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The Farmer's Wife
- My Life in Days
- Narrated by: Verity Henry
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
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The Farmer's Wife
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Summary
'It's quite an achievement to shine a light of truth on the often idealised, always understated, role of the farmer's wife.' RAYNOR WINN
'True, unflinching, powerful, lyrical' KATE MOSSE
'Very moving, real and true.' AMY LIPTROT
'Authentic and affecting.' SARAH LANGFORD
'Lovely, warm and real, it made me cry and cook and think. ' ELLA RISBRIDGER
A portrait of life at Helen Rebanks' Lake District farmhouse that beautifully captures the unsung work of keeping a home and raising a family.
As dawn breaks on the farm, Helen Rebanks makes a mug of tea, relishing the few minutes of quiet before the house stirs. Within the hour the sounds of her husband, James, and their four children will fill the kitchen. There are also six sheepdogs, two ponies, 20 chickens, 50 cattle and 500 sheep to care for. Helen is a farmer's wife. Hers is a story that is rarely told, despite being one we think we know.
Weaving past and present, Helen shares the days that have shaped her. This is the truth of those days: from steering the family through the Beast from the East and the local authority planning committee, to finding the quiet strength to keep going, when supper is yet to be started, another delivery man has assumed he needs to speak to the 'man of the house', and she would rather punch a cushion than plump it.
This beautifully-illustrated memoir, which takes place across one day at the farm, offers a chance to think about where our food comes from and who puts it on the table. Helen's recipes, lists and gentle wisdom helps us to get through our days, whatever they throw at us.
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What listeners say about The Farmer's Wife
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- joanne killen
- 12-10-23
A lovely book full of all emotion
Absolutely loved this book, so full of love happiness and true to life stories. The author made me laugh, cry, empathise, and be angry.
The recipes within was
an ingenious idea and will be trying lots of them.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 13-09-23
Absolutely Beautiful
Very real, beautifully told, definitely worth a read/listen! A rollercoaster of feelings! Love it!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- C F.
- 05-02-24
honest record of farm life
too short could have kept listening to Helens life so easy to identify with
let people see what farm life is truly like
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Rosalind
- 31-01-24
Insight into the unseen
I loved how Helen got to the very heart of being a mother/ wife/ provider & domestic glue. Powerfully yet delicately written. A life’s work building upon each layer to evolve to where she is now.
Such an insight into how the outside world does not place enough value on creating a home, supporting the family and the joy ( & hardships) this can bring . A wonderful book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jw
- 04-03-24
I loved this book!
I don't usually write reviews ever but I just loved this book, it may be that I have 3 children and am a farmers wife so lots of similarities with my life. Its so well written with lovely recipes throughout.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Lorraine Yates
- 25-09-23
Beautifully real and so well written
I loved it from start to finish. Thank you for sharing your lives, recipes and everyday struggles and triumphs.
A really special book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Janette Budge
- 05-01-24
Encouraging to see Helen's passion for good quality sustainable food.
Liked the descriptions of life at home and on the farm. Would have liked more description in parts. some chapters felt like they stopped abruptly. I wanted to know more about what happened during the Beast from the East for example.
Overall very much enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend.
Would also have liked Helen to have read the audio version herself.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Valerie Kennett
- 09-09-23
Guardian reader.
I loved both The Shepherds life & English Pastoral & was really looking forward to this.
Well I was thoroughly engaged with this book. I both appreciate & sympathise with Helen’s open account of growing up, & what families go through striving to make what they desperately want to be the ‘perfect’ home.
And I’m so glad the recipes were included. I hate to hear about delicious food cooked, & not be told how you make it. So thank you.
I cook, but many people are embarrassed to admit that they struggle, or know where to start or what to choose. Well I’m going to buy a written copy just for the recipes.
So this book might not read quite like ‘All Creatures Great & Small, that’s true; (Guardian) though Alf Wight gave us several dark insights into farming & his life as a vet; but then, we were never told what the other Helen ( Joan Wight’s ) own account would have been, were we?
I recommend this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 19-11-23
Female perspective of farm life
Interesting listen, if I’d known there were going to be all those recipes I’d have got a hard copy. Story jumps around a bit. Good description of female perspective of raising a family in the farming setting. I bet the rebanks family get more income from writing than they do from farming.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Wendy T.
- 31-12-23
A beautiful telling of a life on a Lake District farm.
I really enjoyed this book. A beautiful mix of memoir and present day. For me, it was both familiar, (the parenting aspects,) and different, (life on the farm.)
It was a lovely escape, but also quietly political in its discussion of farming and the environment. It was optimistic and full of love and hope.
It took me a while to settle into the way the recipes are included, but I just relaxed into them in the end. The narrator has such a warm, tone, that they ended up becoming part of the experience.
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