In Picardy's Fields

Prequel to The Diamond Courier

By: Hannah Byron

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

A World War I historical fiction novel set in northern France, this story follows two courageous women whose friendship, romantic entanglements, and early acts of resistance shape the legacy carried into World War 2. Ideal for readers of Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, and Martha Hall Kelly who love emotional, character-driven wartime narratives.

France, 1918. Across the shattered fields of Picardy, Agnès de Saint-Aubin tends to the wounded in a frontline hospital until German forces break through the château’s doors. A dangerous secret shadows her every step, and only her American colleague seems able to steady the storm rising around her.

Beyond the trenches, Countess Madeleine de Dragoncourt refuses to surrender her ancestral home to occupying forces. In shaping a bold plan to reclaim the château, she finds herself colliding with a British officer whose presence unsettles her resolve and awakens something far more perilous.

Friendship binds them, sacrifice shapes them, and love complicates the paths they dare to walk. Long after the guns fall silent, their choices will echo into the next generation, when their daughters rise to resist a new darkness.

In Picardy’s Fields, the standalone prequel to The Resistance Girl Series, blends women’s historical fiction, intergenerational themes, slow-burn romance, and the first threads of a two-war family saga that continues with the resistance women of WWII.

Couldn’t finish listening…

I’m going to have to buy the actual book because the AI narration on this is horrible. I tried but, it’s bad. Poor or non-existent inflection, mispronounced (or incorrect words). Does the story a serious injustice.

Good story, terrible narration.

Skip the audio book and just read this one. The computer narration is perfectly dreadful.

The narration is not right for the story

the story is filled with somber scenes from difficult war time circumstances. The narration takes away from the story because it's too upbeat and has emphasis in odd places. Whether the narration is by a person or by AI (I don't know which it is) it is more suitable for children's stories or more upbeat, positive story lines. A more level, serious narration would be more appropriate.

The characters in the story.

Story was good, but virtual voice lacked a great deal. Virtual voice made it hard to listen to the book.

not much

The reader did a poor job reading, very flat. She didn't know how to set several of the French words. Just poorly done.