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Prudence cover art

Prudence

By: Jilly Cooper
Narrated by: Louise Barrett
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Summary

A lighthearted, fun and romantic romp from the much-loved classic author Jilly Cooper. 

Prudence had been overjoyed when Pendle invited her home for the weekend to meet his family. Then she met his brother, Jack - handsome, married and only too ready to take over with Pru if Pendle didn't get a move on. It was only when she noticed the way Pendle looked at Jack's wife, Maggie, that it began to dawn on Pru that this weekend looked like a nonstop game of changing partners....

©1978 Jilly Cooper (P)2018 W.F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"The Jane Austen of our time." (Harper's Bazaar)

What listeners say about Prudence

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    5 out of 5 stars

Nostalgic, but a delight

I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed reading Prudence all those years ago. Yes, it’s of it’s time, but then we don’t cavil about period books from the 20s and 30s, so why not the 70s?
When Prudence meets Pendle (named after the hill so sort of gets away with it) in London it’s a slow start, but once they visit his family, the Mullhollands, in the Lake District the story comes to life. What is meant to be a weekend visit lengthens for Prudence, as she’s stuck there with a heavy cold.
A great cast of characters, both adult and children, a light and enjoyable read, what’s not to like? I particularly love the horrendous Berenice, a ghastly member of the food police well ahead of her time.
A book that’s fun, with a load of typical Jilly phrases and jokes, and the reliable happy ending.
Thank you Audible for recording all these books. I just wish there was some consistency to the narration standards, because some are great but some considerably less so.
Ideal choices: Louise Barrett (who reads this) for all these single novels - one of my favourites, Imogen, hopefully is still to come so may as well ask...
And Gerri Halligan for the missing Rutshire Chronicles please!

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5 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Love Jilly usually, but disappointed

This has dated really poorly and lacks the depth of the Ruthshire Chronicles. Wish there was more of that series available on Audible- I bought this as Rivals isn't available- big mistake

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A trip down memory lane.....

I must have read this book when it was first published and I was in the target age group for this light hearted novel. It was sheer joy to listen to this so many, many years later and recall that of all Jully Cooper's "heroines" i loved Prudence the most.
This novel probably won't be enjoyed by anyone in their twenties these days as it's probably too tame for modern tastes, but frankly and although this isn't my typical genre of book nowadays, I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane. It was of course helped by Louise Barrett's wonderful narration.

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1 person found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

My favourite story but awful narration..

I love the old jilly coopers and this is my favourite but the narrator is dreadful.

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

Great read

I love all JC slim books, really get to grips with each character. BUT please remember when these were written! Very much of there time.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • JS
  • 18-11-22

Good story but buy the book, not the audio!

The story was good and I really enjoyed it but the reading of it was just appalling. The voice was fine but the intonation, spacing and phrasing was just awful. I can only imagine it was edited by a robot and it really spoiled a good story.

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

very poor!

surprisingly awful story, badly read, the timing is so bad, not the usual standard from Jilly cooper.

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

Always a pleasure

A bit old fashioned in 2021 but I read this in my teens and loved hearing it again. Jolly love story. Cannot believe it is 40 odd years old...

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