Audiobooks by Pat Barker

Brought to you by Penguin. An unflinching novel on the nature of evil from the Booker Prize-winning and Women's Prize-shortlisted author of The Silence of the Girls When Tom Seymour, a child psychologist, plunges into a river to save a young man from drowning, he unwittingly reopens a chapter from his past he'd hoped to forget. For Tom already knows Danny Miller. When Danny was ten Tom helped imprison him for the killing of an old woman. Now out of prison with a new identity, Danny has some questions - questions he thinks only Tom can answer. Reluctantly, Tom is drawn back into Danny's world - a place where the border between good and evil, innocence and guilt is blurred and confused. But when Danny's demands on Tom become extreme, Tom wonders whether he has crossed a line of his own - and in crossing it, can he ever go back? 'Rich, surprising, breathtaking' The Times 'A tremendous piece of writing, sad and terrifying. It keeps you reading, exhausted and blurry-eyed, until 2am' Independent on Sunday 'Barker probes not only the mysteries of 'evil' but society's horrified and incoherent response to it' Guardian 'Brilliantly crafted. Unflinching yet sensitive, this is a dark story expertly told' Daily Mail © Pat Barker 2002 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Pat Barker (Author), Jeremy Irvine (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Women of Troy: The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller

Brought to you by Penguin. Following her bestselling, critically acclaimed The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker continues her extraordinary retelling of one of our greatest myths. Troy has fallen. The Greeks have won their bitter war. They can return home as victors - all they need is a good wind to lift their sails. But the wind has vanished, the seas becalmed by vengeful gods, and so the warriors remain in limbo - camped in the shadow of the city they destroyed, kept company by the women they stole from it. The women of Troy. Helen - poor Helen. All that beauty, all that grace - and she was just a mouldy old bone for feral dogs to fight over. Cassandra, who has learned not to be too attached to her own prophecies. They have only ever been believed when she can get a man to deliver them. Stubborn Amina, with her gaze still fixed on the ruined towers of Troy, determined to avenge the slaughter of her king. Hecuba, howling and clawing her cheeks on the silent shore, as if she could make her cries heard in the gloomy halls of Hades. As if she could wake the dead. And Briseis, carrying her future in her womb: the unborn child of the dead hero Achilles. Once again caught up in the disputes of violent men. Once again faced with the chance to shape history. Masterful and enduringly resonant, ambitious and intimate, The Women of Troy continues Pat Barker's extraordinary retelling of one of our greatest classical myths, following on from the critically acclaimed The Silence of the Girls. 'Taut, masterly, wholly absorbing. Still one of the greatest stories ever written. A book that will be read in generations to come' Daily Telegraph on The Silence of the Girls © Pat Barker 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Pat Barker (Author), Kristin Atherton (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Silence of the Girls: A Novel

One of Vanity Fair's Best Fall Books of 2018 'An important, powerful, memorable book that invites us to look differently not only at The Iliad but at our own ways of telling stories about the past and the present.' --Emily Wilson, translator of The Odyssey From the Booker Prize-winning author of the Regeneration trilogy comes a monumental new masterpiece, set in the midst of literature's most famous war. Pat Barker turns her attention to the timeless legend of The Iliad, as experienced by the captured women living in the Greek camp in the final weeks of the Trojan War. The ancient city of Troy has withstood a decade under siege of the powerful Greek army, who continue to wage bloody war over a stolen woman--Helen. In the Greek camp, another woman watches and waits for the war's outcome: Briseis. She was queen of one of Troy's neighboring kingdoms, until Achilles, Greece's greatest warrior, sacked her city and murdered her husband and brothers. Briseis becomes Achilles's concubine, a prize of battle, and must adjust quickly in order to survive a radically different life, as one of the many conquered women who serve the Greek army. When Agamemnon, the brutal political leader of the Greek forces, demands Briseis for himself, she finds herself caught between the two most powerful of the Greeks. Achilles refuses to fight in protest, and the Greeks begin to lose ground to their Trojan opponents. Keenly observant and cooly unflinching about the daily horrors of war, Briseis finds herself in an unprecedented position to observe the two men driving the Greek forces in what will become their final confrontation, deciding the fate, not only of Briseis's people, but also of the ancient world at large. Briseis is just one among thousands of women living behind the scenes in this war--the slaves and prostitutes, the nurses, the women who lay out the dead--all of them erased by history. With breathtaking historical detail and luminous prose, Pat Barker brings the teeming world of the Greek camp to vivid life. She offers nuanced, complex portraits of characters and stories familiar from mythology, which, seen from Briseis's perspective, are rife with newfound revelations. Barker's latest builds on her decades-long study of war and its impact on individual lives--and it is nothing short of magnificent.

