
The Blue Book
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 $17.43
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Juliet Stevenson
-
By:
-
A. L. Kennedy
About this listen
Longlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction
Elizabeth Barber is crossing the Atlantic by liner with her perfectly adequate boyfriend, Derek, who might be planning to propose. In fleeing the UK - temporarily - Elizabeth may also be in flight from her past and the charismatic Arthur, once her partner in what she came to see as a series of crimes.
Together they acted as fake mediums, perfecting the arcane skills practised by effective frauds. Elizabeth finally rejected what once seemed an intoxicating game. Arthur continued his search for the right way to do wrong. He now subsidises free closure for the traumatised and dispossessed by preying on the super-rich. The pair still meets occasionally, for weekends of sexual oblivion, but their affection lacerates as much as it consoles. She hadn’t, though, expected the other man on the boat.
As her voyage progresses, Elizabeth’s past is revealed, codes slowly form and break as communication deepens. It’s time for her to discover who the true deceivers are and who are the truly deceived.
What’s more is the book itself - a fiction which may not always be lying - deceiving the listener? Offering illusions and false trails, magical numbers and redemptive humour, this is a novel about what happens when we are misled and when we are true: an extraordinarily intricate and intimate journey into our minds and hearts undertaken by a writer of great gifts - a maker of wonders.
©2011 A. L. Kennedy (P)2011 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
We Are All Made of Stars
- A Novel
- By: Rowan Coleman
- Narrated by: Ben Allen, Avita Jay
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We Are All Made of Stars is an unforgettable story about second chances, the power of words, and the resilience of the heart.
-
-
An All-Around 5 Stars!!
- By Trosado on 02-28-20
By: Rowan Coleman
-
The Hunting Party
- A Novel
- By: Lucy Foley
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong, Elle Newlands, Morag Sims, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of 30-something friends from Oxford meets to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students 10 years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands - the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves. They arrive on December 30, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world. Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.
-
-
I bought this for 7 bucks; I wouldn't pay 8
- By Lucy on 12-01-19
By: Lucy Foley
-
The Secret Keeper
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
England, 1959: Laurel Nicolson is 16 years old, dreaming alone in her childhood tree house during a family celebration at their home, Green Acres Farm. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and then observes her mother, Dorothy, speaking to him. And then she witnesses a crime.
-
-
Kate Morton (and Caroline Lee) does it again!
- By Maria on 10-20-12
By: Kate Morton
-
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
- A Novel
- By: Rachel Joyce
- Narrated by: Jim Broadbent
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn’t seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye.
-
-
Wonderful Walkabout
- By FanB14 on 07-01-13
By: Rachel Joyce
-
The Glass Ocean
- A Novel
- By: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Saskia Maarleveld, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a captivating historical mystery, infused with romance, that links the lives of three women across a century - two deep in the past, one in the present - to the doomed passenger liner, RMS Lusitania.... Her finances are in dire straits, and best-selling author Sarah Blake is struggling to find a big idea for her next book. Desperate, she breaks the one promise she made to her mother and opens an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather, who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915. What she discovers there could change history.
-
-
I enjoyed this book, at least most of it.
- By Kevin Greaser on 10-02-18
By: Beatriz Williams, and others
-
On the Other Side
- By: Carrie Hope Fletcher
- Narrated by: Carrie Hope Fletcher
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evie Snow is 82 when she quietly passes away in her sleep, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. It's the way most people wish to leave the world. But when Evie reaches the door of her own private heaven, she finds that she's become her 27-year-old self, and the door won't open. Evie's soul must be light enough to pass through, so she needs to get rid of whatever is making it heavy. For Evie, this means unburdening herself of the three secrets that have weighed her down for over 50 years.
-
-
Did not enjoy!
- By jacqui lefebvre on 09-08-19
-
We Are All Made of Stars
- A Novel
- By: Rowan Coleman
- Narrated by: Ben Allen, Avita Jay
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We Are All Made of Stars is an unforgettable story about second chances, the power of words, and the resilience of the heart.
-
-
An All-Around 5 Stars!!
- By Trosado on 02-28-20
By: Rowan Coleman
-
The Hunting Party
- A Novel
- By: Lucy Foley
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong, Elle Newlands, Morag Sims, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of 30-something friends from Oxford meets to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students 10 years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands - the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves. They arrive on December 30, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world. Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.
-
-
I bought this for 7 bucks; I wouldn't pay 8
- By Lucy on 12-01-19
By: Lucy Foley
-
The Secret Keeper
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 19 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
England, 1959: Laurel Nicolson is 16 years old, dreaming alone in her childhood tree house during a family celebration at their home, Green Acres Farm. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and then observes her mother, Dorothy, speaking to him. And then she witnesses a crime.
