Someone at a Distance cover art

Someone at a Distance

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Someone at a Distance

By: Dorothy Whipple
Narrated by: Susan Wooldridge
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £9.33

Buy Now for £9.33

Season's Savings | £0.99/mo for 3 months

£5.99/mo after 3 months - terms apply. Cancel monthly

Someone at a Distance was Dorothy Whipple’s last book, hailed by many as her best. The story charts the gradual breakdown of a marriage through the eyes of those involved. Whipple deftly and persuasively explores the minds of her characters, particularly the two women. This audio edition is read by Susan Wooldridge.

Ellen and Avery North share a stable and secure life. Everything is well looked after: their teenage children, their garden, and Avery’s elderly mother who lives nearby. In time, old Mrs North decides she is in need of a live-in companion, and Louise Lanier arrives after responding to a newspaper advert. When Louise sets out to seduce Avery for the fun of it, her behaviour threatens to destroy Ellen and Avery’s peaceful life together.

Someone at a Distance is part of the Persephone Audiobook Collection, a series of forgotten classics including neglected fiction and non-fiction by women writers. First published in 1953, this edition includes a preface by author Nina Bawden.

Classics Family Life Genre Fiction
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

A very good novel indeed about the fragility and also the tenacity of love
All stars
Most relevant
Brilliant characters brought to life by fantastic writing. The tragedy of the human condition all swept under the carpet by middle class convention.

Delicious slow burn of a story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A great story and thoroughly engaging story that is extremely well narrated by Susan Wooldridge. Somehow her voice was absolutely perfect and never jarred or irritated as some narrators can. I only wish she was reading the other Whipple titles that are on Audible. A poor narrator can destroy the most exquisitely written book. Sometimes choosing a title on audible is a bit hit and miss - not in this case. Story and performance were both e

Engrossing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautifully written and read, unjustly forgotten, emotionally rich story of dissolution of marriage and family. Dorothy Whipple is a master of describing human natures, the way we think and act. For the fans of low key but psychologically true stories in the style of Elizabeth Storut, Anne Tyler and Ann Patchett.

splendid

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
i really enjoyed this. A gentle, insightful story I so enjoyed listening to and very well read with feeling

Well read. Good story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Dorothy Whipple is a wonderful writer and this is a very relatable and human story. Her characters and the situations they find themselves are depicted in such a way that the ordinary becomes extraordinary. Her insights and attention to detail make this novel really compelling.

Beautifully written, wonderful attention to detail.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews