Crewe Train cover art

Crewe Train

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About this listen

Rose Macaulay was a fascinating and influential British writer, known for her wit and intellect. She wrote numerous novels, essays and biographies, and she was highly regarded for her versatility as a writer. Her works often explored themes of social change, women’s rights and the complexities of human relationships. She had a unique ability to capture the essence of her characters and the world they inhabited, making her a much-admired figure in the literary world.

Crewe Train was published in 1926 and follows the story of Denham Dobie, a young woman in her early thirties, who lives a rather uneventful life in London. She is an independent and intelligent woman working as a scriptwriter for a film studio. Feeling dissatisfied with her mundane existence, Denham decides to embark on a journey to visit her eccentric and wealthy father in Crewe. Throughout her journey, Denham encounters a variety of intriguing characters and unexpected events.

The novel explores themes of societal expectations, gender roles and the search for personal fulfillment. Denham’s journey allows her to question and challenge the norms of the society she lives in, leading to self-discovery and a re-evaluation of her own desires and aspirations.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2024 Naxos AudioBooks UK Ltd.
Classics Literature & Fiction Women's Fiction World Literature
All stars
Most relevant
Delightfully and cleverly skewers the perniciousness entrapment of gossip and manners. The last line could have been like a coffin lid, but the archness wins

What a Skewering

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If you go by the description in the 'Title Details', you will have a confusing listen! The main character is indeed called Denham Dobie, but the plot is nothing to do with going on a train journey to Crewe. It seems that Audible has copied the erroneous description from the back cover of the original (physical) audiobook. (I noticed that AI has also picked up this erroneous description if you do a Google search for the plot of the novel.) Audible needs to correct this! Instead, the plot describes what happens when Denham, an unsophisticated young woman who has grown up in relative isolation in Andorra, goes to live with her wealthy middle class relatives in London. She struggles - often comically - to fit in to their world of parties, culture and social expectations; the novel (published in 1926) gently pokes fun at that world through Denham's struggles. It's not Macaulay's best book but a good read once you get past the muddle about the description being wrong, which rather spoiled it for me.

The title refers to an old music hall song about getting on the wrong train and being taken to somewhere you don't want to go:
'Oh! Mr Porter, what shall I do?
I want to go to Birmingham
And they’re taking me on to Crewe,
Take me back to London, as quickly as you can,
Oh! Mr Porter, what a silly girl I am.'

The description is wrong! It's not about going on a journey to Crewe!

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