Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: The Tea Planter's Daughter
Subtitle: The India Tea Series, Book 1
Author: Janet MacLeod Trotter
Narrator: Sarah Coomes
Format: Unabridged
Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
Language: English
Release date: 06-21-16
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 169 votes
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Publisher's Summary:
Lush, green, fragrant: the Indian hills of Assam are full of promise. But eighteen-year-old Clarissa Belhaven is full of worry. The family tea plantation is suffering, and so is her father, still grieving over the untimely death of his wife, while Clarissa's fragile sister, Olive, needs love and resourceful care.
Beautiful and headstrong, Clarissa soon attracts the attention of young, brash Wesley Robson, a rival tea planter. Yet before his intentions become fully clear, tragedy befalls the Belhavens and the sisters are wrenched from their beloved tea garden to the industrial streets of Tyneside.
A world away from the only home she has ever known, Clarissa must start again. Using all her means, she must endure not only poverty but jealousy and betrayal too. Will the reappearance of Wesley give her the link to her old life that she so desperately craves? Or will a fast-changing world and the advent of war extinguish hope forever?
Members Reviews:
Book 1 indeed!
Before investing 15+ hours in this book, do know that the plot lines will not be in the least bit resolved, but you'll just have been set up for book 2 (and maybe 3, I don't know). Having said that, I very much enjoyed the book. The author does not betray any great in-depth knowledge of Indian topography, flora, or culture; that aspect is a little disappointing. Nor, despite the continuous references to tea throughout the story, does she enlighten us about what makes for a good tea, or the nuances of its production, blending, and distribution. The story, while set initially in India, quickly transitions to Newcastle, England, and remains firmly there for the rest of the book. The primary story, perhaps, is that of two sisters struggling against some rather cruel and unfortunate strokes of fate, and by dint of the elder sister's doggedness and tenacity, managing to overcome them. The story is an epic one, beginning in the protagonist's early adulthood and continuing through (at the end of book 1) to her being age 33. The follow-on will surely take us through another decade or two. It is very much an old-fashioned type story, with many fortuitous coincidences that stretch one's credulity and a predictability that becomes evident from the first few chapters. Yet it is endlessly varied and kept fresh, as new characters come and old ones fade out, and there is constant drama and tension that keep you wanting to move forward.
A word on the performance: not very well done, I'm afraid. The reader over-enunciates and her sense of timing is frequently dead wrong and inappropriate to the context of what is being said. Her rendering of male voices is clumsy and unconvincing; most of them sound badly constipated and stiff as wood. Indian characters are not realistic sounding, but she does sound plausible with her north English lower class accents. Fortunately, the plot carries the listener forward and one learns to overlook the weakness of the reading.
Historical Fiction
I love historical fiction. This book was wonderful I couldn't put it down. I found myself in tears at the end! I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series. The narrator was amazing and brought the characters to life.
Different emotions
This book was a tear jerker for me. I heard the second book before the first book. Now I am getting ready for the third one. I know it will be full of surprises too.
