Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Tap Dancer cover art

The Tap Dancer

By: Andrew Barrow
Narrated by: John Sackville
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $22.78

Buy Now for $22.78

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Winner of the McKitterick Prize for best first novel by an author aged over 40, and the Hawthornden Prize for imaginative literature.

Everyone craves retirement from the Civil Service, don’t they? That time for an ageing patriarch to enjoy the fruits of a well-earned pension and the respect of his family; maybe even to indulge in a love of music halls and metropolitan life. If only people would listen and do as they were told…

His fourth son William, the long-suffering narrator, is the constant butt of his father’s jokes and victim of his brothers’ indifference. But as death, divorce and other darker dramas follow, father and son slowly establish a strange harmony.

©2023 Andrew Barrow (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

‘A comic masterpiece... Andrew Barrow’s insight into the minutiae of English family life is absolutely brilliant...his ear for dialogue is matchless...this is a great literary creation.’ Spectator

‘A magnificent creation... Could rank alongside Mr Pooter and Nancy Mitford’s Uncle Matthew.’ Independent

‘All the characters, even the minor ones, are perfectly realised, thanks largely to Barrow’s remarkable skill at pinpointing the social and psychological undercurrents of casual conversation.’ Times Literary Supplement

More from the same

What listeners say about The Tap Dancer

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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.