The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book VI

The Long-Lost Home

By: Maryrose Wood

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham

Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

For fans of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society, here comes the final book in the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, the acclaimed and hilarious Victorian mystery series by Maryrose Wood.

Unhappy Penelope Lumley is trapped in unhappy Plinkst! Even the beets for which Plinkst is inexplicably famous fail to grow in this utterly miserable Russian village. Penelope anxiously counts the days and wonders how she will ever get back to England in time to save all the Ashtons - who, she now knows, include herself and the Incorrigible children, although their precise location on the family tree is still a mystery - from their accursèd fate.

Her daring scheme to escape sends her on a wildly unexpected journey. But time is running out, and the not-really-dead Edward Ashton is still on the loose. His mad obsession with the wolfish curse on the Ashtons puts Penelope and the Incorrigibles in dire peril. As Penelope fights her way back to her beloved pupils, the three brave Incorrigibles endure their gloomy new tutor and worriedly prepare for the arrival of Lady Constance’s baby. Little do they know the danger they’re in!

In this action-packed conclusion to the acclaimed series, mysteries are solved and long-lost answers are found. Only one question remains: Will Penelope and the Incorrigibles find a way to undo the family curse in time, or will the next full moon be their last?

©2018 Maryrose Wood (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Fiona Hardingham narrates the final Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place audiobook with exuberance, charm, and impeccable timing.... Hardingham deftly incorporates a wide range of accents and voices, including those of chilling villains, distracted fathers, and ridiculous ladies of leisure. Listeners will be completely engaged by her comedic timing, which adds piquancy to Wood's witty repartee and over-the-top puns. A thoroughly satisfying conclusion and delightful listen for all ages." (AudioFile)

Great end to a fun series

I’m glad I didn’t know about this series until this summer after the last book came out. I don’t like to be left hanging! I loved the story and how it was woven together throughout the series. I absolutely adored Katherine Kellgren who performed the first five books! The narrator who stepped in for this final book did a good job. No one could have matched the characters’ voices from the first five books, but under the circumstances, Fiona Hardingham did very well.

Good narrator, but not like Katherine Kellgren.

Loved getting to the end of this book so that I could finally unravel the mysterious lives of the Incorrigibles! Wonderfully imaginative story line! Such a shame that Katherine Kellgren was unable to narrate this final book, but well worth the listen anyway.

Absolutely wonderful!

I waited years to listen to this book, because I didn’t want to listen to a narrator who wasn’t Katherine Kellgren. I thought there would be no way any narrator could do the book justice. I was wrong. What huge shoes Fiona Hardingham had to fill, and she did a brilliant job! I loved every minute of this listen. I laughed out loud several times because of the wonderful writing and performance. What a lovely way to wrap up this series. I’m in my 50s, and truly enjoyed all of these books. I look forward to reading them to my nieces someday. Also, the acknowledgement at the end/tribute to Katy, made me burst into tears.

Love is a Good Book

The long awaited (in our family) conclusion of the ICOAP series was all we hoped it would be. Adventure, chases, escapes, loyalty, betrayal and love all told in the words of the inimitable Maryrose Wood and performed with care by Fiona Hardingham. Ms. Hardingham had a tough act to follow with the loss of Katherine Kellgren and she managed it with grace and heart.

The best book in the series!!!

I'm glad I followed through with the complete series! The ending was well worth it!
{10/01/2020 Full Moon}

good ending to a great series

This book was a satisfying conclusion to a really delightful series. Fiona Hardingham was a great narrator. She did an expert job of duplicating Katherine Kellgren's voices from the previous books. I felt like she carried over Maryrose Wood's tone from the previous books.

Fiona is fine, but Kellgren set an impossibly high bar

Fiona Hardingham is among the best voice actresses working today but Katherine Kellgren may be the greatest voice actress of all time; it’s just not the same without her.
Anyone who has heard Katherine Kellgren at work will miss her and mourn her tragic loss to cancer. Kellgren threw herself into each character she voiced and was fearless in relating an author’s work. In “Ashton Place” her barks, howls, whoops, and other onomatopoeia gave so much to the story; I never once imagined the sounds blandly spelled out like the cheesy “pew-pew” of a comic book laser gun. You always had the sense that Kellgren had read the book, rehearsed and tried out voices, sounds, and inflections. She read like each story was important to her, like she loved acting and voice acting was where she knew she would be special.
Hardingham has a beautiful voice and I can find no fault with her work. The difference is in the work, preparation, and treatment of the text. Where Kellgren invested her life’s work into voice acting, Hardingham seems to be voice acting until she waits for her big break into TV or film. When Kellgren howled and barked like no one was watching, Hardingham reads the words like a girl in school who doesn’t want to be teased about her performance.
I realize I didn’t really address the story, characters, author or any other element of the book but that’s because it didn’t change. The story is creative, compelling, silly, and highly entertaining without taking itself too seriously. It has always been great and I’m just as impressed with Maryrose Wood now as ever.
I’ve read hundreds and hundreds of books on audible, more than 550 in the last four years and enjoyed this series as one of the top ten best; it would not have had nearly such a strong impact on me without Katherine Kellgren.

Flawless

We have been absolutely captivated by the entire Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. We were sad to not have the familiar voice of Katherine Kellgren narrating, but once we adjusted to the new voice, Fiona Hardingham, we were completely entranced to hear how this beloved story would play out. Fiona had big shoes to fill, but did this epic ending to a masterful series well.

Could be A little more English

I like this book a lot the Author is good the narrators good but there’s one problem the The Russian part it’s a bit boring nothing new happened until she Escapes and then they spend too much time on the traveling part so I feel it could be a bit more exciting in the beginning it’s just when she escaped and she’s with the emerald ring I feel it there could be more or less just to make it more exciting but overall it’s amazing

Favorite Series but heartbroken the original narrator died

These books have been on of the highlights of my childhood! I have listened to each one at least 7 times each. I just never get tired of them. The narrator is good but I still much prefer the original lady who narrated the past books in this series. Penelope is a great character but a little to perfect also I wish there had been more romance between Penelope and Simon❤️