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Oh Dear Silvia

The gloriously heartwarming novel from the No. 1 bestselling author of Because of You

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Oh Dear Silvia

By: Dawn French
Narrated by: Beattie Edmondson, Celine Rosa Tan, Dawn French, Gareth Armstrong, Jack Lowden, James Fleet, James McArdle, Jane Collingwood, Llewella Gideon, Maggie Steed, Patrice Naiambana, Pauline McLynn, Ruby Turner
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About this listen

Dawn French, number one bestelling author of A Tiny Bit Marvellous and one of Britain's best loved comic writers, returns with Oh Dear Silvia, a darkly comic pageturner that will have you hanging on her every word.

Who is in Coma Suite Number 5?

A matchless lover? A supreme egotist? A selfless martyr? A bad mother? A cherished sister? A selfish wife?

All of these. For this is Silvia Shute who has always done exactly what she wants. Until now, when her life suddenly, shockingly stops.

Her past holds a dark and terrible secret, and now that she is unconscious in a hospital bed, her constant stream of visitors are set to uncover the mystery of her broken life. And she must lie there, victim of the beloveds, the borings, the babblings and the plain bonkers.

Like it or not, the truth is about to pay Silvia a visit. Again, and again and again...

Oh Dear Silvia is the brand new novel from one of Britain's most loved comic writers and the number one bestselling author of A Tiny Bit Marvellous.

Praise for Dawn French:

'Extremely funny' Sunday Times

'A fantastic slam-dunk pageturner' Mail on Sunday


Dawn French has been making people laugh for thirty years. On purpose. As a writer, comedian and actor, she has appeared in some of this country's most long running, cherished and celebrated shows, including French and Saunders, The Comic Strip Presents. . ., Murder Most Horrid, The Vicar of Dibley, Jam and Jerusalem, Lark Rise to Candleford, and more recently, Roger and Val Have Just Got In.

Her bestselling memoir, Dear Fatty, was published to critical acclaim in 2008. Her first novel, A Tiny Bit Marvellous, was also a great success, going straight to No.1.

Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Romance Women's Fiction Comedy

Critic Reviews

Beautifully observed. Makes you laugh on every page
Hilarious. Chortle-out-loud turns of phrase, razor-sharp observations
Fresh, extremely funny
Really enjoyable and highly recommended. Dawn French is a wonderful writer - witty, wise and poignant
A hilarious and compelling read
All stars
Most relevant
Loved all the performances by the readers. The plot has a mix of humour and grief and captures precisely the human experience on many levels.

Absolutely fabulous

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I think this was the cast of Jam & Jerusalem doing the voice overs which made this a wonderful listen. Terrific acting. Really enjoyed it. Story was lacking however.

Great performance

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not as good as the last one I listened too and when my son heard me listening to it he thought it was a children's book. the end was not satisfying for me but can not tell you why otherwise I will spoil the story

Left me unfulfilled

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Loved listening to this audio book… wish I knew if Cat had been charged. And how did Sylvia fall off the balcony? Thanks for the wonderful reading.

Oh dear Sylvia

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This was well written and performed, but not what I expected at all. The story was very depressing and although there were moments of comedy even they were dark.
If you like drama and stories about death then this could be for you, but I like to feel good after listening to a book not like I need to make an appointment to get anti depressants.

so depressing!

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