The Long and the Short of It

The Chronicles of St. Mary's

By: Jodi Taylor

Narrated by: Zara Ramm

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Follow the disaster magnets of St Mary's as they hurtle around history! The ninth book in The Chronicles of St Mary's Series collects the best-selling short stories in audio for the first time.

'When a Child Is Born': a jump back to 1066 to witness the coronation of William the Conqueror goes slightly astray.

'Roman Holiday': Max and her team become spectacularly involved with Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and a basket of confused asps.

'Christmas Present': an attempt to rescue lost historians involving an enraged pig and Boudicca herself.

'The Very First Damned Thing': discover the truth about the very beginning of St Mary's.

'Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings': a gun left behind in ancient Egypt and a race against time to prevent a catastrophe.

'The Great St Mary's Day Out': hooray! It's a happy holiday. For everyone except Max, the only one with her mind on the job.

'My Name Is Markham': Alfred, the cakes and Mr Markham. The Great British Bake Off it's not!

And a bonus a new and previously unpublished short story - 'A Perfect Storm'.

©2017 Jodi Taylor (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"Taylor has written a madcap and very funny hodgepodge of a novel whose pacing and humour is reminiscent of a Simon Pegg Edgar Wright film." ( Booklist)

Yes people it's a collection of shorts

Yes there is only one new short story. Yes you can buy it standalone for less if you are patient. However, I wanted all the shorts together so this book satisfies my needs. All the shorts together and one new story.
The new one wasn't my favourite ever but it was still enjoyable.

Loved It! Jodi's Intros were great!

I loved the new story and fell in love with the previously released stories all over again. Jodi Taylor is my favorite author and she's never let me down.
ps: read the description, this is a compilation of stories, with intros by the author a new story at the end.

Can’t get enough of St Mary’s

This is a collection of most of the short stories from the series “THE CHRONICLES OF ST.MARY’S” by Jodi Taylor A lot of great humor, wonderful well developed characters, clever plot twists, murder, mystery, mayhem. And a little romance too but nothing gooey.
Actually anything by JT Is wonderful. The Time Police series, Elizabeth Cage Series, FrogMorton Farm, Bachelor Establishment.

Jodi Taylor Rules!

This compilation of Jodi's short stories in the world of 'The Chronicles of St. Mary's' is wonderful! Some people have complained because they 'didn't know' it was a compilation and not a brand new story (a new short story is included at the end), but this information was everywhere, and it is so unfair to dock such a talented and funny author because these people didn't read. Jodi Taylor deserves nothing less than 5 stars, as does the wonderful reading by Zara Ramm.

Great stories! Great fun!

I had listened to most of the other stories before this, except for two and, of course, the last story. The others were good but the last story was great! I laughed my butt off. Only wish I could really laugh my butt off (sigh). Great audio all around!

Compilation of Short Stories- great purchase!

If you could sum up The Long and the Short of It in three words, what would they be?

Love Her (Jodi Taylor) Writing. She makes you laugh and she makes you cry. This book is a compilation of her short stories, not what I would call Book 9 of The Chronicles of St. Mary's. Short Stories included: When a Child is Born; Roman Holiday; Christmas Present; Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings; The Very First Damned Thing; The Great St. Mary's Day Out*; My Name is Markham*; A Perfect Storm. This is a great deal because several of these you can purchase separately,* and could cost as much as this one.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Max - quitting is not in her repertoire

Have you listened to any of Zara Ramm’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Just the St. Mary's series - she does a fabulous job

A Collection Of All The St Mary's Novellas

What did you love best about The Long and the Short of It?

That the novella's are fairly self contained and without a lot of distracting side plotlines. They get right to the point with all of their action and humor.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Long and the Short of It?

I think that the Great St. Mary's Day Out, while having the least impact on the greater storyline, is absolutely hilarious and, in my opinion, the best of the bunch.

Which character – as performed by Zara Ramm – was your favorite?

Max with her inherent snarky-ness.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Spend a little time with the disaster magnets of St. Mary's between missions.

Any additional comments?

All great additions to the greater storyline. Most are fairly specific in where they place in the greater storyline. All very worthy additions, but even better if you know where they fit in.

I just love this series!

This book is a collection of short stories, including a prequel, which can only be appreciated after reading the preceding books 1-8 of the Chronicles of St. Marys. Each story is a gem. So excited for the next installment of the Chronicles due out in the Spring.

A bunch of short stories that fill in the gaps

I absolutely adore the St. Mary's Chronicles! And Zara Ramm brings the characters to life! This book is a compilation of short stories that (sort of) fill in between the major books.

The author being a history buff, has kept all her St. Mary's stories close to the historical happenings, even with the “investigate major historical events in contemporary time" (aka time travel).

I look forward to hearing more of her St. Mary's stories!

That was extremely enjoyable

I cannot begin to tell anyone how much I have enjoyed this series. What I have learned is I can listen to these books a few times and they don't grow old, or tired or boring. The characters are just as fun and interesting on the third go round as on the first. Thank you Jodi and Zara for hours and hours of entertainment.

