
Bright Day
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Hannibal Hills
-
By:
-
J. B. Priestley
About this listen
Gregory Dawson, a middle-aged and disillusioned writer, is holed up in a Cornish hotel working on a film script he must finish. A chance encounter with an old acquaintance in the bar sends him back to the England of 1913, when he was just 18 and longed to enter the seemingly magical world of the glamorous Alington family and its three lovely daughters.
Replaying the events of those days in his mind, Dawson relives a long-forgotten story that ended with a mysterious tragedy whose effects linger on in the present and threaten to shatter his placid existence.
In the vein of Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, J. B. Priestley’s Bright Day (1946) is one of his finest works and his own favorite of his novels, a haunting and unforgettable evocation of a vanished England as yet unravaged by the devastation of two world wars.
“One of the best of J. B. Priestley’s novels...provides an opportunity to revalue a writer not merely hugely popular in his own day but also, with more than 100 titles to his credit, hugely prolific.” (Francis King, The Spectator)
“A glow of the magic of poignant rediscovery.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“I do not think Priestley has ever written anything better than this book.” (News Chronicle)
©1946, 2019 J. B. Priestley (P)2020 Valancourt Books LLCListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Good Companions
- By: J. B. Priestley
- Narrated by: Rodney Bewes
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Good Companions follows a number of discontents or ‘lost souls’ as they respectively gravitate towards a concert troupe that is on the verge of disbanding. An adventure around the Shires of England following the fates and fortunes of the unlikely group, The Good Companions is a popular contemporary classic which has recently experienced a resurgence in public interest and acclaim due to the finesse of Priestley’s writing.
-
-
Loved it
- By planetelaine on 06-22-23
By: J. B. Priestley
-
City of Girls
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Narrated by: Blair Brown
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance.
-
-
A strong story
- By Anita Kristensen on 06-08-19
-
Tender Is the Night
- By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character - lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative.
-
-
Subtle yet grand
- By jb on 10-12-15
-
Brat Farrar
- By: Josephine Tey
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A stranger enters the inner sanctum of the Ashby family posing as Patrick Ashby, the heir to the family’s sizeable fortune. The stranger, Brat Farrar, has been carefully coached on Patrick’s mannerisms, appearance and every significant detail of Patrick’s early life, up to his 13th year when he disappeared and was thought to have drowned himself.
-
-
Great all around
- By Catherine on 10-23-11
By: Josephine Tey
-
Indiscretions of Archie
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"I think the Cosmopolis is a bally rotten hotel!" Having made a bitter enemy of Daniel Brewster, owner of New York's Hotel Cosmopolis, Archie Moffam (fresh from England) checks out and heads south, where he woos and weds one Lucille Brewster...little thinking. Back at the Hotel Cosmopolis, Archie once again finds himself confronted by Mr. Brewster, who resembles nothing so much as a "man-eating fish." And then the fun begins...
-
-
Brilliant quintessential Wodehouse
- By rmd on 02-23-24
By: P. G. Wodehouse
-
The Best of Jeeves and Wooster
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Kevin Theis
- Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Collected here are eleven of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster short stories (comprising all of the Jeeves tales from "Carry On, Jeeves" and "My Man Jeeves") as well as the complete novels Right Ho, Jeeves and The Inimitable Jeeves. Along with Jeeves and Bertie, we are introduced to an entire cast of beloved Wodehouse characters: Gussie Fink-Nottle, Madeline Bassett, Bingo Little, James "Corky" Corcoran, Tuppy and Honoria Glossop, Rockmetteller Todd, and the terrifying and bombastic Aunt Agatha.
-
-
Icky, Icky, Icky Pooh
- By Cenobite on 06-20-22
By: P. G. Wodehouse
-
The Good Companions
- By: J. B. Priestley
- Narrated by: Rodney Bewes
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Good Companions follows a number of discontents or ‘lost souls’ as they respectively gravitate towards a concert troupe that is on the verge of disbanding. An adventure around the Shires of England following the fates and fortunes of the unlikely group, The Good Companions is a popular contemporary classic which has recently experienced a resurgence in public interest and acclaim due to the finesse of Priestley’s writing.
-
-
Loved it
- By planetelaine on 06-22-23
By: J. B. Priestley
-
City of Girls
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Narrated by: Blair Brown
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance.
-
-
A strong story
- By Anita Kristensen on 06-08-19
-
Tender Is the Night
- By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character - lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative.
