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  • The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

  • By: Holly Ringland
  • Narrated by: Louise Crawford
  • Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (2,422 ratings)

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The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart cover art

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

By: Holly Ringland
Narrated by: Louise Crawford
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of the 2019 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year Award.

The international best seller, now sold to more than 24 territories internationally, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart tells the enchanting and compelling story of a young girl, daughter of an abusive father, who has to learn the hard way that she can break the patterns of the past, live on her own terms, and find her own strength. 

"Lush, powerful...an engrossing novel of female survival." (Bookseller + Publisher

A young girl loses both her parents in a tragic event and is taken to live with her grandmother on a flower farm. Growing up, Alice learns the language of Australian native flowers as a way to say the things that are too hard to speak. But she also learns that there are secrets within secrets about her past. An unexpected betrayal leaves her reeling, and she escapes to try to make her own—sometimes painful—way through the world and to find her story.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a story about stories: those we inherit, those we select to define us, and those we decide to hide. It is a novel about the secrets we keep and how they haunt us and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.

Spanning 20 years and set between sugarcane fields by the sea, a native Australian flower farm, and a celestial crater in the central desert, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart follows the life of Alice as she discovers that the most powerful story she will ever possess is her own. 

©2018 HarperCollins Publishers Australia pty Ltd (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers Australia pty Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Lush, powerful... This is an engrossing novel imbued with passion and reverence for the Australian natural world, with a cast of characters that inspire affection in the reader even as they make mistakes. Those who couldn't put down The Natural Way of Things will find a gentler but no less compelling journey of female survival in this novel." (Bookseller + Publisher)

"There's an aching heart beating through Holly Ringland's narrative that although at times seems almost broken, is stitched back together with shards of optimism that offer constant hope. These are characters we love, care about and want to nurture... A vivid and brave tale of love, loss and inner power." (Australian Women's Weekly)

"A beautifully written, hopeful and enthralling tale...an enchanting read." (Herald Sun)

What listeners say about The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

Average Customer Ratings
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    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I wanted to love this, but really, really didn’t. I found I’d finally get engaged in the story, and it’d jump forward in time. I found the main protagonist difficult to engage with. But mostly, I found the narration really difficult to listen to. The accents (Mexican? And indigenous) weren’t great, the voice adopted for Candy Baby with the rising intonation at the end of every sentence made her seem more like a ditz than I suspect the author intended, but mostly, the narrators mispronunciation of ‘rifle’ and ‘riffling’ drove me mad. Wouldn’t recommend this book as an audiobook. Perhaps it would have been better to read. Not for me.

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Unbelievably Awesome

I cannot wait for this author's next book. This one was absolutely brilliant for a first novel. I moved to Perth 2 years ago and didn't realise the book was based on Australian landscapes and flowers. Too delightful for words as I could appreciate some of the better known types.

My only regret is that I didn't buy the physical book as I am not sure if I missed out on illustrations of all the flowers ((and this is only if the book had illustrations in it).

Highly recommend this book.

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20 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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My fav book of the year

This book is just so magic. I put off reading it because I was worried the flower language would be a bit twee but it added a real depth and felt authentic. This book is uniquely vivid; you are transported to childhood, you come to know characters, you feel experiences, you explore places. It really is a special read and will stay with you long after you read it.

I wasn’t sure about the audiobook performance - it’s very much performed not read and whilst it’s done well, it took a chapter or two for me to settle into.

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15 people found this helpful

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

great book engaging story terrible accents

loved the book, its flows amazingly with deep characters. really struggled to listen to the narrators spanish and aboriginal accents that flattened the characters. would have understood the characters and their history without the terrible accent.

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11 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

great story loved every moment.

a great story i loved every moment. i look forward to the authors next novel

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful book

This book was amazing. Descriptions of the landscape were so thorough I could imagine myself there. Beautiful references to flowers throughout. Loved it!

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5 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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i couldnt listen to it. a horrible.tale of abuse t

so sad i couldnt listen an horrible abusive enviroment not my kind of book sad

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4 people found this helpful

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

Honest, lovely and enchanting.

A truly beautiful story filled with moments that bring a sense of wonder and make you want to cry all at once.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent storytelling

This beautiful book probably needs a trigger warning. Contains (not overly graphic) depictions of family/ domestic violence and animal abuse. I wasn’t expecting that at all and wouldn’t be something I’d usually tolerate in a book, however
I really enjoyed this book. It’s captivating storytelling of relationships and hardships of insights and growing up. I loved all the flower references and the fictional red dirt town . The Spanish accent should really be re recorded

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lovely moments but overall a bit light on

As a real native flower farmer I can totally appreciate the thread of flowers but felt the beginning was much stronger and more promising than the middle and end turned out to be. Difficult and dark threads not fully explored - this could have been several books in my opinion. Lots of fabulous characters who didn’t feel fully formed - too many threads each with their own unresolved stories. But still interesting and at times interesting.

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3 people found this helpful

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.