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Meet the Newmans

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Meet the Newmans

By: Jennifer Niven
Narrated by: Marin Ireland, Tim Campbell
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About this listen

From #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Jennifer Niven, a novel about America’s favorite TV family, whose perfect façade starts to crack, for fans of Lessons in Chemistry and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

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For two decades, Del and Dinah Newman and their sons, Guy and Shep, have ruled television as America’s Favorite Family. Millions of viewers tune in every week to watch them play flawless, black-and-white versions of themselves. But now it’s 1964, and the Newmans’ perfection suddenly feels woefully out of touch. Ratings are in free fall, as are the Newmans themselves. Del is keeping an explosive secret from his wife, and Dinah is slowly going numb—literally. Steady, stable Guy is hiding the truth about his love life, and rock ‘n roll idol Shep may finally be in real trouble.

When Del—the creative motor behind the show— is in a mysterious car accident, Dinah decides to take matters into her own hands. She hires Juliet Dunne, an outspoken young reporter, to help her write the final episode. But Dinah and Juliet have wildly different perspectives about what it means to be a woman, and a family, in 1964. Can the Newmans hold it together to change television history? Or will they be canceled before they ever have the chance?

Funny, big-hearted, and deeply moving, Meet the Newmans is a rich family story about the dual lives we lead. Because even when our lives aren’t televised weekly, we all have a behind-the-scenes.

Dysfunctional Families Editors Select Parenting & Families Relationships Marriage Funny Heartfelt

Editorial Review

Have you met the Newmans yet?
I’ll admit it: Meet the Newmans had me the moment I heard it was for fans of Lessons in Chemistry, one of my all-time favourites. Set in 1964, it follows America’s favourite (fictional) TV family at a moment when the world is shifting fast and their picture-perfect image no longer fits. When Del is suddenly gone, Dinah steps into unfamiliar territory, while her two sons, Guy and Shep, grapple with their own secrets behind the scenes. What surprised me the most was the relationship between Dinah and Juliet, the writer she hires to help with the final episode of the family’s series. They start out at odds and slowly start to trust each other more than anyone else, especially as their deadline closes in. Marin Ireland and Tim Campbell brought these characters to life so amazingly that I kept wishing Meet the Newmans was a real TV show I could watch. —Patty R., Audible Editor

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It took a lot to keeping listening as it was a very slow burn, but definitely worth persevering with. Great book

Slow burn

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I liked the ideas but it was all a bit too neatly sorted for me.

Newmans Recalibrate

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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.