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Finding the Plot
- 100 Graves to Visit Before You Die
- Narrated by: Lucy Paterson
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
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Finding the Plot
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Editor reviews
Ann Treneman, Political sketch writer for the Times, spent about four years doing what she’s termed "graveing". She traveled around Britain asking people what their favorite graves are, tracking down the most interesting dead people and the most iconic, historical, and architectural graves. She found that "people with interesting graves were exactly that themselves". Trying to keep this strange travel guide fun, she stayed away from recent graves and murder victims, using the monuments to embrace life, not death. Lucy Patterson performs the audiobook with a smile and a wink at the conceivably morbid subject matter that makes one imagine a wry sort of Miss Marple investigating the "plots" of Britain.
Summary
Completely off-the-wall, It's a Plot is a fascinating geographical and historical journey around Britain. The Tibetans have the Book of the Dead. This is Ann Treneman's Book of the Dead Interesting. The Times writer, best known for her hilarious parliamentary sketches, has branched out - to graveyards.
In this riveting book - part travelogue, part biography, part social history - she takes you to the best graves in Britain. You'll meet the real War Horse, the best funambulist ever, Byron and his dog Boatswain, prime ministers, queens and kings, Florence Nightingale and her pet baby owl Athena, highwaymen, scientists, mistresses, the real James Bond and, of course, M. Then there are writers, painters, poets, rakes and rogues, victims, the meek and mild - and the just plain mad.
This unique book is made up of 100 entries, each telling the story of one or more graves. Some of the graves are chosen for who is in them, others for the grave itself. Some of the entries are humorous, some are poignant, but all tell us something about the British way of death. At times absurd, at times astounding, in It's a Plot, Ann Treneman proves an excellent guide to the Anglo-Saxon underworld!
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What listeners say about Finding the Plot
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Dt Horan
- 14-09-22
Interesting but badly presented
After the first couple of repetitive chapters, the main interest in this book lay in wondering what the narrator would mispronounce next - the literary executor who sounded as though he was chopping off heads; posthumous with the break after the s (pos-thumous) were among my favourites from a crowded field. A small vocabulary might be forgiven, but for someone exacting a fee for reading about people not to learn how to pronounce their names - poor Jenny Uglow and Una Troubridge - is beyond the pale. Mind you the writer (and editor) weren't too exacting about getting facts correct - cassowaries extinct indeed! interesting material but badly presented.
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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
- Mrs. A. Newham
- 12-11-13
Dead Good
What made the experience of listening to Finding the Plot the most enjoyable?
Loved it. History and humour in one book.It is not so much a story as a monologue.
What other book might you compare Finding the Plot to, and why?
None, it is unique.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
All of them.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No.
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3 people found this helpful
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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
- David Filce
- 21-11-21
Loved this Book
A bit left field but this is an amazing book. The Hardy Tree and Lord Sutch's final resting place on my to do list, as is a trip to Westminster Abbey.
Not macabre at all,but a celebration of people's lives
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Nigel
- 14-12-13
Interesting idea, but alas was rather dull
Any additional comments?
On reading the publisher’s summary this appears to be an interesting and unusual audiobook, but alas there are two main issues:
i) Lucy Paterson, the narrator, has a great clarity to her voice though sadly it lacked any warmth or humour. To some this may not pose a problem, but with an audiobook of nearly 8 hours it needs to be told in an interesting way otherwise it can easily just become background noise.
ii) The publisher’s summary said “part travelogue”, well this is technically true, but it should read very small part. Therefore the book lacked any contrast and quickly became a repetitive history lesson for each of the graves residents and what with the bland narration the last few hours seemed to never end.
Some people may find this to be the bestest audiobook ever, but I do implore you to listen to the sample first and consider whether you could listen to 473 minutes of it.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 13-10-13
poor
What would have made Finding the Plot better?
got the names of places correct
Would you ever listen to anything by Ann Treneman again?
perhaps
What didn’t you like about Lucy Paterson’s performance?
doesn't know about where she is talking about, just for starters the Bront'e sisters are at
HOW-WORTH not HAY-WORTH,
Any additional comments?
dull
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amy
- 14-04-22
No
Only made 3 mins in. I’m so sorry but her voice is unbearable. It’s like Miss Havisham meets The Times
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