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  • The Distant Hours

  • By: Kate Morton
  • Narrated by: Caroline Lee
  • Length: 22 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (339 ratings)
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The Distant Hours cover art

The Distant Hours

By: Kate Morton
Narrated by: Caroline Lee
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Summary

Edie Burchill and her mother have never been close, but when a long lost letter arrives with the return address of Milderhurst Castle, Kent, printed on its envelope, Edie begins to suspect that her mother’s emotional distance masks an old secret. Evacuated from London as a 13-year-old girl, Edie’s mother is chosen by the mysterious Juniper Blythe, and taken to live at Milderhurst Castle with the Blythe family.

Fifty years later, Edie too is drawn to Milderhurst and the eccentric Sisters Blythe. Old ladies now, the three still live together, the twins nursing Juniper, whose abandonment by her fiancé in 1941 plunged her into madness. Inside the decaying castle, Edie begins to unravel her mother’s past. But there are other secrets hidden in the stones of Milderhurst Castle, and Edie is about to learn more than she expected. The truth of what happened in the distant hours has been waiting a long time for someone to find it.

©2010 Kate Morton (P)2010 Kate Morton

What listeners say about The Distant Hours

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

Three Sisters and the rest

This is a story of three sisters and their complicated relationship with each other, their parents, particularly their overbearing father and the people who move in and out of their lives as told by close observer's who happen to be mother and daughter.

If it sounds hard to follow, that's because it is.

The characters are well defined by both the author and the narrator of the story, so that is not the problem but it is hard, towards the end of this really long book, to retain any sympathy for any of them. I kept wanting to scream "Get on with it"! But then I'm not noted for my patience.

The other difficulty which is more specific to Audible books, is that the action flits backwards and forwards between WW2 (and sometimes before) and the present day. This can be confusing. Why it is most confusing in Audible books is that you have no visual reference point. In a book, you can refer to the beginning of the chapter or section for ease, in an Audible, that reference is not easily found.

The other important relationship is that between the narrator of the story (Edie) and her own mother (Meredith) who spent time with the sisters as an evacuee during WW2. It is hard to understand why that device was brought into play, it added little to the story, but much to the confusion.

The whole book is riddled with complexities and character flaws and mental ill health to the point where it was really difficult to find any joy and I just longed for the final paragraph and someone to please put me out of my misery. Which perhaps is a little harsh.

Caroline Lee did sterling work narrating this epic and she has a beautiful voice but I can't help but think that someone with an Australian accent was wrongly cast playing the parts of English women during this era.

I sometimes wonder if it's me that can't cope with complexity and after all, one woman's meat is another woman's poison, and trust me, there is an overindulgence of poison, hatred and bitterness in this novel.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good story, shame about narrator

Story was gripping and well written but the Australian accent of the narrator, for characters mainly from London, was very off putting. I would of expected a narrator to use accents relevant for the story. I found it very frustrating so much so, although I have read other Kate Morton books and enjoyed them, I will not be listening to any others with this particular narrator.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Jo
  • 17-01-21

Attention to detail required

The story was fine, the reading ok although some slightly odd attempts at regional accents. But it was SO OBVIOUSLY written by an Australian and the editor should have picked up on some real discrepancies. The lack of attention to detail was really jarring. Tom wondering what the castle might be like when he had already visited previously, postcodes weren’t Introduced in the uk til 1959 so Meredith wouldn’t even have known what one was let alone given it to her parents in 1939, English women don’t use “totes”, they use handbags, no English teacher would call a child “kiddo” in 1939... I could go on. Annoying.

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6 people found this helpful

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

another great book

This book had me guessing and in the end, unusually, I was wrong. However it isn't a whodunnit, it isn't a mystery novel, it isn't love story - it's all three. A beautifully written story that spans more than 5 decades it brings the characters to life so completely that you feel you could meet them in the street and know them at once.It broke my heart although in the end it was a happy ending. A masterpiece. My only fault, and a minor one, was the narrators difficulty in capturing the cockney accent, it came out a bit too Aussie. But that was a small price to pay for an otherwise faultless rendering.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A riveting listen

This is a riveting listen. The book is haunting and evocative, with a meticulously plotted narrative which keeps you entranced right to the end. Although the Australian twang of the narrator seems a little incongruous at first, it is beautifully read, capturing the emotional range of the characters very well. I've been listening to this on my way to work and now it's ended I feel like my journey is much longer. Can't recommend it highly enough.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

Excellent book. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the unexpected twists. I listened to this as I drove around the area it was set and almost felt like I would stumble upon the village and castle.

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3 people found this helpful

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

This book was so good can't wait to start another

i really enjoyed this book its only the third kate morton i have read and all of her books are spellbinding loved every min just sorry its over

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2 people found this helpful

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

Brilliant

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is the best by Kate Morton story by far. I love the past and present blend. This book is set in places I know which as made it even more real.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Absorbing story marred by the narrator's accent.

What did you like most about The Distant Hours?

I was gripped from the start. This is an extremely well-crafted story although I was always conscious of it being a story and didn't care quite enough for the characters as if they were real.

What other book might you compare The Distant Hours to, and why?

This felt like a conscious attempt at channelling the spirit and atmosphere of Charlotte Bronte/Jane Eyre into modern times. (Gothic horror/burning castles/mad people in attics etc). Although the complications of this plot transcended all.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Caroline Lee is a superb, expressive Australian actor. I've loved her in other (Australian) works but for this book she was so wrong wrong wrong! As the author is Australian it appears that they produced this audiobook for that market only. This novel takes place entirely in the south-east of England (London and Kent). This narrator can't do a decent English accent to save her life. However wonderful she is, her Australian accent constantly detracts and distracts.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it's way too long and drawn out for that. Best to enjoy in smaller portions.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Love Kate Morton

This is my third read from Kate Morton and I have the fourth book purchased from Audible in readiness for when I want a really good read.
The story set up is the same in all the books in the sense that you are presented with a story with large bits missing and gradually the truth is revealed throughout the book and sometimes as in this one the impression you get of the characters and their actions is sometimes shown to be very misjudged once the full facts are laid before you.
This book was really good and I enjoyed the way the story developed. I would say that the best of the books by far and away was book 2 The Forgotten Garden I will always look for more books by Kate Morton and think her fab.

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2 people found this helpful