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Winchelsea

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Winchelsea

By: Alex Preston
Narrated by: Gary Cross, George Weightman, Tigger Blaize
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AS READ ON BBC RADIO 4
A SPECTATOR BEST OF THE YEAR - AS CHOSEN BY REVIEWERS

The year is 1742. Goody Brown, saved from drowning and adopted when just a babe, has grown up happily in the smuggling town of Winchelsea. Then, when Goody turns sixteen, her father is murdered in the night by men he thought were friends.

To find justice in a lawless land, Goody must enter the cut-throat world of her father’s killers. With her beloved brother Francis, she joins a rival gang of smugglers. Facing high seas and desperate villains, she also discovers something else: an existence without constraints or expectations, a taste for danger that makes her blood run fast.

Goody was never born to be a gentlewoman. But what will she become instead?

Winchelsea is an electrifying story of vengeance and transformation; a rare, lyrical and transporting work of historical imagination that makes the past so real we can touch it.

 Action & Adventure Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Sea Adventures World Literature
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Critic reviews

"Imagine Daphne du Maurier crossed with Quentin Tarantino, and you will have some idea of just what a thrilling, bloody and heady ride this novel is" (TOM HOLLAND)
"I was riveted. Winchelsea is a great read – terrific narrative drive, credible characters, and such an elegant creation of the backdrop in terms of both time and place" (PENELOPE LIVELY)
"Boisterous . . . evocative . . . What holds the novel together as much as its driving plot are its incantatory atmosphere and spellbinding language"
"Preston is a gifted prose cartographer, conjuring up the Sussex coastline in a crisp, clear fashion . . . He has written a bawdy, thunderous romp that echoes with cannon fire, sea shanties and the occasional plaintive cry of a nightjar"
"Glorious"
"Winchelsea is a remarkable act of literary time travel: dark and gripping and soaked in blood and salt water" (EVIE WYLD)
"[A] spellbinding read, both gory and gorgeous"
"Truly epic . . . The richness and enthusiasm of the prose speaks of a novelist who loves the process of spinning an unpredictable, fabulist yarn"
"A rip-roaring yarn about smugglers and seafarers in Romney Marsh and its coastal hinterland in the 18th century. The energy, word play and attention to contemporary detail could not be bettered" (The Books of the Year 2022)
"There's a wild piratical darkness to Winchelsea which is charged by the evocative and strange wilderness of its setting on the Romney Marshes. At its heart is a gripping tale: a life-and-death struggle, set in the eighteenth century yet vibrantly heightened by a sureness of visceral detail and a vivid depth of characterisation. This is historical drama on a deft and uproarious scale, and it makes for a breathlessly exciting and engaging read" (PHILIP HOARE)
All stars
Most relevant
I really enjoyed this book. The storyline was great, the descriptions promoting the imagination with this swashbuckling adventure

adventurous tale

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Not so keen on Cullodon. Section. Story was gripping and I know Winchelsea so found all the story of the other villages fascinating.

The clarity of the voice for Goody

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I thought the book was very enjoyable and well narrated ,with interesting references to name places in the story line.

Great book

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I am lucky to live in this area and fascinated by the history. This story was up and down in its pace and I could have left it and I’m glad I persevered. It was an interesting delve into the world and landscape back then. The twists at the end confused me but after quickly looking up, thanks chat GPT I got it all al the story ended beautifully. There is a very interesting reference to a subject most current (not to spoil it) , initially this seemed like a jump on the bandwagon but I soon saw it was well considered and integrated part of the story. I enjoyed the female narrator, she was charming , not sure why such criticism on here! I realy recommend

A rollercoaster of a listen!

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An adventure story of the very best kind...... l came along this entirely by chance and once started, l was engrossed- horrified and mesmerised by turn.
Brilliantly written and narration excellent.

Utterly captivaing

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