
Year of Wonders
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Geraldine Brooks
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By:
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Geraldine Brooks
About this listen
“Plague stories remind us that we cannot manage without community . . . Year of Wonders is a testament to that very notion.”–The Washington Post
An unforgettable tale, set in 17th century England, of a village that quarantines itself to arrest the spread of the plague, from the author The Secret Chord and of March, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."
Inspired by the true story of Eyam, a village in the rugged hill country of England, Year of Wonders is a richly detailed evocation of a singular moment in history. Written with stunning emotional intelligence and introducing "an inspiring heroine" (The Wall Street Journal), Brooks blends love and learning, loss and renewal into a spellbinding and unforgettable read.
©2010 Penguin Audiobooks (P)2010 Geraldine BrooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"The novel glitters . . . A deep imaginative engagement with how people are changed by catastrophe."—The New Yorker
“Plague stories remind us that we cannot manage without community . . . Year of Wonders is a testament to that very notion . . . [The villagers] assume collective responsibility for combating the plague, rather than seeing it as an act of God before which they are powerless.”—The Washington Post
"Year of Wonders is a vividly imagined and strangely consoling tale of hope in a time of despair."—O, The Oprah Magazine
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Story
Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women is the story of Brooks’ intrepid journey toward an understanding of the women behind the veils, and of the often contradictory political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives. In fundamentalist Iran, Brooks finagles an invitation to tea with the ayatollah’s widow—and discovers that Mrs. Khomeini dyes her hair.
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Auto-ethnography and good research
- By Verna on 09-26-13
By: Geraldine Brooks
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Foreign Correspondence
- A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over
- By: Geraldine Brooks
- Narrated by: Geraldine Brooks
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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As a young girl in a working-class neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, Geraldine Brooks longed to discover the places where history happens and culture comes from, so she enlisted pen pals who offered her a window on adolescence in the Middle East, Europe, and America. Twenty years later, Brooks, an award-winning foreign correspondent, embarked on a human treasure hunt to find her pen friends. She found men and women whose lives had been shaped by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of mental illness.
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the review synopsis does not reflect the book
- By BT on 04-05-21
By: Geraldine Brooks
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Alive
- Our Bodies and the Richness and Brevity of Existence
- By: Gabriel Weston
- Narrated by: Gabriel Weston
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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What does it mean to live in a body? For Gabriel Weston, there was always something missing from the anatomy she was taught at medical school. She’d forged an unconventional path, first studying humanities and getting an entry-level job in publishing, before a spark of inspiration set her on the path to becoming a doctor.
By: Gabriel Weston
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My Name Is Mary Sutter
- A Novel
- By: Robin Oliveira
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In this stunning historical novel, Mary Sutter is a brilliant, headstrong midwife from Albany, New York, who dreams of becoming a surgeon. Determined to overcome the prejudices against women in medicine—and eager to run away from her recent heartbreak—Mary leaves home and travels to Washington, D.C. to help tend the legions of Civil War wounded.
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Excellent and riveting
- By midge on 09-25-10
By: Robin Oliveira
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The Lady and the Unicorn
- By: Tracy Chevalier
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld, Terry Donnelly
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
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Bewitching art experts and enthusiasts alike for centuries, the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries hang today in the Cluny Museum in Paris.
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Wonderful Audiobook!
- By LBaum on 07-12-05
By: Tracy Chevalier
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The Evolution of Everything
- How New Ideas Emerge
- By: Matt Ridley
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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The Evolution of Everything is about bottom-up order and its enemy, the top-down twitch - the endless fascination human beings have with design rather than evolution, with direction rather than emergence. Drawing on anecdotes from science, economics, history, politics, and philosophy, Matt Ridley's wide-ranging, highly opinionated opus demolishes conventional assumptions that major scientific and social imperatives are dictated by those on high.
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Brilliant!
- By Winfield on 12-16-15
By: Matt Ridley
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Confederates in the Attic
- Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War
- By: Tony Horwitz
- Narrated by: Arthur Addison
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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When prize-winning war correspondent Tony Horwitz leaves the battlefields of Bosnia and the Middle East for a peaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he thinks he's put war zones behind him. But awakened one morning by the crackle of musket fire, Horwitz starts filing front-line dispatches again this time from a war close to home, and to his own heart.
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A Must Read for Civil War Buffs!
