Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

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.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

A Change of Climate

By: Hilary Mantel
Narrated by: Sandra Duncan
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Ralph and Anna Eldred live in the big Red House in Norfolk, raising their four children and devoting their lives to charity. But the constant flood of 'good souls and sad cases' welcomed into their home hides the growing crises in their own family. From the violent townships of South Africa to the windswept countryside of Norfolk, this is an epic yet subtle family saga about what happens when trust is broken...

©1994 Hilary Mantel (P)2011 W F Howes Ltd
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Long Gaze Back cover art
Playing in the Light cover art
The Colour cover art
One Across, Two Down cover art
The Beacon cover art
The Landscape of Love cover art
A Fatal Inversion cover art
Exposure cover art
Next of Kin cover art
A Great Deliverance cover art

What listeners say about A Change of Climate

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    283
  • 4 Stars
    154
  • 3 Stars
    85
  • 2 Stars
    30
  • 1 Stars
    19
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    315
  • 4 Stars
    107
  • 3 Stars
    47
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    10
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    251
  • 4 Stars
    133
  • 3 Stars
    71
  • 2 Stars
    26
  • 1 Stars
    20

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Er...brilliantly written, but did i want to know ?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, couldnt put it down, yet so frustrating that even the breakout didnt make up for it

If you’ve listened to books by Hilary Mantel before, how does this one compare?

How did she get from this to the joyous Cromwell

What didn’t you like about Sandra Duncan’s performance?

Didnt like the male voice, clipped and gratey may have reflected the story, but enough already!

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Depends on the actors

Any additional comments?

Worth reading but ... Dont know, feel worthy that i got to the end but so well written.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Listen

My first Hilary Mantel book apart from the Wolf Hall trilogy. I really enjoyed it. I like fiction that depicts human nature, the invisible strands that bind people together and the secrets they keep. I was not disappointed in anyway. A well thought out story with characters demonstrate strengths and weaknesses and some who aren't that likeable. Extremely well read by the narrator who really captured the different people. I will now explore other Mantel books to read and to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Wide ranging and engrossing

Well plotted, the South African parts were the most vivid. Credible characters and structure.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Slow to start but loved it once got into it

Found it hard to get into at first but couldn’t stop listening at the end. There is a sadness at the heart of the story but we only learn about it half way through. Very real understated characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling

I found this book difficult to put down. The story was written with style, and each character was expertly brought to life by the brilliant narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This such a beautiful book

I've never read or listened to anything by Hilary Mantel before. Her description of feelings and events are so beautiful drawn, moving away from the words that are used endless to describe pain and loss. She reminds me of Steinbeck.. Brilliant. Can't wait to listen to more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointed in the end.

Having
read and enjoyed other works by Mantel, I was disappointed in this one. Characters flat, and plot end a damp sqibb.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding as always

So well written. Extremely well narrated. A slow burner but Hillary knows how to bring her characters and story to life and makes it impossible to stop.

Another fantastic book by the extraordinary Hilary Mantel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not Mantel's best!

What did you like best about A Change of Climate? What did you like least?

'A Change Of Climate' is a family saga that challenges the reader to think about faith or a lack of it without prejudice. Mantel encourages questions about God and human relationships, about faith, fear of rejection, being 'good', suffering and guilt. She especially prompts us to think about how our actions have consequences. I didn't like the parts where Mantel becomes overly descriptive and slows the story to a point where I would find my mind wandering!

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have explored more fully the reasons and consequences of Ralph's affair.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Some of the accents were a little weak.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Yes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enthralling

Having read ‘Wolf Hall’ (3 times) and ‘Bring up the Bodies’; I was interested in the change of story setting and living where this one is set intrigued me. This story did not disappoint, I enjoyed the clarity of the sinuous language which often made images pop in my head like a sudden memory. The narration was superb and the story was so multi layered it felt like an immersive experience. Will read the rest of her catalogue with anticipation

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful