Try free for 30 days

  • The Very First Damned Thing

  • An Author-Read Audio Exclusive
  • By: Jodi Taylor
  • Narrated by: Jodi Taylor
  • Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (160 ratings)

A 30-day trial plus your first audiobook free.
1 credit/month after trial—to buy any title you like, yours to keep.
Listen all you want to a selection of thousands of Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Very First Damned Thing cover art

The Very First Damned Thing

By: Jodi Taylor
Narrated by: Jodi Taylor
Free with 30-day trial

$16.45/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $3.03

Buy Now for $3.03

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

Audible is delighted to bring you an exclusive, author-read production of The Very First Damned Thing. Hear it here first, months ahead of the EBook publication.

Jodi Taylor reads the long-awaited prequel in her Chronicles of St Mary’s series, as Dr Bairstow struggles to set up St Mary’s as we know it in a world still scarred by the ravages of civil war.

Ever wondered how it all began? It’s two years since the final victory at the Battersea Barricades. The fighting might be finished, but for Dr Bairstow, just now setting up St Mary's, the struggle is only beginning.

How will he assemble his team? From where will his funding come? How can he overcome the massed ranks of the Society for the Protection of Historical Buildings? How do stolen furniture, a practical demonstration at the Stirrup Charge at Waterloo, students’ alcohol-ridden urine, a widowed urban guerrilla, a young man wearing exciting knitwear and four naked security guards all combine to become the St Mary’s of the future?

©2015 Jodi Taylor (P)2015 Audible Ltd.

What listeners say about The Very First Damned Thing

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    86
  • 4 Stars
    48
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    73
  • 4 Stars
    39
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    87
  • 4 Stars
    36
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    1

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

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Kaz
  • 03-11-2017

Best to read this out of order

This book is marked as 0.5 in the series and indeed, in chronological order it does come first (yes, I do realise that for this series stating that there is a chronological order is almost contradictory). However, I only came across this book after reading the first two in the series and I believe that reading those two first gave me a lot more insight, and enjoyment, than I would have had if I had truly read this one first.

I love these books by Jodi Taylor, but I woods urge you to read this particular one out of its numbered sequence in order to get the most from the story. Having said that, this book gives you an understanding of the history of St Mary's and Dr Barstow's role in setting up the zany institution.

Finally, I have become accustomed to hearing the stories narrated by another narrator and was slightly less enthusiastic in hearing the author narrate her own book. Nothing wrong with her reading of course, it was simply different to the usual narrator.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Better read than listened to

Even though this is a prequel, it is better read after the first book. The story is not terribly engaging and if you did not know what was to come next, this book would not entice you to continue. If you have read the first book, then it is fun to see how all of the characters began.
Although it is written with Jodi Taylor's usual engaging mix of fun and pathos, her delivery as a narrator is very wooden and detracts from the story. I am sure I would have appreciated some moments of the plot much more had it been delivered with the enthusiasm the characters deserve.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An Exciting Begining

this free short story drew me into a whirlwind adventure I would not escape from for months.
Terrible and beautiful, I am glad I took the time to listen.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

👍

Thanks for your books. You’re a good writer. Especially love the free stuff! Keep it up.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great insight to the series. Poor narration.

Well written and provides extra backstory leading
into a wonderful series. However, most authors should not narrate their own books and unfortunately the same holds true here. It was difficult to stick it out to the end and I only managed it due to its relevance to the series.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Rollicking Read

Loved this one. Pacy. Great premise. Fun. A heroine that is witty, sarcastic, smart and tough.
Having just discovered this series, now I’ll have to read them all! Magnificent narration.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Prequel

This prequel to the Chronicles of St Mary's explains some things about how and why Dr Bairstow set up St Mary's but leaves me in the dark about others. I've read quite a few of the series, including most of the short stories, and this one was a welcome addition. Read by the author, it sounds a bit different from Zara Ramm's rendition of the others, but it was fun. Time Travel (although they don't want you to call it that) is involved as a man travels back from the future to set up the organisation he manages in that future. Confused? So am I! Mind, a bit of confusion never hurt anyone in St Mary's.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Funny. Would have preferred a different narrator.

This was my first experience of this series and I don't think it is a good place to start. Apart from the opening narrative, which took time to grab me, but did eventually pull me in,, the rest of the book is bitty. I imagine if you already love these characters, all this would be completely forgivable.

The author is clear and adequate as a narrator, but an actor who performed the book, rather than just read it aloud, would have enhanced the humour that suffuses the book, with a few laugh out loud moments. I think if I read it to myself, or an actor had performed it, there would have been many more embarrassing snorting laughs.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Spot on

Great story learning how the Saint Mary's thing all started. it is worth the read.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Like listening to the minutes of and AGM

I bet I would love this story, if it had been narrated by someone other than Ms. Taylor who should stick to her day job.
She simply hasn't got the knack of expression, voices, or inflection....and conversly over pronounces words.
She probably thinks she has a nice voice. She does, for a conversation. It's boring for narration, which is like acting.
I'm only 1.5hrs into it, I just heard her say...."Look...oh....Look..." in the most monotone way I nearly laughed out loud.
No more self narrations Jodi.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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.