The Tale of Castle Cottage

Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, Book 8

By: Susan Wittig Albert

Narrated by: Virginia Leishman

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

Agatha and Anthony Award nominee Susan Wittig Albert has garnered popular and critical acclaim for her whimsical mysteries based on the life and times of Beatrix Potter. Set in the summertime splendor of 1913 England, this eighth tale finds Beatrix eager to marry her fiancé, solicitor William Heelis. But a few obstacles are still blocking the happy couple’s path to the altar - like the troubled remodeling of Castle Cottage, Will and Beatrix’s future home.

©2011 Susan Wittig Albert (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Enjoyed all 8 books!

This was a wonderful finish to a delightful series! I will likely relisten to them all eventually...

A nice quaint series

This is my favorite of the series. I liked learning more about Beatrice Potter's life. This has been a good wholesome series and is kid friendly.

Delightful!

I find nothing to dislike about Miss Albert's book. The elements of mystery captured my interest. The animals' conversations and activities frequently tickled my funny bone, and I love the fascinating information about the history and culture of the British Empire so effectively woven into the story. Most of all, though, I loved the relationships among the characters. I highly recommend this and all the Cottage Tale books.

Like Potato Chips: Bet You Can't Have Just One!!!

As most reviewers, I was sorry to see this series come to an end. Susan Wittig Albert did an excellent job crafting these stories of the life of Beatrix Potter, blending real events from Ms. Potter's life into the charming mystery tales of Near and Far Sawrey in England's Lake District.

The animals -- farm, wild, and fantasy -- are a big part of each Cottage Tale. For the most part, I enjoyed that perspective, but there were a couple of times that we seemed to be spending more time with the animals than we were with the people.

Virginia Leishman does an excellent job with the narration. I've looked for other books she has narrated and there are several I will be adding to my library.

Save up your credits! After you listen to Book 1, The Tale of Hilltop Farm, you're going to want the next Tale and the next and the next...

The Last One :(

I have really enjoyed this entire series. It has encouraged me to read more about Beatrix Potter, more about land conservation in England, and more about Heardwick sheep. I feel that I have become friends with everyone (animals and people) in the village and will really miss hearing about them. The mysteries are clearly secondary but they are fun and light. Making sure that Mr. Healis and Miss Potter ended up together and how it happened was much more important. I really cared about the characters. It is hard to believe that the series is over and I am finished with it. I think this series is appropriate for anyone, and particularly could see this series playing on a long car ride with various ages in the car.

A Treasure

If you could sum up The Tale of Castle Cottage in three words, what would they be?

Perfect delightful Treat

What did you like best about this story?

The author is masterful storyteller and has breathed life into Beatrix Potter, woman artist and author.

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

never. she is a force for quality entertainment.

If you could rename The Tale of Castle Cottage, what would you call it?

Oh I wish this book would never end.

Cozy at it's finest

If you enjoy a cozy mystery based on the life of a highly intelligent female, living "ahead of her times," mixed with adorable animals, set in the Edwardian English countryside, then this tale, and the entire series, is definitely for you. I've enjoyed the series and Ms Leishman's lovely voice as narrator so much, I've listened several times through. This is one of those magical series that's masterfully written and beautifully narrated, you won't want each book to end. The perfect pick me up books for the listening library.

nicely presented finale for the series

This(I believe) is the final book in the Cottage Tales series. This is much like the earlier ones, but we finally see some resolution for Ms Potter. The reading was very good. The book is on par with the others in the series, except that it felt like the character development in this episode was a bit sparse.