Pat Barker (Author), Kristin Atherton, Michael Fox (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Silence of the Girls

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, read by Kristin Atherton and Michael Fox. From the Booker Prize-winning author of Regeneration and one of our greatest contemporary writers on war comes a re-imagining of the most famous conflict in literature - the legendary Trojan War. The great city of Troy is under siege as Greek heroes Achilles and Agamemnon wage bloody war over a stolen woman. In the Greek camp, another woman is watching and waiting: Briseis. She was a queen of this land until Achilles sacked her city and murdered her husband and sons. Now she is Achilles' concubine: a prize of battle. Briseis is just one among thousands of women backstage in this war - the slaves and prostitutes, the nurses, the women who lay out the dead - all of them voiceless in history. But, though no one knows it yet, they are just ten weeks away from the death of Achilles and the Fall of Troy, an end to this long and bitter conflict. Briseis will see it all - and she will bear witness.

Pat Barker (Author), Kristin Atherton, Michael Fox (Narrator)

Audiobook

Noonday

A new novel from the Booker Prize–winning Pat Barker, author of the Regeneration trilogy, that unforgettably portrays London during the Blitz and reaffirms her place as a top-ranked British novelist London, the Blitz, Autumn 1940. As the bombs fall on the blacked-out city, ambulance driver Elinor Brooke races from bomb sites to hospitals in order to save the lives of injured survivors. She works alongside former friend Kit Neville while her husband, Paul Tarrant, works as an air-raid warden. Once fellow students at the Slade School of Fine Art before the First World War destroyed the hopes of their generation, they now find themselves caught in another war, this time at home. As the bombing intensifies, the constant risk of death makes all three reach out for quick consolation. And into their midst comes the spirit medium Bertha Mason, grotesque and unforgettable, whose ability to make contact with the deceased finds vastly increased demand as death rains down from the skies. Old loves and obsessions resurface until Elinor is brought face-to-face with an almost impossible choice. Completing the story that began with Life Class and continued with Toby’s Room, Noonday is both a stand-alone novel and the climax of a trilogy. Writing about the Second World War for the first time, Pat Barker brings the besieged and haunted city of London into electrifying life in her most powerful novel since the Regeneration trilogy. “Barker is as subtle and tough-minded here about human nature as in all her work. Yet the closing pages suggest the possibility of new beginnings even as they acknowledge the permanence of old wounds…A strong example of this gifted British writer’s intelligent, uncompromising way with fiction.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Pat Barker (Author), Various Narrators (Narrator)

Audiobook

Noonday

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of Noonday by Pat Barker, read by Juliet Stevenson, Stephen Boxer, John Sackville, Anne Reid & Finlay Robertson. London, the Blitz, autumn 1940. Ambulance drivers Elinor Brooke and Kit Neville ferry injured survivors from bomb sites to hospitals while Elinor's husband Paul works as an air-raid warden. Once fellow students at the Slade School of Fine Art, before the First World War destroyed the hopes of their generation, now all three find themselves caught in another war. And as the bombing intensifies, old loves and obsessions re-surface until Elinor is brought face to face with an almost impossible choice. Completing the story of Elinor, Paul and Kit that began with Life Class and continued with Toby's Room, Noonday is both a stand-alone novel and the climax of a trilogy. Pat Barker brings the besieged and haunted city of London into electrifying life in her most powerful novel since the Regeneration trilogy.

Pat Barker (Author), Anne Reid, Finlay Robertson, John Sackville, Juliet Stevenson, Stephen Boxer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Toby's Room

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Toby's Room, a dark, compelling novel of human desire, wartime horror and the power of friendship. When Toby is reported 'Missing, Believed Killed', another secret casts a lengthening shadow over Elinor's world: how exactly did Toby die - and why? Elinor determines to uncover the truth. Only then can she finally close the door to Toby's room. Moving from the Slade School of Art to Queen Mary's Hospital, where surgery and art intersect in the rebuilding of the shattered faces of the wounded, Toby's Room is a riveting drama of identity, damage, intimacy and loss. Toby's Room is Pat Barker's most powerful novel yet.

