Audiobook11 hours
The Last Telegram
Written by Liz Trenow
Narrated by Susan Duerden
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Decades ago, as Nazi planes dominated the sky, Lily Verner made a terrible choice. She's tried to forget, but now an unexpected event pulls her back to the 1940s British countryside. She finds herself remembering the brilliant colors of the silk she helped to weave at her family's mill, the relentless pressure of the worsening war, and the kind of heartbreaking loss that stops time.
In this evocative novel of love and consequences, Lily finally confronts the disastrous decision that has haunted her all these years. The Last Telegram uncovers the surprising truth about how the stories we weave about our lives are threaded with truth, guilt, and forgiveness.
In this evocative novel of love and consequences, Lily finally confronts the disastrous decision that has haunted her all these years. The Last Telegram uncovers the surprising truth about how the stories we weave about our lives are threaded with truth, guilt, and forgiveness.
Author
Liz Trenow
Liz worked for many years as a journalist for national and regional newspapers, and for BBC radio and television news, and is now a full time writer.
More audiobooks from Liz Trenow
The Forgotten Seamstress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Sister Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Last Telegram
Related audiobooks
Woman From Paris Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Brass Compass Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Crimson Rooms: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Was Only Ever You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDon't Shoot Your Mule Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPippo and Clara Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMotherland: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Severn and the Fieldings Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Finn Again: A Young Man’s Coming of Age Tale of Love and a Battle Against Addiction in a Time of War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tomorrow is Forever Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paris Echo: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Race For Paris Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame Barbara Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Lies in White Dresses: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Irishman's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East Lynne Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMeet Me at the Clock: A Hotel Hamilton Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Lady's Life on a Farm in Manitoba Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Girl from the Island Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Seventh Moon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twain's End Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5News of Our Loved Ones: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Stormchasers Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Paris Winter: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shadow Network Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHoney and Leonard Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Shall Not Shatter: A WWII Story of Friendship, Family, and Hope Against All Odds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Roses Underneath Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEven in Darkness: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Historical Fiction For You
And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rose Code: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Tattooist of Auschwitz: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Outlander Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tom Lake: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beneath a Scarlet Sky: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lost Apothecary: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lady Tan's Circle of Women Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Reformatory: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Weyward: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Song of Achilles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5West with Giraffes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Huntress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragon Teeth: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House of Eve Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Neon Gods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The River We Remember: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alice Network: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Clan of the Cave Bear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5That Bonesetter Woman: the new feelgood novel from the author of The Smallest Man Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5News of the World: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Yellow Wife: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Lost Names Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Let Us Descend: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Quiet on the Western Front Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rules of Magic: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Last Telegram
Rating: 3.8272726927272727 out of 5 stars
4/5
55 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love historical fiction that gives a different view of life in those times, to learn about the silk production was amazing, and how it to help the war effort
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lily Verner, daughter of a silk miller, is grieving the recent loss of her husband and thinks back over a significant part of her life. She had learned to weave silk when her year in Switzerland was cancelled due to the threat the Nazi's were posing in Austria prior to the start of WW II. During the war she ended up running the mill, overseeing the weaving of parachute silk. At one time when faced with enormous pressure, she made a terrible choice she has lived with ever since, and in this novel she finally confronts it.
The characters are well done, and it is fairly easy to root for Lily and those she loves. There are mysteries which are well kept, and it's not easy to see certain answers just by reading the ending (which I always do).
One of the key elements in this story not seen in the summary is Lily's convincing her father to bring home three Jewish youths who have been allowed to leave Austria after the Nazi's conquered it. These three were employed at the mill, but as war began became persecuted for being "German" Jews, but mainly for being "German," despite the fact that they were Austrian. Stefan, in particular, becomes very close to Lily, and their budding romance becomes forbidden due to this persecution.
I recommend this book. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enjoyed the history of silk included. A story of love, loss, and regret, along with hope. I've read a lot of World War II books, but none from the perspective of a silk maker's family.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I read a review of this book that compared it to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This book is no Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It was a rather boring, predictable love story set in WWII in England.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed this authors first book. The Last Telegram takes place in the British countryside during WWII. How Lily finds love with a refugee and has to take over managing her families factory making parachutes for the war and then deal with all the loss and changes that war brings to her and her country.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I bought this on my new Kindle Fire, because the cover looked attractive and the price was too tempting to resist, but the gamble didn't quite pay off. The Last Telegram is the debut novel from journalist-turned-author Liz Trenow, about a plucky young woman who takes over her family's silk weaving mill during the Second World War, and the factual bones of the story are largely based on the author's own family history. I loved learning about the production of silk, and how the manufacturers of decorative costume trimmings came to make an important contribution to the war effort by turning out silk parachutes instead, but the 'weft' of the author's research wasn't woven into the 'warp' of the fictional setting with enough care or ease. Nor did I take to Lily, the 'gutsy' heroine, or believe in her romance with Jewish refugee Stefan. I think, with a little careful editing for language and sex scenes, Liz Trenow's book would be better marketed as a Young Adult novel, because she conveys the anguish and bravery of wartime very well, but fails to create fully realised characters. Lily, who works in a man's world, stands up to bullies, falls in love and endures the tragic loss of those closest to her, would make a great role model for impressionable teens, while sneaking in a history lesson or two!