All Among the Barley
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All Among the Barley
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Narrated by:
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Helen Ayres
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By:
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Melissa Harrison
About this listen
Winner of the EU Prize for Literature
The autumn of 1933 is the most beautiful Edie Mather can remember, although the Great War still casts its shadow over the fields and villages around her beloved home, Wych Farm. Constance FitzAllen arrives from London to document fading rural traditions and beliefs. For Edie, who must soon face the unsettling pressures of adulthood, the glamorous and worldly outsider appears to be a godsend. But there is more to the older woman than meets the eye. As harvest time approaches and pressures mount on the entire community, Edie must find a way to trust her instincts and save herself from disaster.
Book of the Year New Statesman, Observer, Irish Times, BBC History Magazine
©2018 Melissa Harrison (P)2018 W. F. Howes LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
“A masterpiece.” (Jon McGregor, author of Reservoir 13)
"Impossible to forget." (The Times)
"Astonishing." (Guardian)
What listeners say about All Among the Barley
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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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. Mary Y. Berry
- 22-02-20
A wonderful story
The story twists and turns. With believable characters and great description of everything in the country . The narrator was excellent So glad I have it. Really enjoyed it
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. I. Mace
- 22-07-24
Very interesting listen
Finished this over a weekend. Gentle and informative. Historical detail of agricultural life was a highlight. Not super keen on narration. But I can overlook that.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sam N
- 16-02-19
Great book
Loved the story. I personally prefer more understated reading rather than acting the parts so wasn't hugely keen on the narration style but the book was worth it anyway.
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5 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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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mike C Davies
- 03-12-20
Beautiful writing
slow burning story, really bought to life by the performance of Helen Ayres. some beautifully drawn characters
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 10-05-19
Excessively flowery and rather depressing
Yes, it made me think. It was dark and mysterious at times, as well as evocative and well-researched. Did I enjoy reading it? No.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Justin David Wood
- 15-08-21
Beautiful observations of the natural world
I really enjoyed this book . The story was beautifully written and was interesting from a social and political perspective during a time of dramatic change in rural lives and landscape. The detailed observations of the natural world are poignant and the sense of the natural rhythms setting the pace of life is immersive in its detail.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-08-21
Beautiful story let down by the narration
I adored this lyrical, bucolic tale. It pulls you in with it's gentle rural beginning before the dramatic end with it's unnerving echoes of today's brexit/immigration debate.
However, the narration badly lets it down with a portrayal of the people of Suffolk which is so bad it's offensive. It baffles me how a narrator who has read the passages about the nameless disquiet of the villagers who sense middle class Connie’s patronising of them can then break into a Pythonesque ‘rat bag woman’ voice when portraying those same villagers.
It's beyond being bad at a particular, notoriously elusive accent; the overall effect is an othering of working class people, portraying them as cartoonish and not quite real.
Helen Ayres is palpably much more comfortable with middle class accents.
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2 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
- Anonymous User
- 17-09-20
Insightful
Beautifully written historical novel. Insightful depiction of characters and how they relate to each other.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- j h darley
- 28-07-21
Beautiful writing let down by narration.
This is a beautiful book - sensuous, evocative writing. However it was let down by a choice of narration that gave it too much of a twee, sugared Enid Blighton feel. The contrast between the cultured accent of the first person narrator and her remembered rural narratives is odd. I will buy this book and imagine it in more down-to-earth, less sacharine tones because I think the writing is worth it….
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1 person 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
- MRS J B WATSON
- 29-03-21
A fascinating view into rural life in the thirties
Helen Ayers narration brings this story to life. Young Edith is believably naive and innocent, her outlook, her gaucherie and insight into how she is perceived felt very real. The descriptions of farming in 1934 beautiful, the wildlife that has been lost due to progress heartbreaking. What a lovely book.
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3 people found this helpful