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  • When the Nightingale Sings

  • Written by: Suzanne Kelman
  • Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
  • Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (69 ratings)

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When the Nightingale Sings

Written by: Suzanne Kelman
Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard
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Publisher's Summary

1937, Europe and America. Based on a true story, this powerful novel about wartime courage and extraordinary friendship, tells how two women changed the fate of the Second World War and the course of history.   

When an impossibly shy young woman named Judy Morgan finishes her studies in Physics at Cambridge University, it is with dreams of changing the world for the better.   

Meanwhile, a beautiful, young Jewish woman decides to flee her beloved Austria, changing her name to Hedy Lamarr, and risking everything to get to America, as far away from the Nazi threat as possible.   

A powerful friendship is formed when the two women meet in pre-war London - with Judy’s passion for science a perfect match for Hedy’s brilliant talent for invention. So when the world is gripped by a war that nobody could have imagined in their worst nightmares, both Hedy and Judy know they must act now.   

As their lives repeatedly collide, in Cambridge, California, Pearl Harbor and beyond - throwing both their lives into danger and tragedy - Judy and Hedy both find themselves seeking ways to end the war.    

But neither of them will know that one of them is on a path of tragedy. A path that could change the outcome of the war, but also threaten their friendship forever....   

Fans of The Ragged Edge of Night, My Name is Eva and Beneath a Scarlet Sky, will love this unforgettable story about love, courage, and devastation set in World War Two Britain, Hollywood, and Pearl Harbor. Based on two true stories of amazing "hidden women" who changed the world, this novel shows the power of friendship in the darkest hours of history.  

©2021 Suzanne Kelman (P)2021 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

What the critics say

“Fantastic…. [Kelman] has a knack for writing vividly detailed scenes that make the reader feel as if they are actually experiencing the event with the characters… This should be at the top of your reading list…. Impeccably researched, heartfelt and emotional (I needed tissues for the last few chapters). By far, one of my favorites of the year.” (Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews)

What listeners say about When the Nightingale Sings

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great true story!

Love love love this. I love to read about the strong women that made a difference that have been ignored by science and history. It’s about time they received recognition! Well done!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully written!

Based on two true stories, Judy and Hedy Lamar become instant friends and their stories unfold. A fantastic read. A beautiful story of love, loyalty and friendship.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful read

Great narration, wonderful storyline, and well paced . it's a feel good listen that keeps you engaged.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story

Loved this story as it was told from both women’s perspective. I enjoyed the narration as well.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

SLOW

Just could not get into it. Tried for 2 hours. Taking too long to get to the meat of the story

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! So much of this story, I did not know. Frustrating to hear how women of high intelligence were so put down and ignored. Even today people think if you have beauty, you can't have brains as well. It certainly put a huge damper on Hedy's life, and worse because of prejudice, something that could have helped the war effort so much was totally ignored. How absolutely foolish. Thank goodness we've advanced since then. This novel was woven beautifully around the two women's lives. Would read it again! Highly recommended!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Sad story. But so so very interesting!

I love non-fiction! This was a Great book!!! Definitely one of the best books I’ve read! Highly recommend!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting story

The story follows the life of Judy Morgan & Hedy Lamarr, two strong and smart women through many decades of the 20th century, when brilliant scientific minded women were not respected. This is a fictional story, but the characters were based on the well known actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, and a prominent scientist Joan Curran (as Judy Morgan). I like the story and the characters, but could not quite connect with Hedy. I didn’t feel that all those details from her life actually described her enough. Still I would recommend the book.

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  • Cubbug
  • 2022-03-06

A Sour Note

Shallow and trite this never gets to a level beyond soap opera drama of two women who face discrimination because they are women. It fails to develop the characters well or to tell the story in a way that is anything more than a superficial recap of history with a lot of name dropping for effect . I struggled mightily to finish hoping it would get better. It never did .

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35 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 2022-02-12

Disappointing

A book that tries to hold on to too many topics and everything comes out shallow. Too much inclination to a romantic novel, too much tedious and unnecessary details, too much sentimentality, and too little delving into the really interesting topics of the scientific work that is in the background of the story and its implications to the war. Also, the important and fascinating issue of the status of women in the 1940s who had to struggle for their place and their recognition, is described superficially. Narration is okay although it was better if Hedi Lammar's Austian accent was
more noticeable.

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25 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Cathy Quesada
  • 2022-03-15

Disappointed

Don’t waste your credit or your time on this book. It was a huge disappointment. Mostly fluff story about two women with very different lives. Narration was also below average.

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12 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • john
  • 2022-03-21

Definitely a chick-book, but pretty good one.

If you miss the fact that women were/are underappreciated the first time it's mentioned, fear not! That theme will be spelled out on 46 of the book's pages. Still it's a good story.

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8 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Laura Maness
  • 2022-03-07

Easy Listen

This was a nice easy listen. No concentration required. Very uplifting.
If you are looking for a historical fiction book geared towards wwII then keep looking.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Jasper Van Wyk
  • 2021-10-29

Loved

Absolutely loved this book. Both female characters where well told and lead such interesting lives. Very well done.

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5 people found this helpful

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  • Ada A Cachafeiro
  • 2021-12-04

Love, faith, and loyalty.

The author's description of feeling and emotions is gripping; like the strikes on a flintstone until sparks burst out.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • pam
  • 2021-11-09

Great story

Wonderful story about deep emotion, and intense friendship and the struggles women have had make their name. Highly recommend it

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4 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2022-03-10

Good listen

This book started out strong and then did a slow and thorough building of characters and of the story.

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3 people found this helpful

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  • M
  • 2022-11-26

Amazing narration

I found the characters that the narrator portrayed actually made this so amazing. The story is interesting. An imaginative tale speculating on the “what if” Hedy Lamarr, more of her life represented in 40’s Hollywood bullet points than the fictional “Judy” representing Joan Curran. What if these two women supported each other during WWII as friends, which would have probably been nice, in a world that threw a lot of bs their way.

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2 people found this helpful