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The Key

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About this listen

A hidden note. A lost love. A second chance....

From the number one best-selling author of The Letter, Kathryn Hughes, comes The Key, an unforgettable story of a heartbreaking secret that will stay with you for ever.

1956

It's Ellen Crosby's first day as a student nurse at Ambergate Hospital. When she meets a young woman admitted by her father, little does Ellen know that a choice she will make is to change both their lives for ever....

2006

Sarah is drawn to the now abandoned Ambergate. Whilst exploring the old corridors she discovers a suitcase belonging to a female patient who entered Ambergate fifty years earlier. The shocking contents, untouched for half a century, will lead Sarah to unravel a forgotten story of tragedy and lost love, and the chance to make an old wrong right.

©2018 Kathryn Hughes (P)2018 Headline Publishing Group Ltd. Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Women's Fiction

What the critics say

"A wonderful, enthralling story; one that I didn't want to end." (Lesley Pearse on The Key)

"Gripping." (Good Housekeeping on The Secret)

"Hughes creates a sense of time and place effortlessly. The social context is incredibly important and once again, conveyed so well that the reader feels immersed in the world of Ambergate. Even though some of the story is set in the past, it still feels relevant and still raises questions about attitudes to mental illness, trauma, motherhood and grief." (Bibliomaniac on The Key)
All stars
Most Relevant
I totally loved this book. The story was so cleverly observed with regards to the time period. Sympathetic and gripping.
Joanne Froggatt a true professional.

Beautiful

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Jo Froggatt makes Kathryn Hughes’ beautiful, compelling, heartbreaking story come to life so vividly I felt myself living alongside its characters, accompanying them on their journeys. Wholeheartedly recommend it!

Superb!

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This book made me laugh and cry. A tragic story that's beautifully told. Something every care-giver should read.

beautifully written and read

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What a thought provoking look at an age where patients languished in psychiatric care. There were so many who should not have been institionalized and would not have been today.

The narration was brilliant.

Heartbreaking story of love lost and found.

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I listened to approximately 2 hours of the story - 12-13 chapters and decided this was not for me. The book is very well written, the narration is amazing, but the story is too depressing. I can appreciate a story about difficult topics but listening about electroshock therapy and the life inside of a mental institution, is definitely too hard for me.

Joanne Froggatt is one of my favourite narrators; she makes a good book twice as good That is why I kept on listening, but I had to stop and returned the book to audible.

Goodreads give is it 4.5 with almost 14,000 reviews, so I am sure it is a great book; if you like this sort of story.

NOT FOR ME - 2 hours into it.

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