Once Upon a River

By: Diane Setterfield

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Once Upon a River, written by Diane Setterfield and read by Juliet Stevenson.

A dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the Thames. The regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open on an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a little child.

Hours later the dead girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life.

Is it a miracle?

Is it magic?

Or can it be explained by science?

An exquisitely crafted multi-layered mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield’s bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.

©2019 Diane Setterfield (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Enchanting, watery story.

Although I did get a little muddled by how many children drowned or did not,( my fault no doubt),I did become engrossed in all the tales of families and life on a river.
Being familiar with the Collodion photographic technique, I was also appreciative of how the author integrated this important development in the history of image capture.
The actor’s voice characterizations were so apt and skilled. No wonder Ms Stevenson has been much “used” on stage, screens and audio.

A most stunning novel!

If you are planning to read just one book this year, let it be Once Upon the River!! Stories, magic and beautiful language you will find in it .... Ms Stevenson's narration is an absolute delight!

Loving this story

I’m 3/4 of the way through and I can’t get enough of it. Can’t believe it will let me down though. The narrator I followed from Mrs.Benson’s Beetle, as I prefer English accents, but she really did a bad job at the West Indian accent in this tale. It sounded more welsh or like a cartoon character/ absurd. I can’t wait to finish it nonetheless.

Succes

Once you take the chance on this story, it'll pay you back double. A very good story, and very nicely read.

thoroughly enjoyed.

although i really enjoyed this book, it took me 3 hours to get 'in' to it and with all the names it become a but confusing at times. The book as a whole is wonderfully written and the accents were really enjoyable.