Very unfair for people to complain

I find it extraordinary that people are complaining that this is a compliation of previously released stories. Don't they read the blurb???? It says quite clearly "The ninth book in The Chronicles of St Mary's Series collects the best-selling short stories in audio for the first time." It then goes on to say at the end "And a bonus a new and previously unpublished short story - 'A Perfect Storm'." How could this have been made clearer? And to cap that, it is ridiculously easy to get credits back from Audible if a book isn't liked. Get your credit back and next time, read the description first and don't blame others for your own shortcomings!

This book was issued primarily as a paper back for people who do not have Kindles or Audio after massive requests, because issuing short stories in paperback is not commercially viable. It wasn't intended to issue it in Audio also, but again, the fans asked for this. At the ridiculously low prices that these are available, neither the author nor the publisher is going to be retiring on the profits, for goodness sake!

If are buying this because you want it, don't hesitate. The books are totally brilliant, the short stories in particular are fun, but if you haven't read the 'full' books they may seem a little disjointed as they are 'fillers'. The narrator is also fantastic and adds so much to the story by reading it so well.

So excited, then so disappointed!

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Why would Jodi Taylor do this? An author with devoted followers and she releases a new book, book 9 in the series, and I find that it is just a rehashed series of previously published short stories!

What could Jodi Taylor have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

She could have actually written a new book!

Which character – as performed by Zara Ramm – was your favourite?

Zara Ramm is always outstanding.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger, I feel misled by the way this book was presented,
Sadness, I will miss all at St Mary's
Disappointment because I feel compelled never to buy another book by Jodi Taylor.

All new introductions to the re-issued books

Where does The Long and the Short of It rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This version of the short stories rank highly for me due to the all new introductions to each story. I already have all the previous short stories from audible and this is the icing on the cake.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Long and the Short of It?

My name is Markham. I enjoyed the stand alone version which was ok-ish but this version narrated by Zara Ramm had me laughing outright.

What does Zara Ramm bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

She brings the whole thing to life and it seems (with a good imagination) that you can actually see events as they enfold, hence the hoots of laughter.

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

I always enjoyed the early stories. See notes above regarding My Name is Markham. The new book to the series, Perfect Storm also had me laughing out loud ~ the nutters were at it again with great gobs of detritus flying in all directions.

Ignore the doubters, well worth a listen

This is a worthy investment purely for the last story, Zara Ramm is the voice of the motley St Mary's crew and although I have the previously published Ebola it was a pleasure to hear them read in their oh so familiar voices.
Jodi Taylor has been asked by many readers to put together a collection of her short stories and it is patently obvious from the description what the book contains so I cannot comprehend those who complain at buying this version only to criticise the fact it is an anthology of previously published works. It's like buying a box of eggs and getting home to complain the box contained eggs not oranges!
I li
I love these stories and hope there are many more to come. Well written with humour and an enviable comradeship by Jodi Taylor the characters are brilliantly brought to life by Zara Ramm, invest your credit wisely and enjoy a trip up and down the timeline in excellent company.

Great to have them all in one place!

Loved these stories the first time round & so good to have an excuse to listen to them again! Also, much enjoyed Zara Ramm's reading of 'My Name Is Markham'! No one else can quite get that accent right! So glad Jodi Taylor brought him back from the dead - these wonderful books just wouldn't be the same without him!!

Take Care! Rehash

This title is only worth having if you do not have the previously issued stories.

Misleading description

Excellent It is so nice to have all the short stories in one place, not to mention all read by our favourite narrator.

The new addition to the series is absolutely hilarious! Just what I needed to put a smile on my face after the succession of awful headlines we've been bombarded by lately. Thank you Jodie.

wasted credit

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Own them all some of them are free or very cheap

What was most disappointing about Jodi Taylor’s story?

Only that I have them already

What didn’t you like about Zara Ramm’s performance?

I love her story telling

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointed wasted credit and I brought 3 extra so I could get it on the day it came out

Great final story

Would you try another book written by Jodi Taylor or narrated by Zara Ramm?

I have all of her St. Mary's books - I think Zara Ramm's performances are excellent

Who was your favorite character and why?

Max of course as everything revolves around her. She has developed over the years

Which character – as performed by Zara Ramm – was your favourite?

Markham. Always distinct characterisations.

What character would you cut from The Long and the Short of It?

None

Any additional comments?

Eager for all St Mary's stories I spent a monthly credit on this new book. It was a misnomer to call this book 9 as all the previous short stories have been ordered as (a) to keep the chronology. I'd already downloaded all but the final short stories for free from Audible so my overall score for the book is much lower than it truly deserves if you have never had the stories previously.

Poor reviews, but I loved it

I was prepared to be disappointed as this is re-issued short stories, but I wasn't at all. A lot of reviews are so angry as Jodi Taylor has already issued these stories and people think she is making a fast buck.
The introduction says that she has put together these tales by request - specifically for a paper back edition - but each story has its own introduction and 'where the idea came from', I have bought every one of Jodi Taylor's books, but didn't feel that I was being ripped off with this, the stories hung together well, and it is easier to recap in the form that this has been issued - than if I had to search for and re-read the shorts.

My only complaint, is one that I have made before - a minor one - Zara Ramm gets the pronunciation of wondering (wUndering) and wandering (wOndering) mixed up and it always takes me a moment to figure it out as she uses them wrongly. Apart from this Zara Ramm is a brilliant narrator for these books.