- By Ms Winston on 12-06-14
By: Tony Horwitz
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All the Ever Afters
- The Untold Story of Cinderella’s Stepmother
- By: Danielle Teller
- Narrated by: Jane Copland
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous re-imagining of a classic tale, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella’s "evil" stepmother. We all know the story of Cinderella. Or do we? As rumors about the cruel upbringing of beautiful newlywed Princess Cinderella roil the kingdom, her stepmother, Agnes, who knows all too well about hardship, privately records the true story...
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Not what I was expecting...
- By IonyWinter on 07-15-19
By: Danielle Teller
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A Thread of Grace
- A Novel
- By: Mary Doria Russell
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 19 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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It is September 8, 1943, and 14-year-old Claudette Blum and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, where they hope to find safety now that the Italians have broken from Germany and made a separate peace with the Allies. The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it quickly becomes an open battleground for the Nazis, the Allies, Resistance fighters, Jews in hiding, and ordinary Italian civilians trying to survive.
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I had no idea......
- By Deborah on 09-14-05
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Sarah's Key
- A Novel
- By: Tatiana de Rosnay
- Narrated by: Polly Stone
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past.
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Important subject and plot, pedestrian execution
- By Benson on 04-15-10
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The Yellow Bird Sings
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Rosner
- Narrated by: Anna Koval, Jennifer Rosner
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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As Nazi soldiers round up the Jews in their town, Róza and her five-year-old daughter, Shira, flee, seeking shelter in a neighbor’s barn. Hidden in the hayloft day and night, Shira struggles to stay still and quiet, as music pulses through her and the farmyard outside beckons. In this make-believe world, Róza can shield Shira from the horrors that surround them. But the day comes when their haven is no longer safe, and Róza must make an impossible choice: whether to keep Shira by her side or give her the chance to survive apart.
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Bravo!
- By Mary Ann Bennett on 07-31-20
By: Jennifer Rosner
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Hild
- A Novel
- By: Nicola Griffith
- Narrated by: Pearl Hewitt
- Length: 23 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In seventh-century Britain, small kingdoms are merging, frequently and violently. A new religion is coming ashore; the old gods are struggling, their priests worrying. Hild is the king's youngest niece, and she has a glimmering mind and a natural, noble authority. She will become a fascinating woman and one of the pivotal figures of the Middle Ages: Saint Hilda of Whitby. But now she has only the powerful curiosity of a bright child, a will of adamant, and a way of seeing the world that can seem uncanny, even supernatural, to those around her.
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I'd give it 10 stars if I could
- By David on 03-27-14
By: Nicola Griffith
What listeners say about Year of Wonders
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- Tanille
- 01-18-11
Darkness Enlightens
This is my second GB book and I loved them both! Ill be purchasing my third today. I highly recommend this audio book.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Sharilyn
- 11-24-16
A voice to fall asleep to
I've finished this book but had to take many breaks due to the author/ reader. Her voice was inflectionless, monotone, nearly how a child might read in front of a class (quiet, barely taking a breath and reading as if it were a very, very long run on sentence.)
Really unfortunate because I liked the story.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Maggieck
- 09-04-12
Good story - annoying narrator
Would you listen to Year of Wonders again? Why?
Listen - no - really didn't like the narrator's tone of voice.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Year of Wonders?
The strength and fortitude of the main character Anna Frith.
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Geraldine Brooks?
Almost anyone; maybe Davina Porter?
If you could take any character from Year of Wonders out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Anna Frith, perhaps Eleanor as well. I'd love to hear more about Anna's experiences during the epilogue of the tale.
Any additional comments?
I enjoyed the book, and the adaptation of this 'true' story of a plague year in Darbyshire, England. My only complaint; the narrator had the most annoying nasal, downcast quality to her voice. While this was not a happy story for the most part - each time I started up the recording my own mood would deflate to match the tone of the story. Once the book got going I could kind of ignore the tone of the narrator's voice - but ugh - not my favorite narrator by any stretch.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kathleen
- 08-20-12
Courage and compassion in a desperate time.
What made the experience of listening to Year of Wonders the most enjoyable?
It made the era come alive. Detailed descriptions of living conditions--homes, clothing, food, work, sanitation--one can easily imagine oneself back then.
What did you like best about this story?
Do you ever wonder what it would've been like to have lived centuries ago, coping with harsh conditions we have no experience of today--feudalism, plague, witch hunts, etc.?What was it like to be an ordinary person back then? Year of Wonders describes how bubonic plague affected one Derbyshire village during 1666, through the life of one woman.
