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The Heroes’ Welcome

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The Heroes’ Welcome

By: Louisa Young
Narrated by: Dan Stevens
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About this listen

The Heroes’ Welcome is the incandescent sequel to the bestselling R&J pick My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You. Its evocation of a time deeply wounded by the pain of WW1 will capture and beguile readers fresh to Louisa Young’s wonderful writing, and those previously enthralled by the stories of Nadine and Riley, Rose, Peter and Julia.

LONDON, APRIL 1919.
THE GREAT WAR HAS ENDED.

In a flurry of spring blossom, childhood sweethearts Nadine Waverney and Rilery Purefoy are married. Those who have survived the war are, in a way, home. But Riley is wounded and disfigured; normality seems incomprehensible, and love unfathomable. Honeymooning in a battered, liberated Europe, they long for a marriage made of love and passion rather than dependence and pity.

At Locke Hill in Kent, Riley’s former CO Major Peter Locke is obsessed by Homer. His hysterical wife, Julia, and the young son they barely know attempt to navigate family life, but are confounded by the ghosts and memories of Peter’s war. Despite all this, there is the glimmer of a real future in the distance: Rose Locke, Peter’s cousin and Riley’s former nurse, finds that independence might be hers for the taking, after all.

For those who fought, those who healed and those who stayed behind, 1919 is a year of accepting realities, holding to hope and reaching after new beginnings.

The Heroes’ Welcome is a brave and brilliant evocation of a time deeply wounded by the pain of war. It is as devastating as it is inspiring.

 Epic Fantasy Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Urban Women's Fiction Heartfelt Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

Praise for THE HEROES’ WELCOME:

‘Fierce and tender, The Heroes' Welcome depicts heroism on the grand scale and the importance of the tiniest act of courage’ Observer

‘Young possesses in abundance emotional conviction, pace and imaginative energy, and these qualities will draw readers with her through time and space, as she unfolds the story of the Lockes and Purefoys on their journey through the 20th century’ Guardian

‘If you read one novel about the effects of the First World War this year, make it this one. It has brain with its brawn and deserves a hero’s welcome’ The Times

‘A moving exploration of the war’s toll on a generation…deeply affecting’ Metro

‘A brilliant, passionate, intense examination of what it is to survive a war and to negotiate a peace with a body and mind that have been irrevocably altered’ Elizabeth Buchan

Praise for MY DEAR I WANTED TO TELL YOU:

‘This novel is a triumph’
Elizabeth Jane Howard

‘Every once in a while comes a novel that generates its own success, simply by being loved.’
The Times

‘Birdsong for the new millennium’
Tatler

‘Powerful, sometimes shocking, boldly conceived, it fixes on war’s lingering trauma to show how people adapt – or not – and is irradiated by anger and pity’
The Sunday Times

‘[A] tender, elegiac novel. Others have been here before, of course, from Sebastian Faulks to Pat Barker, but Young belongs in their company’
Mail on Sunday
All stars
Most relevant
Loved it.. Amazing author. Poignant story of the truth of www1 & the after effects. Dan Stevens fabulous narrator. Brought it to life!

Fabulous sequel!

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Where does The Heroes' Welcome rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

so delighted to find this sequel to My Dear I wanted to tell you. Beautifully read by Dan Stevens and his characterisations are superb Louisa Young's insights into the thoughts of her characters are wonderfully scripted and you become so embroiled in each person's persona.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The end was very satisfying and completed the stories well. However Louisa if you want to write another follow up please do!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely and carried it around with me all the time.

exquisitely written and beautifully read

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I really enjoyed this sequel to "My dear I wanted to tell you".The aftermath of the First World War was very hard for the survivors, most of whom did not want or could not talk about their harrowing experiences.
After the intensity of the story during the first post war year I felt a bit cheated jumping 8 years and I am eagerly awaiting a continuation of the story. Dan Stevens is a magnificent reader.

Left wanting more

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Thoroughly enjoyed this. Loved finding out what happened to the original characters and their own private wars inside themselves. Sequels are often a letdown but this added to the brilliant prequel. I will think about moments in this story for a long time I think

Absorbing sequel to my dear I wanted to tell you

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The story didn't grip me like the first book but it built and built and with the last words it made me weep. This is a tale of hope and loss life and PTSD. Moving and full of deep memories of my father's war scared friends. Evocative of so much a lovely lovey book so well read a reminder not to die just yet.

Beautiful beautiful tale of loss pain hope and lov

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