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The Brewer's Tale

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The Brewer's Tale

By: Karen Brooks
Narrated by: Hannah Norris
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About this listen

1405. The daughter of a wealthy merchant, Anneke Sheldrake suddenly finds her family bankrupted when her father’s ship is swept away at sea. Forced to find a way to provide for herself and her siblings, Anneke rejects an offer of marriage from a despised cousin and instead turns to her late mother’s family business – brewing ale.

Armed with her mother’s recipes, she then makes a bold deal with her father’s aristocratic employer, putting her home and family at risk. Thanks to her fierce determination, Anneke’s brew wins a following and begins to turn a profit. But her rise threatens some in her community and those closest to her are left to pay the price.

As Anneke slowly pieces her life together again, she finds an unlikely ally in a London brothel owner. Determined not only to reclaim her livelihood and her family, Anneke vows not to let anyone stand in the way of her forging her own destiny.

©2014 Karen Brooks (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing Fiction Historical Fiction Inspiring

Critic reviews

'Richly atmospheric, romantic, and chock-full of period details, this fast-paced tale and its many plot twists and turns are likely to keep historical fiction fans riveted.' (Booklist)
'The daughter of a merchant flouts 15th-century English convention to start a brewery in Brooks’s illuminating epic (after The Chocolate Maker’s Wife). Brooks’s attention to historical detail instills the novel with authenticity by including many historical figures and events, while Anneke’s lively voice keeps a strong grip on the reader as she works to overcome societal prohibitions against women in business and find happiness and contentment. Brooks’s immersive page-turner does not disappoint.' (Publishers Weekly)
'Ms. Brooks delivers a wonderful tale of despair, triumph and personal growth here. I learned many things I never knew about ale and beer production, and will definitely be seeking out this author’s backlist.' (All About Romance)
All stars
Most relevant
And sometimes the repetitive and longwinded storyline is somewhat annoying. Nonetheless, it’s an entertaining story and there are some beautiful descriptions and detail by the author.
Having read the Wife of Bath I was disappointed to hear the narrator has given Alison a raw London accent- it got progressively more pronounced as the novel wore on. There were also some niggling mispronunciations of words like ‘ascertain’ - surely that could have been corrected.
It’s a good tale and informative about the history of brewing.

Well it’s long!

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