Although events are harrowing, bringing out both the best and worst in villagers, there is a goodness and humanity that makes this book uplifting and hopeful.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
Geraldine Brooks' voice and narration made me think she suffers from major depression. If the story hadn't been so engaging, I would not have been able to endure her narration. If there should be a choice among narrators in future recordings, I recommend anyone but Ms Brooks.
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- mamasunset
- 10-01-12
Great book, ghastly reader
How could the performance have been better?
Once again, an author truly ruins her own excellent book by insisting on reading it aloud. This author has an awful speech impediment; someone should have stopped her! Honestly!
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- Elizabeth K. Morse
- 12-05-12
Riveting and Heartwarming
Where does Year of Wonders rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Top quarter
Who was your favorite character and why?
The narrator is the most fully drawn of all the characters, and she is likable throughout. It is also heartwarming to see her grow into an ever more sensitive, dedicated
and passionate maturity.
What about Geraldine Brooks’s performance did you like?
I appreciated how she brought the narrator's quiet strength to life.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The growing friendship between the narrator, Anna, and her employer, the minister's wife, was most heartwarming, but the moment of her recognition of a baby's fate and her decision to take on her care was nothing short of inspiring.
Any additional comments?
Besides a powerful page turning story this book will give most readers a most helpful insight into life in 16th century plague torn England.
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- Kat
- 08-09-12
One Crazy Year
**Spoiler Alert**
1st 3/4 of the Book: 4 stars
Last 1/4 of the Book: 2 stars
The plague portion of the book I really enjoyed (that sounds weird, I know). It was dark and sad and haunting. At first described as an beautiful pasturial and hard-working community, Eyam in Derbyshire, made you ache to visit historic England and then dashed your hopes as the plague infested this village in 1665-66. You felt the pain of the villagers as they suffered through the bubonic plague. I found myself encouraging Anna and Elinor Mompellion as they researched herbs to relieve plague victims and to fight off the disease.
Then things got weird. This seemingly accurate and heart-wrenching story started to become a romance novel. Not that I mind a romance, but it just didn't fit the rest of the book. I can handle Anna getting down with the rector. Even though there were no real hints of her attraction to the minister, I could get behind Anna wanting to experience her friend Elinor's love life. To have the heroic minister turn into a dark and twisted character seemed wrong. There were only a few hints into this dark nature, and I didn't think it was ample build up for what transpired.
Next, the Bradfords turn into the ultra villians after appearing for only 10 pages beforehand. I understand by abandoning the town during the plague made them bad people - they certainly caused the town grief during their worst moments. But to become adulterers and baby murderers all of the sudden was just...puzzling.
Finally, Anna sails away (by herself...in 1666...yeaaaaaaaaah) only to become one of many wives of a Arabian doctor. So, all of the character building and strength is washed away as she willing becomes a wife to live with a doctor and learn his medical wisdom.
I don't know if Brooks wanted to make the book more exciting by building in a thrilling conclusion, but it stole the spirit of the 3/4 of the book. The majority of Year of Wonders is about a community who heroically suffered through the plague without endangering the surrounding villages. Readers felt the small joys because that's all the town had during a year of hell. As a reader, you felt pride in Anna's strength as she realized her gift in medicine. To have her just abandon the village after months of suffering with it seemed wrong.
Regarding the narration - Geraldine Brooks' narrated her own book. Her raspy British accent suited Anna, but it took awhile to get used to it. It became a little monotone - I found myself tuning her out at key points.
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- Liz
- 09-24-11
Year of Wonders
A beautiful story that evokes a time of deprivation and fear through the eyes of courage.
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- E.B.
- 05-26-19
Engrossing story, perfect narration!
There have been many who find fault with the narration of this audio book They are missing the point of the story, which is that this is a tale of a simple woman who finds her strength and more actualized self through the hardships she endures. For much of the book I felt that I was sitting in her cottage and she was sharing her narrative as a friend. She isn't an accomplished actress, as you would expect from a village woman, but she conveys all of the characters with a subtle but noticeable discernment.
I have listened to or read several of Geraldine Brooks' books and she never fails to astound and delight me with the depth of her understanding of her given subject and the beauty of her writing.
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- Charles Hall
- 06-03-23
Great book!
The reader was a bit monotone, however it seemed to me to fit the woman’s personality and the fact that she had no ability to change her lot in life.
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