-
-
Subtle yet grand
- By jb on 10-12-15
-
Brat Farrar
- By: Josephine Tey
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A stranger enters the inner sanctum of the Ashby family posing as Patrick Ashby, the heir to the family’s sizeable fortune. The stranger, Brat Farrar, has been carefully coached on Patrick’s mannerisms, appearance and every significant detail of Patrick’s early life, up to his 13th year when he disappeared and was thought to have drowned himself.
-
-
Great all around
- By Catherine on 10-23-11
By: Josephine Tey
-
Indiscretions of Archie
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"I think the Cosmopolis is a bally rotten hotel!" Having made a bitter enemy of Daniel Brewster, owner of New York's Hotel Cosmopolis, Archie Moffam (fresh from England) checks out and heads south, where he woos and weds one Lucille Brewster...little thinking. Back at the Hotel Cosmopolis, Archie once again finds himself confronted by Mr. Brewster, who resembles nothing so much as a "man-eating fish." And then the fun begins...
-
-
Brilliant quintessential Wodehouse
- By rmd on 02-23-24
By: P. G. Wodehouse
-
The Best of Jeeves and Wooster
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Kevin Theis
- Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Collected here are eleven of Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster short stories (comprising all of the Jeeves tales from "Carry On, Jeeves" and "My Man Jeeves") as well as the complete novels Right Ho, Jeeves and The Inimitable Jeeves. Along with Jeeves and Bertie, we are introduced to an entire cast of beloved Wodehouse characters: Gussie Fink-Nottle, Madeline Bassett, Bingo Little, James "Corky" Corcoran, Tuppy and Honoria Glossop, Rockmetteller Todd, and the terrifying and bombastic Aunt Agatha.
-
-
Icky, Icky, Icky Pooh
- By Cenobite on 06-20-22
By: P. G. Wodehouse
-
Father
- By: Elizabeth Von Arnim
- Narrated by: Penelope Freeman
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since her mother's death, Jennifer has devoted years of her life to her father, managing the family home. After the sudden announcement that he has taken a new wife, Jennifer, at 33, seizes the opportunity to lead an independent life. Quickly she secures the lease of Rose Cottage and turns her attention to her own interests. While Jennifer is desperate to experience life on her own terms within her reduced financial means, her neighbour, Alice, is pre-occupied with ensuring her position as head of her brother's household is never challenged.
-
-
Worse Audio Book I Have Ever Heard
- By Phyllis Woodford on 11-05-21
-
What Once Was True
- By: Jean Grainger
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Robinswood, Co. Waterford, 1939. The once grand house is home to two very different families. Despite delusions of grandeur, Lord and Lady Kenefick and their adult children live a life of decayed opulence as the money needed to keep such a large house and grounds ever dwindles. Meanwhile, the Murphy family, Dermot, Isabella and their three almost grown-up girls, live and work on the estate and do their best to keep everything running smoothly.
-
-
I throughly enjoyed every minute of this book
- By paula wright on 09-16-20
By: Jean Grainger
-
Cloudy Jewel
- By: Grace Livingston Hill
- Narrated by: Paula Faye Leinweber
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julia Cloud had a gentle, caring spirit, devoting her life to her Lord Jesus and caring for others, including her invalid mother. After her mother's death she was faced with a bleak life of poverty until an unexpected visit from her wealthy niece and nephew completely changed her life. They were off to college and wanted "Cloudy Jewel", their childhood nickname for Julia, to come and be their mother and chaperone. Thus started a new adventure for all three, full of love and happiness.
-
-
Beautiful Book about Faith and Homemaking
- By Clarinetgal on 06-11-19
-
Aunt Crete's Emancipation
- By: Grace Livingston Hill
- Narrated by: Anne Hancock
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aunt Crete has spent a lifetime of toil catering to the needs of her family, especially her waspish sister, Carrie, and social-climbing niece, Louella. When a telegram from a nephew from out west announces his imminent arrival, mother and daughter hasten a trip to the shore to escape the "country cousin" who they are sure will shame them.
-
-
Cute Story with a Great Moral
- By Stephanie Aguilar on 08-03-16
-
The Secret of Chimneys
- By: Agatha Christie
- Narrated by: Charles Armstrong
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This mystery novel follows Anthony Cade, a man who unknowingly finds himself in the middle of an international conspiracy and a murder investigation after accepting a simple delivery job from an old friend. As Cade slowly begins to realize his predicament has potentially put him in danger, he begins his own investigation into the strange series of events just as Inspector Battle of Scotland Yard begins the main, official investigation.
-
-
Give it half an hour and then it's lots of fun listening!
