Billy cover art

Billy

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Billy

By: Albert French
Narrated by: Vaughn Johseph
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Featured on the Graham Norton Book Club.

Discover Albert French's haunting first novel: a story of racial injustice, as unsentimental as it is heartbreaking.

The tale of Billy Lee Turner, a 10-year-old boy convicted of the murder of a white girl in Mississippi in 1937, illuminates the monstrous face of racism in America with harrowing clarity and power. Narrated in the rich accents of the American South, Billy's story is told amid the picking fields and town streets, the heat, dust and poverty of the region in the time of the Depression.

©1967 Albert French (P)2021 Penguin Audio African American Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural Southern States United States World Literature

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Gospel Singer cover art
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned cover art
Memories of Another Day cover art
Night Music cover art
Daughters of the Dust cover art
Appalachian Justice cover art
The Rock Hole cover art
Outback cover art
Sketcher cover art
Stars of Alabama cover art
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry cover art
A Time for Hanging cover art
A Fine Dark Line cover art
Bass Reeves - Lawman cover art
Bargain at Bravebank: A Western Steampunk Adventure cover art
Shona: Every Small Town Has Its Secrets... cover art

Critic reviews

"Billy is a book that will stay with me in my dreams." (Tim O'Brien author of The Things They Carried)
All stars
Most relevant  
Powerful story of innocence, a mothers love, death and a graphic glimpse of history. Such an amazing read. Vaughan Johseph read it beautifully with such emotion. This book should be read in schools.

Heart reaching.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story is one told so many times, but the brevity of the writing style added pathos to this tale. It almost exaggerated Billy's plight. The narration was perfect, any other narrator would not have done this story justice at all. I'd recommend this book to anyone.

A memorable book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well narrated, heart wrenching story. I gasped out loud at parts & cried at others. A glimpse of American Mississippi life in 1937, was to me, quite shocking. I felt for everyone, but as a mum, especially to Cinder

Heart Wrenching

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wow! I’ve just come to the end of this book and have so many emotions coursing through me. Throughout the book I felt in turn happiness and joy, the lightness of youth, then sadness and anger at how characters are treated. Such a great portrayal of mid century Mississippi, you would hope we have come a long way since that time however we still see echoes of it today. With sparse prose and wonderful narration, every single word counts. Just brilliant, totally recommended read, also the episode of Graham Norton’s Book Club where he speaks with the author.

Just brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thank you to the Graham Norton Book Club I stumbled on this Book. This is a heart-rending story. Fantastically performed by Vaugh Johseph.
I can't believe that Mr Albert French is not writing any more, I would love to read more from him.

Holly Smoke!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Found this through the Graham Norton book club. Be prepared to cry - a lot.

Heartbreaking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I also came to this through the Graham Norton Book Club and the episode which discusses the book has an interview with the author which is well worth a listen. Amazing narration of a such a tragic story. It will stay in my thoughts for quite a while I think. Thoroughly recommend.

A truly sad tale

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a beautiful, sad, thought provoking story that is so well written that it draws you in to feel the pain and torment of the characters. This little boy’s life determined in so many ways because of the racist society he was born into.
The emotion in the narrators voice made the experience of listening so real that I was totally encompassed, and whilst it’s a hard listen at times, it’s also enjoyable and very worthwhile.
I’m hoping that Vaughn Johseph will be able to bring Albert French’s other book ‘Cinder’ to life soon too!

Amazing narration, perfect for this story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Like most, I can across it on Graham Norton's Book club and very glad I did. Beautifully narrated and powerfully written. Would highly recommend the book and the episode on the book club where Graham has a chance to interview the author. Unmissable.

Very powerful

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