-
-
Kate Morton (and Caroline Lee) does it again!
- By Maria on 10-20-12
By: Kate Morton
-
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
- A Novel
- By: Rachel Joyce
- Narrated by: Jim Broadbent
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn’t seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye.
-
-
Wonderful Walkabout
- By FanB14 on 07-01-13
By: Rachel Joyce
-
The Glass Ocean
- A Novel
- By: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Saskia Maarleveld, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a captivating historical mystery, infused with romance, that links the lives of three women across a century - two deep in the past, one in the present - to the doomed passenger liner, RMS Lusitania.... Her finances are in dire straits, and best-selling author Sarah Blake is struggling to find a big idea for her next book. Desperate, she breaks the one promise she made to her mother and opens an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather, who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915. What she discovers there could change history.
-
-
I enjoyed this book, at least most of it.
- By Kevin Greaser on 10-02-18
By: Beatriz Williams, and others
-
On the Other Side
- By: Carrie Hope Fletcher
- Narrated by: Carrie Hope Fletcher
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evie Snow is 82 when she quietly passes away in her sleep, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. It's the way most people wish to leave the world. But when Evie reaches the door of her own private heaven, she finds that she's become her 27-year-old self, and the door won't open. Evie's soul must be light enough to pass through, so she needs to get rid of whatever is making it heavy. For Evie, this means unburdening herself of the three secrets that have weighed her down for over 50 years.
-
-
Did not enjoy!
- By jacqui lefebvre on 09-08-19
-
The Secret Child
- By: Kerry Fisher
- Narrated by: Emma Spurgin Hussey
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Susie did something that she knows she will always regret: giving her baby son up for adoption, to keep her infidelity secret from her family. Louise, Susie's daughter, feels the effects of that decision echoing down through the years - her mother has always been difficult, too strict with her but not strict enough with her sister, Grace, who is wild and out of control. And Danny, Susie's husband, adores her but has always sensed something wrong at the heart of their marriage.
-
-
I liked it WAY more than I thought I would
- By Mariesa on 07-25-18
By: Kerry Fisher
-
The Woman He Loved Before
- By: Dorothy Koomson
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Libby has a nice life with a great job, a gorgeous husband, and a big home by the sea. But she's becoming more unsure of Jack's feelings for her - and if he is over the mysterious death of Eve, his first wife. When fate intervenes in their relationship, Libby decides to find out all she can about the man she hastily married and the seemingly perfect Eve. Eventually Libby stumbles across some startling truths about Eve. As she begins to unearth devastating secrets, Libby becomes frightened that she too will end up like the first woman Jack loved...
-
-
Ingrossing!
- By Sherry L. Wright on 06-01-14
By: Dorothy Koomson
-
Goodbye, Paris
- A Novel
- By: Anstey Harris
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grace hasn’t been able to play her cello publicly since a traumatic event at music college years ago. Since then, she’s built a quiet life for herself in her small English village, repairing instruments and nurturing her long-distance affair with David, the man who has helped her rebuild her life even as she puts her dreams of a family on hold until his children are old enough for him to leave his loveless marriage. But when David saves the life of a woman in the Paris Metro, his resulting fame shines a light onto the real state of the relationship(s) in his life. Shattered, Grace hits rock bottom....
-
-
Just ok.
- By Lizzybelle on 08-22-18
By: Anstey Harris
-
What Was Rescued
- By: Jane Bailey
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan, Heather Wilds
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the autumn of 1940, four children meet on a train. Behind them is London, under heavy aerial attack; ahead of them is a ship bound for the safe shores of Canada. Arthur has promised his mother not to let his little brother, Philip, out of his sight. Pippa and Dora are on their own: polar opposites, brought together by the adventure of a lifetime. But disaster strikes mid-Atlantic, and in the chaos one of the children makes a choice that will determine the course of their lives forever.
-
-
fantastic!
- By Lillian T. on 10-04-18
By: Jane Bailey
-
The Full Legacy: A Lesbian Mystery Romance
- By: Jane Retzig
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Shelley
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London 1993 - Gill is wary of love. Since the death of her partner, Corinne, she has put all her energy into building up her photography business, being a good and reliable friend, and avoiding relationships at all costs.
