The Strawberry Girl

By: Lisa Stromme

Narrated by: Jo Woodcock

Brought to you by Penguin.

Summer 1893, and the Norwegian fishing village of Åsgårdstrand is preparing for the arrival of well-to-do guests and bohemian artists from the city. Local girl Johanne Lien dutifully gathers berries for tourists and poses barefoot for painters as ‘The Strawberry Girl’.

Johanne becomes a maid for the wealthy Ihlen family, whose wayward daughter Tullik recruits her as a go-between in her pursuit of the controversial painter Edvard Munch. Before long, Johanne is drawn into the raw emotion of Munch’s art and his secret liaison with Tullik. But when she is asked to hide more than just secrets, Johanne must decide whether to take the risk…

Lisa Stromme brings alive the tumultuous love affair that inspired one of the most famous paintings of all time, in a vivid and bewitching story of innocence, creativity and desire.

©2016 Lisa Stromme (P)2016 Random House Audiobooks

The accent matters!

Would you be willing to try another one of Jo Woodcock’s performances?

Not unless it was set in London.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

This story is set in a Norwegian fishing village, about the painter Edvard Munch. So why does the narrator have a Cockney accent? It matters, folks! It takes me right out of the setting and into the streets of London. Returning.