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The End of the Road

A journey around Britain in search of the dead

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The End of the Road

By: Jack Cooke
Narrated by: Paul Hilliar
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About this listen

A wonderfully quixotic, charming and surprisingly uplifting travelogue which sees Jack Cooke, author of the much-loved The Treeclimbers Guide, drive around the British Isles in a clapped-out forty-year old hearse in search of famous – and not so famous – tombs, graves and burial sites.

Along the way, he launches a daredevil trespass into Highgate Cemetery at night, stumbles across the remains of the Welsh Druid who popularised cremation and has time to sit and ponder the imponderables at the graveside of the Lady of Hoy, an 18th century suicide victim whose body was kept in near condition by the bog in which she was buried. A truly unique, beautifully written and wonderfully imagined book.

 Death & Dying Europe Great Britain Sociology Travel Writing & Commentary Feel-Good

Critic reviews

‘An entertaining and strangely cheering read… full of fascinating stories’ – Country Life

‘A unique insight into Britain’s landscape’ – The Observer

, '…utterly compelling – The Oldie Magazine

‘If a younger, more upbeat Bill Bryson was happy to travel Britain while using a hearse as a mobile home, this is the kind of book we’d get.’ – Reader review

‘Who’d have thought a trip in a hearse would be so enjoyable?’ – Reader review

‘A fantastic read for anyone who has loved spending a while looking through old graveyards and soaking up all the history within.’ – Reader review
All stars
Most relevant
This was a chance purchase and proved to be a good choice. A fascinating journey, one that I found emensly interesting. It took me a couple of chapters to get used to the narrator, but in the end it was fine. Definitely worth a listen.

Surprisingly enjoyable

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I wasn’t sure about this book at first, but the more I got into it, the better it became.
I found the narrator clear and was able to hold my attention as didn’t sound monotone like some audiobooks do.

Some very interesting points and places that would be good to read further on/visit.

Well worth a listen.

An interesting book

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There are definitely some interesting bits in this book, some of which I have been moved to follow up and read more about. But...to get to these interesting nuggets you have to endure a rather laboured and contrived text. It is one of those books where the author tries to make everyday events contain funny or bizarre moments, when they are really just everyday events. If the author had stuck to just describing what happened, and put a bit more effort into fleshing out the bones of the real content of the book, this would be a 5 star book. On top of this, the narrator makes some strange pronunication errors (e.g. pronouncing DAIMLER as 'dime-ler''', and LEWES as 'looze'). Bit disappointed, but not bad enough to warrant a return.

Not great

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I found his writing style to be highly entertaining.
Detailed descriptions of the landscapes and events , as Jack explored the whole length and breadth of GB. Very humorous ,yet touching too.
Paul’s narration provided a friendly delivery , with some cracking accents. It felt as though this story ,was being regaled by a friend, in some cozy country inn.
I shall have to listen to it again very soon !

A beautifully written and narrated book.

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I wasn't sure about this at first, as the narrator, while good at the task, seemed wrong for the story. But I kept on going and am so pleased I did. So many interesting things I had no idea about! All delivered with some adventures along the way.

interesting piece of history

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