- By Avid Listener on 02-20-21
By: Agatha Christie
-
Maurice
- By: E. M. Forster
- Narrated by: Peter Firth
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'Ah for darkness...not the darkness of a house which coops up a man among furniture, but the darkness where he can be free!' Maurice Hall knows he must choose between living life in the shadows or denying himself a chance at love and fulfilment. Aware of his attraction to the same sex, in a time where it was considered unlawful and immoral to have homosexual desires, Maurice must decide whether to battle or submit to a prejudiced 20th-century English society.
-
-
Finally!!! It's past time!
- By Christopher P. on 11-18-10
By: E. M. Forster
-
Katherine Wentworth
- By: D. E. Stevenson
- Narrated by: Lesley Mackie
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Married at 19, Katherine had four years of happiness with her beloved Gerald. When he dies, she is left on her own to bring up a stepson, Simon, and her own little twins. She has known what it is to be loved and cherished, and without Gerald, all she wants is independence, and the freedom to bring up his children as he would have liked. When an unexpected letter arrives for Simon, offering him a very different life, Katherine is concerned that he makes the right choice.
-
-
Love grows in Edinburgh!
- By Jerri C on 06-01-13
By: D. E. Stevenson
-
Spring Magic
- By: D. E. Stevenson
- Narrated by: Lesley Mackie
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Frances Field arrives in a scenic coastal village in Scotland, having escaped her dreary life as an orphan, treated as little more than a servant by an uncle and aunt. Once there, she encounters an array of eccentric locals, the occasional roar of enemy planes overhead and three army wives - Elise, Tommy and Tillie - who become fast friends. Elise warns Frances of the discomforts of military life, but she’s inclined to disregard the advice when she meets the dashing and charming Captain Guy Tarlatan.
-
-
WWII Home Front
- By Jerri C on 06-05-19
By: D. E. Stevenson
-
The Musgraves
- By: D. E. Stevenson
- Narrated by: Anne Dover
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tangled destinies of an unusual family are played out against the backdrop of the English countryside where two pretty sisters and a beautiful widow take centre stage in a drama of dangerous flirtation and backstairs gossip. Esther Musgrave, an attractive widow, has her hands full trying to keep her energetic family together – and on speaking terms! Her three daughters, prickly Delia, sensible Meg and carefree Rose, mean everything to her, especially since the death of her husband, Charles.
-
-
Sibling rivaly
- By Jerri C on 08-01-11
By: D. E. Stevenson
-
Lucky Jim
- By: Kingsley Amis
- Narrated by: James Lailey
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of Jim Dixon, a hapless lecturer in medieval history at a provincial university who knows better than most that “there was no end to the ways in which nice things are nicer than nasty ones.” Kingsley Amis’s scabrous debut leads the audience through a gallery of emphatically English bores, cranks, frauds, and neurotics with whom Dixon must contend in one way or another in order to hold on to his cushy academic perch and win the girl of his fancy.
-
-
Satisfactory, but a Bit Stale
- By SandyK on 07-18-23
By: Kingsley Amis
-
The Adventures of Sally
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pretty, impecunious Sally Nicholas never dreamed a fortune could prove a disadvantage, until she became an heiress and watched in bewilderment as her orderly existence went haywire. Coping first with her brother's wild theatrical ambitions, then with the defection of her fiancé and his immediate replacement by a much more appropriate but strangely unattractive suitor, Sally finds that life in New York is becoming altogether too complicated, and a trip to England only makes the whole situation worse.
-
-
Jerky, Choppy, Scrambling, Untidy. But I Like It.
- By John on 11-05-20
By: P. G. Wodehouse
-
Vittoria Cottage
- Drumberley, Book 1
- By: D. E. Stevenson
- Narrated by: Lesley Mackie
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since being widowed, Caroline Dering has been content to live her life solely for her children. Then the mysterious Robert Shepperton arrives in the village. At first, Caroline's gentle heart is simply touched by his obvious unhappiness; until gradually she finds her sympathy turning into love. But the visit of her lovely younger sister, Harriet, to Vittoria Cottage, throws Caroline into a turmoil - because Harriet also falls for Mr. Shepperton....
-
-
a good listen to a wonderful novel
- By Carol Mello on 04-03-17
By: D. E. Stevenson
What listeners say about Bright Day
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Magnus P.
- 12-03-21
Wonderful Storytelling!
Pure joy to sit back and listen to a classic story beautifully told! I hope other J. B. Priestley titles, not currently available, make their way to audio soon.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kate C.
- 04-18-23
Pleasure and Meaning
A wonderful book, masterfully read. Narrator deftly manages many accents and characters, ages and genders. A great story but also full of ideas and feeling. My favorite book for a long while and one that will stay with me.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful