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The Harp in the South

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The Harp in the South

By: Ruth Park
Narrated by: Kate Hood
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About this listen

An Australian classic, this is the story of the Darcy family who live in the Depression era tenements of Surry Hills, Sydney.

Hugh and Margaret Darcy are raising their family in Sydney amid the brothels, grog shops and run-down boarding houses of Surry Hills, where money is scarce and life is not easy. Filled with beautifully drawn characters that will make you laugh as much as cry, this Australian classic will take you straight back to the colourful slums of Sydney with convincing depth, careful detail and great heart.

©1948 Ruth Park (P)2011 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Heartfelt

Critic Reviews

"For all its faults this family is bound together by a powerful love...and while they live in one of the roughest parts of Sydney, and there is drunkenness and violence, theirs is a community which will offer friendship and compassion when it's needed." (Lisa Hill, ANZ LitLovers)
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An enjoyable performance of a classic Australian novel. Initially I was a bit taken aback by the reader giving each character its unique voice. As I got used to it it didn't bother me.

Great Aussie tale.

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I absolutely loved this story from beginning to end. Filled with vignettes of a harder, yet more innocent time. The narrator brought every character and cameo to life, giving even greater depth to Ruth Parks telling of them. Beautiful.

A heart lifting story and performance

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a moving beautifully written story of an Irish family living in the slums in Sydney in 1940s. The characters are all wonderfully and realistially described to live in one's imagination for a long time .

a wonderful classic Australian novel

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I just could not listen any more to all the different voices .. I guess they were cleverly done but it was all to much for me and to busy.. i was distracted from the on going story that seemed to move slowly .. i ended up giving up after a few chapters and returned it ..

To many voices

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Great book and brilliantly narrated. Even tackled teen pregnancy, probably a bit racy when it was first published.

Ruth Park never fails to delight

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This is a great Aussie story, showcasing different characters and their differing personalities. So nice to hear a familiar accent.

A nice easy Australian story.

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Great story, authentically real for those of us who can remember those days or who knew similar stories from grandparents who grew up in inner city areas of Australia in the early 20th century. Highly recommend all Aussies read/listen to this book and marvel at the stoicism of our forebears.

Great Australian story - well worth the listen/read

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The story is filled with colourful and warm characters and captures something about the Australian spirit, even when it’s dominated by the slums of poverty. The narrative voice is excellent but I found the character voices detracted overall from the performance.

Australian Classic

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Hoped it would improve but sadly not. Predictable and soppy. A plotless rambling waste of time.

Rambling go nowhere story

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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.