City of Girls
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 3 months for $0.99/mo
Buy Now for $29.14
-
Narrated by:
-
Blair Brown
-
Written by:
-
Elizabeth Gilbert
About this listen
From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and The Signature of All Things, a delicious novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, about a young woman discovering that you don't have to be a good girl to be a good person.
"A spellbinding novel about love, freedom, and finding your own happiness." - PopSugar
"Intimate and richly sensual, razzle-dazzle with a hint of danger." -USA Today
"Pairs well with a cocktail...or two." -TheSkimm
"Life is both fleeting and dangerous, and there is no point in denying yourself pleasure, or being anything other than what you are."
Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love.
In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest.
Now eighty-nine years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time," she muses. "After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is." Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.
You may also enjoy...
-
The Bookbinder
- A Novel
- Written by: Pip Williams
- Narrated by: Annabelle Tudor
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5
-
Performance2
-
Story2
A young British woman working in a book bindery gets a chance to pursue knowledge and love when World War I upends her life in this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick The Dictionary of Lost Words. “Williams spins an immersive and compelling...
-
-
A worthy sister
- By Linda in Nepean, Canada on 2023-10-28
Written by: Pip Williams
-
Nightcrawling
- A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
- Written by: Leila Mottley
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall62
-
Performance57
-
Story57
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system. This debut of a blazingly original voice “bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you...
-
-
Such unique writing
- By Kristen B on 2025-04-15
Written by: Leila Mottley
-
Home Stretch
- A Novel
- Written by: Graham Norton
- Narrated by: Graham Norton
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall85
-
Performance75
-
Story77
In this “compelling, bighearted, emotionally precise page-turner” (Sunday Times), the New York Times bestselling writer and acclaimed television host explores the aftermath of a tragedy on a small-town to illuminate the shame and longing that can flow through generations—and how the...
-
-
Well written
- By Audrey R on 2023-09-02
Written by: Graham Norton
-
Band of Sisters
- A Novel
- Written by: Lauren Willig
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall47
-
Performance43
-
Story43
“With heart and humor, Willig explores the complexities of female friendships—feuds, forgiveness, and all. A touching portrait of triumph and found family in the midst of war. Bravo!”—Stephanie Dray, New York Times Bestselling author of America's First Daughter & The Women of...
-
-
unbelievably great
- By Mandy Melnyk on 2022-06-28
Written by: Lauren Willig
-
The Tea Rose
- Written by: Jennifer Donnelly
- Narrated by: Jill Tanner
- Length: 28 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall2,284
-
Performance1,998
-
Story1,988
East London, 1888 - a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores, and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night, where bright hopes meet the darkest truths. Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, hopes to own a shop one day, together with her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger's son. With nothing but their faith in each other to spur them on, Fiona and Joe struggle, save, and sacrifice to achieve their dreams.
-
-
Terrific
- By Dawn Tremblay on 2018-01-24
Written by: Jennifer Donnelly
-
Olive Kitteridge
- Fiction
- Written by: Elizabeth Strout
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall130
-
Performance113
-
Story113
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE The beloved first novel featuring Olive Kitteridge, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of My Name is Lucy Barton and the Oprah’s Book Club pick Olive, Again “Fiction lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. . . . You’ll never forget her...
-
-
Boring
- By KF on 2020-01-29
Written by: Elizabeth Strout
-
The Bookbinder
- A Novel
- Written by: Pip Williams
- Narrated by: Annabelle Tudor
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5
-
Performance2
-
Story2
A young British woman working in a book bindery gets a chance to pursue knowledge and love when World War I upends her life in this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick The Dictionary of Lost Words. “Williams spins an immersive and compelling...
-
-
A worthy sister
- By Linda in Nepean, Canada on 2023-10-28
Written by: Pip Williams
-
Nightcrawling
- A Novel (Oprah's Book Club)
- Written by: Leila Mottley
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall62
-
Performance57
-
Story57
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system. This debut of a blazingly original voice “bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you...
-
-
Such unique writing
- By Kristen B on 2025-04-15
Written by: Leila Mottley
-
Home Stretch
- A Novel
- Written by: Graham Norton
- Narrated by: Graham Norton
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall85
-
Performance75
-
Story77
In this “compelling, bighearted, emotionally precise page-turner” (Sunday Times), the New York Times bestselling writer and acclaimed television host explores the aftermath of a tragedy on a small-town to illuminate the shame and longing that can flow through generations—and how the...
-
-
Well written
- By Audrey R on 2023-09-02
Written by: Graham Norton
-
Band of Sisters
- A Novel
- Written by: Lauren Willig
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall47
-
Performance43
-
Story43
“With heart and humor, Willig explores the complexities of female friendships—feuds, forgiveness, and all. A touching portrait of triumph and found family in the midst of war. Bravo!”—Stephanie Dray, New York Times Bestselling author of America's First Daughter & The Women of...
-
-
unbelievably great
- By Mandy Melnyk on 2022-06-28
Written by: Lauren Willig
-
The Tea Rose
- Written by: Jennifer Donnelly
- Narrated by: Jill Tanner
- Length: 28 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall2,284
-
Performance1,998
-
Story1,988
East London, 1888 - a city apart. A place of shadow and light where thieves, whores, and dreamers mingle, where children play in the cobbled streets by day and a killer stalks at night, where bright hopes meet the darkest truths. Here, by the whispering waters of the Thames, Fiona Finnegan, a worker in a tea factory, hopes to own a shop one day, together with her lifelong love, Joe Bristow, a costermonger's son. With nothing but their faith in each other to spur them on, Fiona and Joe struggle, save, and sacrifice to achieve their dreams.
-
-
Terrific
- By Dawn Tremblay on 2018-01-24
Written by: Jennifer Donnelly
-
Olive Kitteridge
- Fiction
- Written by: Elizabeth Strout
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall130
-
Performance113
-
Story113
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE The beloved first novel featuring Olive Kitteridge, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of My Name is Lucy Barton and the Oprah’s Book Club pick Olive, Again “Fiction lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. . . . You’ll never forget her...
-
-
Boring
- By KF on 2020-01-29
Written by: Elizabeth Strout
wonderful!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Absolutely amazing book!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent Amazing Riveting
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazing!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved everything about this book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.