Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Dover Beach cover art

Dover Beach

By: Leslie Thomas
Narrated by: Peter Wickham
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Soldiers and Lovers cover art
The Virgin Soldiers cover art
Dangerous Davies cover art
A Good Clean Fight cover art
At the Captain's Table cover art
Three Cheers for Me cover art
Sisters at War cover art
Airport cover art
A Prayer for the Ship cover art
Henderson's Boys: The Escape cover art
The Kingdom by the Sea cover art
The Silver Hand cover art
Commando cover art
Adolf Hitler cover art
There Was a Time cover art
Above Us the Sky cover art

Summary

Summer 1940. The evacuation of Dunkirk proves that the British can rise to a challenge, even under seemingly insurmountable odds.

But now the soldiers, weary and defeated, wander the streets of Dover, conscious that over the channel and above them in the skies, the might of the German war machine comes ever closer.

But life must go on, and people must take comfort where they find it. Toby Hendry, a fighter pilot, is awaiting orders when he meets Giselle, a young Frenchwoman who took the chance to flee occupied France with the English troops. Their love affair feels like a summer idyll, but can it withstand the forces of war?

Meanwhile, reserve naval commander Paul Instow has been called up to fight in a war for which he feels too old. Distracting him from his worries is Molly, a young Dover prostitute. Their relationship is tender and happy, but is this a love born from desperation or something more permanent?

And then there are Harold, Spot and Boots, three boys desperate to fight the German invaders, armed only with catapults and a stolen bren gun….

In Dover Beach Thomas chronicles the lives and loves of ordinary people in besieged Britain during these tense, but curiously elated days.

©2006 Leslie Thomas (P)2009 Random House Audio

What listeners say about Dover Beach

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant, engaging and tear-jerking at times

Well-narrated story set in early wartime Dover. Laugh-out-loud moments interspersed with some real tear-jerkers, this story gives a rare and witty insight into day-to-day life in early wartime England away from the myths.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A cautionary tale about being in Dover during WW2

Amazingly evocative account of life in a front line town in England during first years of World War two.
We live with these protagonists, share their humour, their concerns,their terror, their lives and loves

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Irritating narration

Leslie Thomas books are usually a first class read or listen. It’s a pity more of them are not available on audible. ‘The Adventures of Goodnight and Loving’ is a wonderful book. The narration of this book however is irritating, and totally spoilt my enjoyment of it. Every time Peter Wickham changed his voice to that of a character he made them sound like children. What a shame !!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!