Winter Solstice

By: Rosamunde Pilcher

Narrated by: Jilly Bond

Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Rosamunde Pilcher, Winter Solstice (the basis for the TV movie) is the story of five unforgettable characters, lonely and haunted strangers who find love and loyalty as a reborn family of friends during the Christmas holidays.

Elfrida Phipps, once of London’s stage, moved to the English village of Dibton in hopes of making a new life for herself. Gradually she settled into the comfortable familiarity of village life—shopkeepers knowing her tastes, neighbors calling her by name—still she finds herself lonely.

Oscar Blundell gave up his life as a musician in order to marry Gloria. They have a beautiful daughter, Francesca, and it is only because of their little girl that Oscar views his sacrificed career as worthwhile.

Carrie returns from Austria at the end of an ill-fated affair with a married man to find her mother and sister sharing a home and squabbling endlessly. With Christmas approaching, Carrie agrees to look after her sister's awkward and quiet teenage daughter, Lucy, so that her mother might enjoy a romantic fling in America.

Sam Howard is trying to pull his life back together after his wife has left him for another. He is without home and without roots, all he has is his job. Business takes him to northern Scotland, where he falls in love with the lush, craggy landscape and set his sights on a house.

It is the strange rippling effects of a tragedy that will bring these five characters together in a large, neglected estate house near the Scottish fishing town of Creagan.

“Tender…evocative…an occasion to celebrate.”—People

“[Readers] may find so much enjoyment in Winter Solstice that they’ll want to revisit some of her other books, such as The Shell Seekers and Coming Home.” —USA Today

©2000 Rosamunde Pilcher (P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.

Critic reviews

“The author of The Shell Seekers has penned another romance sure to give fans the warm fuzzies.” —Publishers Weekly

“Elegant reading in which Rosamunde Pilcher provides the two hallmarks of her writing: gentle, atomospheric recreation of English lifestyles and an appealing cast of interesting people whose lives come together for new experiences while theyre making other plans.” —RT Book Reviews (four stars)

“... remarkably evocative sense of place and watercolorist's eye for muted detail.” —Kirkus Reviews

Lovely Winter Story

I had read this years ago and thought what a wonderful story, drawing all these different characters and their respective storylines together, so when I saw an unabridged recording I was excited. Another review said they didn’t click with the narrator, so I was a little leery, but I think it was fine. (I do wish the Vanessa Redgrave abridged recording would have just gone ahead with the whole book, I’m sure she did a superb job but I can’t stand abridged works:/). The narrator does do an older/creakier woman’s voice for the main character but she is supposed to be 63 or so 🤷‍♀️. She does a better job with men’s deeper voices than many female narrator, too, and her child (well, teenage girl) voice was MUCH easier on the ear than many narrators. This was an awesome listen for my commute in chilly weather, very British, very cozy. Rosamunde pilcher is wonderful, and I would listen to audiobooks by this narrator again.

A perfect winter read

A slow burn of a story but a perfect feel good read with themes of friendship, extended family relationships, healing after tragic loss, grief, redemption, and love. The narration was not my favorite. She is a talented narrator but some voices were extremely squeaky and high pitched almost as if she was talking with helium. I adjusted but wish I would have read the story instead of listening.

Jilly Bond

The story is excellent but made extremely more fascinating by her talented read, lots of talent!

What a joy!

Found this in the sale section and took a chance. I adored it and am sure it will be kept in my favorites. I had never read any of her works before but I look forward to reading more from her!

What an unexpected treasure!

I truly loved it! I laughed, smiled and cried both tears of joy and sorrow. The narrator Jilly Bond was magnificent.

Need a Happy book?

It was a wonderful story that I did want to end. The characters were so well developed! I will recommend to many people. Life is hard enough without reading books with difficult circumstances that cause you to be downcast. This one creates beautiful pictures of the outside area it takes place in. A must read!

Careful of who’s reading!

This is one of my favorite winter books, and it did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed the narration — once I made sure it was Jilly Bond reading and not Alexa! I initially was very disappointed at the robotic voice intoning the book (can’t say “reading” as there was no nuance or interpretation). I read reviews that loved Jilly Bond and a few that said it was unlistenable, which was my experience . . . until I realized that when I listened on an Alexa device, I got the robotic Alexa, not the real narration. Once I got the real narration on another device, Alexa devices used the real narration on subsequent listenings, so you can listen on your Echo or whatever.

I suppose Amazon should be proud that its Alexa fooled me for a while. Or maybe I’m just gullible!

So if you can’t understand why your book sounds so terrible, try listening on a non-Amazon device and see if that helps.

I loved every single minute of this book!

This is my second book, this month, by Rosamund Pilcher. I’m already looking to see what I can get next. I just cannot get enough of her story lines. ❤️
And, I absolutely adored the narrator, Jilly Bond

A great kickoff towards Christmas!

I love this book every time! It’s always the first book I listen to as I launch into the Christmas season—even if it’s before Thanksgiving! So many favorite books; so little time!

A Christmas package all wrapped up in a beautiful bow

Read this book because I loved her Shell Seekers. This did not disappoint. Perfect for fall reading. Her ways of visual descriptions transform the story into picture after picture. Also the Scotland parts were wonderful. Now I want to visit there. Heartwarming and perfect as an audible book.