Pat Barker (Author), Eve Webster, Finlay Robertson, Juliet Prague, Kieran Bew (Narrator)

Audiobook

Life Class

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Pat Barker's powerful and unforgettable story of art and war, Life Class. Spring, 1914. The students at the Slade School of Art gather in Henry Tonks's studio for his life-drawing class. But for Paul Tarrant the class is troubling, underscoring his own uncertainty about making a mark on the world. When war breaks out and the army won't take Paul, he enlists in the Belgian Red Cross just as he and fellow student Elinor Brooke admit their feelings for one another. Amidst the devastation in Ypres, Paul comes to see the world anew - but have his experiences changed him completely? 'Triumphant, shattering, inspiring' The Times 'Barker writes as brilliantly as ever . . . with great tenderness and insight she conveys a wartime world turned upside down'Independent on Sunday 'Vigorous, masterly, gripping' Penelope Lively, Independent 'Extraordinarily powerful' Sunday Telegraph

Pat Barker (Author), Eve Webster, Finlay Robertson, Juliet Prague, Kieran Bew (Narrator)

Audiobook

Toby's Room

Toby's Room opens in the July of 1917, three years after the events of Life Class. Elinor Brooke is still painting, but her brother Toby is shipping out to the front as a Medical Officer, a fact that she cannot bring herself to accept. Toby finds himself on the same Channel crossing as Kit Neville, a close friend-and aspiring suitor-of Elinor's from before the war. Intent on cementing his reputation as an artist, Kit never intended to serve overseas. Conscripted nonetheless, he becomes a stretcher-bearer assigned to assist Toby. It's exhausting, dangerous work, and Kit resents Toby's frequent decisions to risk their own lives in attempting to save the wounded. Confronted daily by their mortality, both men find solace in sexual exploits, but Toby pushes the envelope further by seeking out men, risking a great deal in the process. When Kit sees Toby having sex with another soldier in the ruins of Ypres, he tells the chaplain. Two days later, Toby goes missing presumed dead during a bombardment as he runs to the aid of a soldier. News of her missing brother destroys the indifference Elinor has cultivated for so long. She tracks down Kit, who is by now wounded and back in London, but she doesn't believe his version of events. That Kit is cracking up doesn't help; he is soon transferred to a convalescent home where he goes spectacularly mad. Elinor instead turns to her German friend Catherine for comfort, even as Catherine struggles to cope with her own burdens, not least her nationality. Pat Barker is one of Britain's very finest novelists, and in Toby's Room she once again demonstrates her ability to eloquently convey simple, moving truths. A multi-layered exploration of identity, Toby's Room develops the already empathetic and engaging characters of Life Class, exploring at all levels-and across all divides-what it means to be human.

Pat Barker (Author), Nicola Barber (Narrator)

Audiobook

Life Class

In the spring of 1914, a group of young students gather in an art studio for a life-drawing class. Paul Tarrant and Elinor Brooke are two components of a love triangle, and at the outset of the war, they turn to each other. After volunteering for the Red Cross, Paul must confront the fact that life, love, and art will never be the same for him. Pat Barker is unrivaled in her ability to convey simple, moving human truths. Her skill in relaying the harrowing experience of modern warfare is matched by the depth of insight she brings to the experience of love and the morality of art in a time of war. Life Class is one of her genuine masterpieces. “The author’s unflinching eye for detail and her supple prose create an undeniably powerful narrative.”--Publishers Weekly

Pat Barker (Author), Russell Boulter (Narrator)

Audiobook

Regeneration

The first in a stunning trilogy about the First World War, the novel takes a real life encounter between a doctor running a hospital for the wounded, and Siegfried Sassoon. Craiglockhart, a hospital for officers ravaged by their experiences in trench warfare, is the setting for Pat Barker's 'Regeneration'. Here the poet Siegfried Sassoon, author of an article condemning the war, came under the care of psychiatrist W.H.R Rivers whose duty, as he saw it, was to return Sassoon to all the horrors of the Front, because Sassoon was sane, was healthy - and he had made a commitment. But while the encounter of Sassoon and Rivers is central to 'Regeneration', it is the exploration of the character of Rivers himself, the agony of the other patients and the insights into their minds, that makes this a tour-de-force. A superb novel related with chilling clarity and vivid compassion.

Pat Barker (Author), Paul McGann (Narrator)

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The Eye in the Door

The second book in the Regeneration trilogy, read by Paul McGann. Written with immense power, it is the story not just of one young man suffering from the trauma of war, but from a generation, condemned to the unending slaughter of the trenches, and all the charged agony of class and gender that had its own bitter harvest. But for all the pain she portrays, Barker's novel, with its wry humour and exquisite observation, explodes with life..

Pat Barker (Author), Paul McGann (Narrator)

Audiobook