My Father's House cover art

My Father's House

The Rome Escape Line, Book 1

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

My Father's House

By: Joseph O'Connor
Narrated by: Barry Barnes, Stephen Hogan, Barnaby Edwards, Laurence Bouvard, Aoife Duffin, Gertrude Thoma, David John, Roberto Davide, Thomas Hill
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

September 1943: German forces occupy Rome. SS officer Paul Hauptmann rules with terror. The war's outcome is far from certain.

An Irish priest, Hugh O'Flaherty, dedicates himself to helping those escaping from the Nazis. His home is Vatican City, the world's smallest state, a neutral, independent country within Rome where the occupiers hold no sway. Here Hugh brings together an unlikely band of friends to hide the vulnerable under the noses of the enemy.

But Hauptmann's net begins closing in on the Escape Line and the need for a terrifyingly audacious mission grows critical. By Christmastime, it's too late to turn back.

Based on an extraordinary true story, My Father's House is a powerful literary thriller from a master of historical fiction. Joseph O'Connor has created an unforgettable novel of love, faith and sacrifice, and what it means to be truly human in the most extreme circumstances.

©2023 Joseph O'Connor (P)2023 Penguin Audio 20th Century Historical Fiction Jewish Suspense Thriller & Suspense World Literature Fiction War Rome
All stars
Most relevant  
This book was my most enjoyable listen for 2022. The story has it all, plot, characters, places, an historical background and a wonderful story-telling device.The voices were the best Ive heard on the many Audible books I’ve listened to and while generally I prefer the one voice these voices and characterisations were excellent.
While the role of the Catholic Church is not examined it is by no means overlooked. It is exemplified very powerfully in a brief but shocking to me appearance by the Pope in a single interaction with the main character.
Though some may find the time changes and narrative swapping style of the book, frustrating, I found they ultimately worked.
As a reader born in 1944 the book resonated with my life in many ways and was both enjoyable, entertaining and engaging.

Beautiful, memorable and unforgettable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Everything. I lived everything about this audio book. The writing is beautiful and the narration on point in every instance. Gold standard for audiobooks

Best narration I have ever heard

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This would without doubt be the most beautiful book I have listened to. Incredibly written with expert narration from a number of actors. The characters are rich and well rounded and the narrative is sublime and poetic in parts. I savoured every word and had it not been so long… not complaining at all… I would have listened to it in one sitting. A beautiful book that I will not easily forget.

A brilliant production of an incredible story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The various narrators in the audiobook version of this story vividly evoke the distinct, realistically complex personality of each character, bringing to life this dark scary period of our not so distant history. An important story brilliantly told.

Heart-pounding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.