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The Kingdom by the Sea

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The Kingdom by the Sea

By: Robert Westall
Narrated by: Ron Keith
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About this listen

The air raid siren that pierces the English night sky comes as no surprise to young Harry Baguely. Ever since Hitler began sending his warplanes to raid London, Harry has become an old hand at running to his family’s bomb shelter and waiting for the attacks to end. This time, though, Harry’s family doesn’t make it to the shelter. A war orphan with nowhere to go and only a lonely dog for a friend, Harry decides to make a courageous journey up the English coast. He is looking for a place to call home, a safe place far away from the danger and confusion of the city. But when he finds it, will it be worth the struggle?

In Harry’s encounters with the frightened civilians and weary soldiers of war-torn England, Robert Westall draws a compelling portrait of the devastating effects of war on children. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an American Booksellers Pick of the Lists, The Kingdom by the Sea is both a powerful historical record and a moving tale of one boy’s adventure.

©1990 Robert Westall (P)1994 Recorded Books History & Culture Literature & Fiction England War Royalty
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Would you consider the audio edition of The Kingdom by the Sea to be better than the print version?
Yes. Ron Keith's accent really brought the narration to life plus, he was easy to listen to. Keith's voice was cosy and familiar, like a friendly grandfather.

What did you like best about this story?
Experience changes us and can change our relationships and that you don't need to travel far from home to encounter new experiences.

What does Ron Keith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Great accents.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, in fact I listened to a good 4 hours in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

Poingiant

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I listened to this on a recommendation. It is a wonderful hsartwRming story of survival.

brilliant

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Without giving too much away, I thought the ending was out of tune with the rest of the book. It was dark and surprising - the characterisation was awry considering all that we are told earlier on. I could see, I think, what the author was trying to do/say, but I don’t think it worked.
Real shame as I was hooked by the book until then.

Ending surprising and disappointing

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I read this when I was at school and loved it then! Im from the North East so it's always nice to hear and acually be able to visialise exacly where something is.
The narrator was good...but was weird hearing geodie words pronounced in a yorkshire (?) accent. Didnt work for me I'm afraid, especially with some of the mispronouniation of some words! :-(
But a great story all the same. Loved how the main characters grew and developed through, ending was a little anti climatatic if Im being honest though

A brilliant and heartwarming story about a boy, his dog and a great solo adventure!

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Would you consider the audio edition of The Kingdom by the Sea to be better than the print version?

It's impossible to compare, though the characters are brought to life by the narrator in the audio and the tale really trips along.

What did you like best about this story?

The strength of Westall's writings was that he was writing from his own experiences as a war child growing up in the North East of England. his narrative is rich, his characters are strong and believable.

What does Ron Keith bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Ron Keith's delivery is superb throughout, having an English Narrator is essential (something lacking in one or two other of Westall's audiobooks available here), more so a narrator that doesn't go overboard with regional accents but gets them spot on.

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

Yes, and I did.

Any additional comments?

A truly magical story full of adventure and hope. Sadly a fairly weak ending lets the overall tale down, yet it is still a sadly overlooked work. Westall truly catches the wartime zeitgeist as a backdrop to his gentle piece of fiction.

Brilliant!

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