-
-
More Than I Expected
- By Heath on 06-27-15
By: Jane Retzig
-
Disclaimer: A Novel
- By: Renée Knight
- Narrated by: Michael Pennington, Laura Paton
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Finding a mysterious novel at her bedside plunges documentary filmmaker Catherine Ravenscroft into a living nightmare. Though ostensibly fiction, The Perfect Stranger recreates in vivid, unmistakable detail the terrible day she became hostage to a dark secret, a secret that only one other person knew - and that person is dead.
-
-
Dilemma could have been solved in 30 seconds
- By Jen on 05-20-15
By: Renée Knight
-
The Coordinates of Loss
- By: Amanda Prowse
- Narrated by: Amanda Prowse
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Rachel Croft wakes up on her family’s boat in Bermuda, it’s to sunshine and yet another perfect day…until she goes to wake her seven-year-old son, Oscar. Because the worst thing imaginable has happened. He isn’t there. In the dark and desperate days that follow, Rachel struggles to navigate her grief. And while her husband, James, wants them to face the tragedy together, Rachel feels that the life they once shared is over.
-
-
LOVELY AND TRAGIC
- By Kindle Customer on 04-23-24
By: Amanda Prowse
-
Love Marriage
- A Novel
- By: Monica Ali
- Narrated by: Ayesha Dharker
- Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yasmin Ghorami is 26, in training to be a doctor (like her Indian-born father), and engaged to the charismatic, upper-class Joe Sangster, whose formidable mother, Harriet, is a famous feminist. The gulf between families is vast. So, too, is the gulf in sexual experience between Yasmin and Joe. As the wedding day draws near, misunderstandings, infidelities, and long-held secrets upend both Yasmin’s relationship and that of her parents, a “love marriage”, according to the family lore that Yasmin has believed all her life.
-
-
I loved everything about this book!
- By I used to fly on 05-21-22
By: Monica Ali
-
In the Light of What We See
- By: Sarah Painter
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Brighton, 1938: Grace Kemp is pushed away by the family she has shamed. Rejected and afraid, she begins a new life as a nurse. But danger stalks the hospital too, and she'll need to be on her guard to avoid falling into familiar traps. And then there are the things she sees....Strange portents that have a way of becoming real.
-
-
Something lacking
- By RueRue on 07-22-16
By: Sarah Painter
-
Postcards from a Stranger
- By: Imogen Clark
- Narrated by: Henrietta Meire
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Cara stumbles across a stash of old postcards in the attic, their contents make her question everything she thought she knew. The story she pieces together is confusing and unsettling, and appears to have been patched over with lies. But who can tell her the truth? With her father sinking into Alzheimer’s and her brother reluctant to help, it seems Cara will never find the answers to her questions. One thing is clear, though: someone knows more than they’re letting on.
-
-
How do these authors do it?
- By DeRoseBreathe on 03-24-20
By: Imogen Clark
-
Duet
- By: Kimberley Freeman
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the London pop scene, to the opera stages of Europe; from a tiny Greek island, to a stifling manor house full of secrets and deceptions; from the sun-drenched Queensland coast, to the silent outback; Angela and Ellie are two women both looking for something. One in search of her identity and her memory; the other in search of the love that she had and lost; theirs is a duet whose last note will not be sung until the heart-stopping climax, when a shadow from the past returns to claim them both.
-
-
Gosh that was a great story!
- By Anonymous User on 06-10-09
-
Evergreen Falls
- By: Kimberley Freeman
- Narrated by: Jennifer Vuletic
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A long-forgotten secret, a scandalous attraction and a place where two women's lives are changed forever. 1926: Violet Armstrong is one of the few remaining members of staff working at the grand Evergreen Spa Hotel as it closes down over winter. Only a handful of guests are left, including the heir to a rich grazing family, his sister and her suave suitor. When a snowstorm moves in, the hotel is cut off and they are all trapped. No-one could have predicted what would unfold.
-
-
Soooo Boring
- By Merford on 10-09-19
What listeners say about The Blue Book
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Karin
- 01-18-13
Gorgeous narration, poetic writting
What did you love best about The Blue Book?
I love the way A.L. Kennedy writes. Her language is poetic and sensual. If I had to compare it to anyone I would say Jeanette Winterson. Kennedy's stories are more down to earth, but they're not less twisted. The Blue Book has kept me glued to my earpiece. The plot gently twisting, surprising and deceiving.
What other book might you compare The Blue Book to and why?
If you like the theme (mentalists), you might want to try Sarah Waters' Affinity. For the style of writing, nothing really compares.
Any additional comments?
Juliet Stevenson's narration really adds to the book. Her voice is lovely and clear, making it easy to follow the storyline. Her range, making the male characters stand out, is amazing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful