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Shrines of Gaiety

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Shrines of Gaiety

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Jason Watkins
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.

The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie's empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho's gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.

With her unique Dickensian flair, Kate Atkinson brings together a glittering cast of characters in a truly mesmeric novel that captures the uncertainty and mutability of life; of a world in which nothing is quite as it seems.

©2022 Kate Atkinson (P)2022 Penguin Audio 20th Century Biographical Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Thriller & Suspense World War I Fiction Biography Mystery England War

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Critic reviews

"This is the perfect novel for uncertain times."(The Times)

"I can think of few writers other than Dickens who can match it." (Sunday Times)

"Brilliant." (Richard Osman)
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Oh how I love Kate Atkinson books, always very droll and a bit quirky. The first few chapters are a tad confusing, but then it gets into its stride. As with most of her books the mother Nellie is not in the least maternal, also we have detective Frobisher, shades of a 1920’s Jackson Brodie ( just my opinion ) the book has the usual mix of droll humour and underlying sensitivity. Interesting 1920’s period setting and the author explains more at the end.

I love Kate Atkinson!!

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such a good story and a great narrator. the period in which it is set is one of my favourites and each character is a winner!

brilliant

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I really enjoyed this book because the characters are so well drawn. Nothing jarred and their motivations and actions flowed well. I googled roaring 20s to see what the clubs looked like. It seems to me that not much has changed in a century

I cared about all the characters

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A melting pot of detailed characters and events.
I found myself living the moments as they unfolded.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

A perfect period piece for an Amazon Series.

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Engaging from the very first paragraph until the very last line. What I loved about this book aside from the wonderful glimpses it provides of life after the Great War, were the parallel stories of the characters. Their longings, hopes, opportunities missed, opportunities seized, their failings, their triumphs, the inevitable consequences of some actions, the randomness of other events in their lives. Witnessing their journey was a thing of beauty. We are all on a journey, destination unknown.

immediately engaging

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