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Wildflower Hill

By: Kimberley Freeman
Narrated by: Caroline Lee
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Publisher's Summary

In 1920s Glasgow, Beattie Blaxland falls pregnant to her married lover Henry just before her nineteenth birthday. Abandoned by her family, Beattie and Henry set sail for a new life in Australia. But life is not about to follow the plan that Beattie had hoped for and fate will play her a cruel hand...

In 2009, London, prima ballerina Lydia Blaxland-Hunter is also discovering that life can also have its ups and downs. Unable to dance again after a fall, Lydia returns home to Australia to recuperate. But on arrival she is presented with some surprising news – her recently deceased and much-loved grandmother Beattie Blaxland has left her Tasmanian property to Lydia. Told through the eyes of a young Beattie Blaxland and a contemporary Lydia Blaxland-Hunter, this is an emotionally charged, seductive tale of self-discovery, secrets and surprises.

©2008 Kimberley Freeman. (P)2010 Bolinda Publishing
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What listeners say about Wildflower Hill

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Compelling story, distracting narration

This book has a compelling narrative, with delightful characters and credible backdrop, however, the narration was somewhat distracting because of the appalling Scottish, Irish and regional English accents. Caroline Lee’s timbre and tempo are excellent but her delivery of accents other than Australian is awful. If you can get past that - which I did, through gritted teeth, the conclusion is very satisfying

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I couldn't stop listening

This is a great story I couldn't wait each day till I could listen again. Beautifully narrated as well.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book!

Beautiful. Emotional. The story is cleverly woven and I found myself gasping out loud, crying with happiness and sadness and shrieking with joy. However, the main character is Scottish and the reader does a terrible Scottish accent unfortunately.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love Kimberley Freeman

Liked the overall theme. Great story. Loved the voice reading it. Very calm and enjoyable.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A lovely story

It was a bit slow to begin with and took a while to get my interest going, when it did though I loved it. Freeman manages to combine romance and history very well, and the steps back and forth through time flowed well. I particularly like the characters of Beattie and Charlie, Lucy however seemed to be a bit of brat both as a achild and an adult. I would also have liked to have known more about her reaction to Lucy's visit at the end and whether she forgave Beattie or not?
The narration was a good, although it took me a while to tune out from Lee's dreadful Scottish accent, which was more like a cross between Russian and Irish. Overall I enjoyed her interpretation.

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    4 out of 5 stars

loved it

loved it, it showed tough times in the past and how hard people worked n their values.
really enjoyed the narrator

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Great read

I Really loved this book even enjoyed the narrator. I wish that they would make movies from her books

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome Story

I loved this book from the very beginning to the the very last word. It was superbly narrated too. Thank you so much.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Good love story

Apart from the mix of accents which were a little overbearing it was a very visual story with multiple layers of players. About a time of social and religious stigmas and the hardship of depression. As always Caroline Lee is easy to listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling

I know compelling is a cliche but it is an apt description of this book. Made even more so by Caroline's extraordinary story telling performance which kept me enthralled for hours. Being set in Tasmania made it even more special to me and her descriptions of our landscape and colonial houses was masterful.I would certainly recommend both the book and narrator and rate them both very highly.
The only minor discrepancy in the research for the story was when the doctor prescribed penicillin for Mikale in 1934 several years before it was developed into a usable drug. While discovered in 1928 it was not until WWII that it was actually used.
Other than that I loved every minute of Wildflower Hill.
.
Dr Ian Broinowski
Hobart Tasmania

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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.