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Before I Met You (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

by Lisa Jewell (Author), Jane Collingwood (Narrator)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (179 customer reviews)

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Product details

Audio Download
Listening Length: 15 hours
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks Ltd
Audible.co.uk Release Date: 8 Oct 2012
Language: English
ASIN: B009T9S9G0

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (179 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Betty Dean can't wait to leave her quiet upbringing in Guernsey and begin her mission to find Clara Pickle - the mysterious beneficiary in her grandmother's will. She arrives in grungy, 1990s Soho, ready for whatever life has to throw at her. Or so she thinks...

As Betty searches for Clara, she is taken on a journey through her grandmother, Arlette's, extraordinary life in 1920s bohemian London, uncovering a tale of love, loss and heartbreak amidst the hedonistic world of the Bright Young People.

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4.5 out of 5 stars

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 82 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting new direction for one of my favourite authors 25 Jun 2012

By Denise4891 TOP 100 REVIEWER VINE VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine Review (What's this?)

If you look at my other reviews you'll see that I'm not a great reader of `chick-lit' (hate that term but can't think of a better one), but I've always had a real soft spot for Lisa Jewell. She tends to get lumped in with the chick-lit writers, but I think there's much more substance to her novels compared to some of that genre, and hopefully the new direction she's taken with her latest book will win her a whole new group of fans.

It's the mid-1990s and Betty Dean is spreading her wings following the death of her beloved step-grandmother, Arlette. She leaves Guernsey on a mission to find a mysterious woman who features in her grandmother's will, the gloriously named Clara Pickle. All she has to go on is an ancient last known address and a copy of Polyanna which Arlette had inscribed with the dedication "To Little Miss Pickle".

Betty is adorable - bright, resourceful and funny, she manages to stay just the right side of quirky without becoming irritating. She arrives in Soho at an exciting time and those of us of a certain age will have fun spotting all the 90s references - Britpop and Nirvana, Primrose Hill and the Groucho Club etc. Betty's story is interspersed with flashbacks to Bohemian 1920s London, with its jazz clubs, Bright Young Things and artists painting in garrets (well a cottage in Gideon`s case). Arlette is pretty green when she arrives from Guernsey to stay with a friend of her mother`s. She soon immerses herself into the wild and exotic Soho scene but, as Betty's search reveals, heartbreak and tragedy are never far away.

Jewell usually writes about real people in real situations, set in a period (the nineties and noughties) that I can identify with and look back on with affection. Read more ›

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Surprisingly Lovely Read 23 July 2012

By Susie B TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback

As a first time reader of Lisa Jewell, I was a little unsure about what to expect when I received this book as a gift; however, I was very pleasantly surprised with this lovely story, set in the 1920s and the 1990s, which I enjoyed from start to finish.

In the 1990s Elizabeth (Betty) comes to London from her home in Guernsey where she has spent the last few years caring for her step-father's mother, the elderly but glamorous Arlette, with her lacy stockings, her red silk shoes and her well-hidden secrets. After Arlette's death, Betty is puzzled when she discovers that Arlette has left a large sum of money in her will to the deliciously named Clara Tatiana Pickles, of whom no-one in the family seems to know anything about. Betty, who discovers that Clara's last known address was in Soho, sets off from Guernsey and arrives in London, takes a studio flat right in the heart of Soho and begins searching for the elusive Ms Pickles. Whilst searching, Betty meets a variety of interesting people including the tall, dark and gloweringly handsome market trader, John, and the infamous Dom Jones, lead singer of the band 'Wall', both of whom are attracted to the lovely Betty. As Betty says to herself as she looks around her new studio flat: "Real life has finally begun."

In the 1920s we learn about Arlette's life as a young woman - of how she left her family on Guernsey and moved to London, how she got a job in Liberty's, became the muse of a rising artist, became intimately involved with a man who would not have been considered suitable by her family, and became part of the bohemian group of people known as the 'Bright Young Things' with their parties, jazz clubs and drinking dens. But, ultimately, do we learn who Clara Pickles is, and why she was so important to Arlette? Read more ›

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book 12 Jun 2013

By Rosamond Joy

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read this because I saw it advertised on the tube and was attracted by the setting in London. Actually it vastly exceeded my expectations. I liked the two parallel stories of step grandmother/granddaughter. It is well written and, though the story is not particularly original, there are sufficient twists in the plot to keep you gripped to the end. It would be particularly good for holiday reading.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A touching and memorable book 22 Jan 2013

By Hannah Fielding

Format:Paperback

For me, curling up with a Lisa Jewell novel is like curling up with a coffee in front of a warm fire - comforting, cosy with the guarantee that it will warm the cockles of my heart. This book did not disappoint. Well-written, vivid and at once warm and funny and poignant and moving. It's a more mature read than some of Lisa's earlier novels - even with a relatively young heroine, it is less `chicklit' in feel and deals with some serious rather than frivolous themes.

I especially enjoyed the dual points of view explored in the book - of Arlette, a young woman in 1920s London, and her step-granddaughter Betty, in 1990s London. There are wonderful parallels and also juxtaposition of the women's experiences that made for a compelling and powerful read. The characters are multi-faceted and realistic and likeable, and I was rather sad by the end of the book that their story had come to an end.

For me, the best part of this book is the sense of place that the author creates. I love the island of Guernsey, so I enjoyed the descriptions of that setting, but it is London that really comes alive on the pages. Having read this book soon after finishing The Paris Wife, which depicts 1920s Paris, I found myself drawing parallels and enjoying the glimpse of life in bohemian London during that era. I think the author does a marvellous job of capturing the heart of London - Soho - without over-romanticising it. Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommending to Friends

Was lent this book by a friend and enjoyed it so much I bought two copies to give as gifts to other friends for birthdays - great story, well written

Published 21 days ago by MRS SARAH SOHIER

5.0 out of 5 stars Great easy read

It was page turning and easy to read. I found the characters sympathetic and I enjoyed learning more about the jazz age.

Published 28 days ago by Mrs F C Hutchinson