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  • Behind the Scenes at the Museum

  • By: Kate Atkinson
  • Narrated by: Susan Jameson
  • Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (513 ratings)
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Behind the Scenes at the Museum cover art

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Susan Jameson
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Summary

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 there 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.

©1995 Kate Atkinson (P)2014 AudioGo Ltd. Published by Random House Audiobooks

What listeners say about Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Average customer ratings
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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
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    5 out of 5 stars

An absolute joy

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.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

Everything about this novel is superb - from the characters, to the plot, to the narration. It is just an absolute joy and a wonderful way to lose yourself for hour after hour. It must be a couple of years since I last listened to this, and I have enjoyed it even more second time around. Kate Atkinson is a truly wonderful writer and Susan Jameson the perfect narrator.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Family Story

A family saga, through the eyes of one child. The story spans the Great War, WWII, the 50's, the 60's and back again. Adultery, broken marriages, and all the rest. It's the story of one family from great Grand Mother to great grand child. The choices we make and their consequences, the mistakes we make and their unexpected outcomes. At times you'll laugh and marvel at the authors power of description and wonderful characters. A good listen very well narrated.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • D
  • 28-09-15

Excellent

A wonderful evocation of life in the fifties and sixties. Very well read the best I've heard.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Entrancing and compulsive

Love all of her books and this one needed a second reading to get to the bottom of the intricately woven family story with a happy ending! Could not stop listening all night.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A lovely story

Having been born in York in the mid fifty's I felt a real connection with this book, I know the streets and the sights so well - it is poignant and evokes such memories for me. I could listen to it again and again. Beautifully narrated.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful novel.

Extraordinary book brilliantly read by Susan Jamieson. One which requires listening to again and again.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A wonderful heady book with lovely finale

A rollicking ride with wonderful imagery and poignancy at the end. Images that will stay with me for a lifetime.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

found this depressing

loved the first few chapters but found the rest very depressing and dark. not for me.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

definitely behind the scenes

the source of themes developed so brilliantly in Life After Life & God in Ruins.

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2 people found this helpful