Appassionata cover art

Appassionata

Rutshire Chronicles, Book 5

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Appassionata

By: Jilly Cooper
Narrated by: Sherry Baines
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About this listen

Effervescent as champagne, Jilly Cooper's novel brings back old favourites like Rupert and Taggie Campbell-Black.

Abigail Rosen, nicknamed Appassionata, was the sexiest, most flamboyant violinist in classical music, but she was also the loneliest and the most exploited girl in the world.

When a dramatic suicide attempt destroyed her violin career, she set her sights on the male-dominated heights of the conductor's rostrum. Given the chance to take over the Rutminster Symphony Orchestra, Abby is ecstatic, not realising the RSO is composed of the wildest bunch of musicians ever to blow a horn or caress a fiddle.

Abby finds it increasingly difficult to control her undisciplined rabble and pretend she is not madly attracted to the fatally glamorous horn player Viking O'Neill. And then Rannaldini, arch fiend and international maestro, rolls up with Machiavellian plans of his own.

©1996 Jilly Cooper (P)2018 W. F. Howes Ltd Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Delicious: light as a souffle and with divine flashes of wit. I could not put the...thing down." (Sunday Express)

"Appassionata - the divine Jilly Cooper's latest and greatest novel." (The Sunday Times)

"Triumphant...a boisterous tale of sex and Chopin amongst Rutshire folk." (Tatler)

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fab as usual and never ages.wish I was a character on real life. love this book

Great book

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I plodded through to the end but I think the book could have been a lot shorter and still had a similar story.

Not one of her best stories

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The audio narration on this is oddly stilted. It almost sounds like a computer reading it. I read the book on kindle and bought the audio file to go with it. I had to stop listening and read it instead. I'm sorry to be negative but the narration really didn't do the book justice.

Audio narration oddly stilted

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Not the best Jilly Cooper but easy listening.
Usual childish behaviour with too much money/ not enough money/ I hate you/ I must have you/ I can't bear it/ Don't be fatuous...

Unfortunately most of the characters are so self-absorbed hideous that it's difficult to care what happens to them. There is a feeling of Ms Cooper stopped caring and just wanted the thing to end too.

Totally Fatuous!

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Loved the story and narrator, Rupert and Marcus reunion . Can't wait for next book.

Fabulous Writing

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Just couldn’t get into this, I’ve listened to about a third of it and have given up. Waste of a credit!

Struggled!

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I did enjoy this book, but have to agree with a previous review in that it was nowhere near as good as the previous books in this series. However it was very likeable and very Jilly Cooper. I am getting a little fed up with all the puns now, which are becoming very overdone.

Typical Jilly

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I was hooked to this story and listened to it as I did a charity walk during February - great stuff. Thanks Jilly x

Excellent escapism

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The characters were good in this, and it was interesting to learn about orchestras. I had a lot of preconceptions about this author that were so wrong, she’s really good. Rannaldini as the bad guy is particularly loathsome. I’m reading the whole series, it does work as a standalone but better if you track the characters and know their histories. I thought it would be hard to top the last one but now this one is my fave. Marcus is the main character and I feel sorry for him a lot of the time. It’s also a nice reminder of that era if you lived through it, I found the weather descriptions particularly evocative.

Great story and narration

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The Rutshire Chronicles continue with one of the most memorable books. For those who have been reading about Rupert Campbell Black, Taggie and all the other inhabitants of Cooper-world for years, this is the one where Marcus finally comes into his own. The rather overlooked, wimpy son of the earlier books (and with a mother like the self obsessed Helen who can blame him?) finally establishes his own character, and his relationship with his father.
Yes, it's fascinating for the picture of how giant orchestras work (or sometimes don't). Yes, it's great to see Rannaldini grow in villainy so we can mentally get to boo and hiss, to meet another self obsessed but undoubtedly gifted character, Abby, and to all fall a little in love with Viking. Nice to see Flora get a happy ending as well. But - for me, it's Marcus's book, and I love it.
Sherry Baines had grown into the narrators role pretty well. I still find her habit of breaking sentences and phrases can be annoying but as the books progress, we get used to that. Compared to the earlier, withdrawn, recordings she's wonderful! I can't imagine how long the poor girl must have spent in the studio this year to record all the series, but I'm grateful she did.

The one where we all learn to love Marcus...

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