The Old Bank House cover art

The Old Bank House

A Virago Modern Classic

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The Old Bank House

By: Angela Thirkell
Narrated by: Catrin Walker-Booth
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About this listen

Edgewood Rectory may be set in an ancient landscape, but the Grantly family are very much of their time. Caught up in the uncertain world that has emerged since the outbreak of peace, the Rector and Mrs Grantly are bewildered by the challenges facing their eldest children: Eleanor, longing for more excitement than can be found in the Red Cross Library; and Tom, struggling to readjust to student life at Oxford after his military service.

When their elderly neighbour Miss Sowerby sells her beloved Old Bank House to self-made MP Sam Adams, the one-time outsider finds himself at the heart of Barsetshire society. And while Sam may dismiss her advice that the house needs a mistress, even a contented widower can be surprised by love.

©1949 Angela Thirkell (P)2024 Hachette Audio UK Classics Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Small Town & Rural Comedy

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All stars
Most relevant
This is typical Angela Thirkell, but if you want to pick up the humour in the book you'll have to read it for yourself. This narration is awkward and frequently destroys the sense with mispronunciation and incorrect emphases. The reader may have read the book before making the recording, but she clearly didn't understand it.
Bring back Jilly Bond!

Bring back Jilly Bond!

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Not one of Angella Thirkell's best though I may well listen to it again. Her dislike of the post-war Lanour Government grows tedious and her adoration of then gentry equally so. Even the glorious Lydia Merton is dimmed and her brother Colin has become tiresome - it's difficult to like a book of this sort if you start to dislike the main protagonists.
The performance is rather odd too. Balliol is pronounced ' Bally-ol' and scone is rhymed with bone instead of bon. There are dozens of similar irritations, alas, as I doubt if anyone will venture to re-record this particular book without these lapses.
Listen to the glorious Wild Strawberries or the wonderful August Folly to hear the best of Angela Thirkell.

A sad view of Post War Britain

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