Behind The Scenes At The Museum

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About this listen

Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty and born while her father, George, was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster telling a woman in an emerald dress and a D-cup that he wasn't married. Bunty had never wanted to marry George, but here she was, stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster, with sensible and sardonic Patrica aged five, greedy cross-patch Gillian who refused to be ignored, and Ruby...

Ruby tells the story of The Family, from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice and her children, like flowers in amber, to the startling, witty, and memorable events of Ruby's own life.

Kate AtkinsonSusan JamesonPenguin Audio

Coming of Age

Contemporary Fiction

Family Life

Genre Fiction

Historical Fiction

Literary Fiction

Witty

Funny

Heartfelt

Tear-jerking

Feel-Good

Coming of Age Contemporary Fiction Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Witty Funny Heartfelt Tear-jerking Feel-Good

Critic reviews

Delivers its jokes and its tragedies as efficiently as Dickens...outrageously funny on almost every page...will dazzle readers for years to come. (Hilary Mantel)

'A debut novel of astonishing confidence and skill...Acutely observant, overflowing with good jokes, it is the work of an author who loves her characters and sets them playing with gleeful energy'

'An astounding book...without doubt one of the finest novels I have read for years'

'Little short of a masterpiece...Fizzing with wit and energy, Kate Atkinson's hilarious novel made me laugh and cry'

'A blinding debut from a Yorkshire mother-of-two who could be Alan Bennett's baby sister...straight-up simplicity veils the depth, poignancy and poetry of her story'

A first novel written so fluently and wittily that I sailed through it as though blown by an exhilarating wind. I loved it

'Enchanting. It hops with sprightly omniscence from past to future and back again'

A really gripping, emotionally satisfying family saga written with warmth and wit. I've re-read it countless times.

Most relevant

Would you consider the audio edition of Behind the Scenes at the Museum to be better than the print version?

No

What other book might you compare Behind the Scenes at the Museum to, and why?

Human Croquet – it is another example of Kate Atkinson's skill in weaving stories together across generations

Which character – as performed by Susan Jameson – was your favourite?

Ruby Lennox

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There is a passage in this book which never fails to move me to tears. Other parts of the book made me laugh out loud.

Any additional comments?

This book is an old favourite I have read many times, but was still an absolute delight to listen to. In my opinion, it is one of the best books ever written.