenth Hour meets Atonement in the moment between the great wars. This should be the next “it” fiction that everyone reads, it’s that good.

What happens when a girl is born in the jazz age as a part of the set, but she sees beyond it? Life, life happens and turns everything on its head.

Loved my first audio book!

This was my first audiobook and I am so glad I picked this one. I was a bit skeptical at first and found my mind wandering (totally on me, not the author’s words or the narrator). However I was quickly drawn in to this beautiful and tragic love story. I particularly enjoyed the format the most. Told in two different time periods, Alice learns the story of how she came to be from the mother she adores. Her mother writes to her and sends her on a treasure hunt full of riddles that help her explore the estate she grew up in. Unfortunately, Selena, Alice’s mother, left her in the care of her own mother at Blackwood while she and her husband attend to business in Burma. Alice is lonely and missing her mother quite terribly. But with some kindness by a maid Polly, she starts to write her mother letters and learns of her mother’s life the summer before she was born. The writing in this novel was glittering and gorgeous. The descriptions and imagery were something I didn’t know I needed in my life. Themes of love, loss, loneliness and innocence were quite prevalent. I absolutely adored this book and these characters.

Slow start....stick with it

I had a tough time getting into this book and debated whether I would stick with it. So glad that I did. When it finally grabbed hold of me, it wouldn’t let go! Turned out to be a really good story!

A fabulous read or listen!

I truly enjoyed listening to this book. The narration was excellent and the voicing lended themselves to the story. Based on alternating timelines between 1925 and 1936, it’s the tale of the aftermath of WWI and the impact on the rules of society in England including the aimless nature of the Bright Young People and the struggle of families to come to grips with lost loved ones, both in death and through the scars of war. As times changes and the big houses of England begin to falter the focus is on one woman’s struggle to find herself and gain independence then falling in love with “the wrong sort” of man not of her social class. What results is a beautiful story that unfolds through the notes left for a nine year old girl who is sent on a hunt for clues about her mother’s past and how she “came to be.” It’s a long reveal but so totally worth it. Beautiful and emotional in just the right amount!

The Glittering Hour

I had difficulty with the slow start but I am pleased to have stuck with it. As many reviews express it was beautifully written and just as well narrated.