The Return of the Soldier cover art

The Return of the Soldier

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
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.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Return of the Soldier

By: Rebecca West
Narrated by: Nadia May
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

 When Captain Chris Baldry, a World War I soldier, is sent home with a severe case of shellshock amnesia, he is a stranger to his wife, Kitty, and his adoring cousin, Jenny. Recoiling from the horrors of war and disillusioned with years of superficial married life, his mind has regressed 15 years into the past, where his heart may take refuge once again in the magic circle of his youth and of his first love, Margaret Allington.

In this lyrical and poignant story of a wounded man and the three concerned women who seek to heal him, Rebecca West explores the complexity of the mind and its subtle strategies for coping with life's painful realities. Only when Chris has the courage to face one pivotal moment of truth in his married life will he be able to awaken from his boyish fantasy and become, indeed, "every inch a soldier".

©1996 Blackstone Audio (P)1996 Blackstone Audio Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Heartfelt Solider

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Dark Flower cover art
Summer cover art
The Fox, the Captain’s Doll & The Ladybird cover art
Sunset Song cover art
The Feast cover art
Mink River cover art
The French House cover art
A Lasting Impression cover art
All Souls' Night cover art
Sorrell and Son cover art
Land of a Thousand Hills cover art
The Wildflower Trilogy cover art
Brigid of Kildare cover art
Rainstorm cover art
Ann Veronica cover art
The Forsyte Saga cover art
All stars
Most relevant
though the class snobbery is hard to take. In fact the empty superiority of the narrator and her friend are central to the end tragedy of the returning of ‘the soldier’.

Quite a profound story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved this book. Beautifully read with the perfect accent for the story.
I went from likening to despising and back to sympathy as the book went on.
A calm, quiet way of telling a complex and tragic story

I kept changing my mind!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A deep and moving portrayal of human nature, hurt and self protection.
Truly worth listening too.

Profound.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Although I stuck with it I found it difficult to keep up with. The narration was good.

Difficult to keep up with story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this. Her portrayal of class was utterly excruciating and gripping. Loved it!
Structurally it's a short story, but with more development and depth.

Brilliant and compelling

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