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Start giftingThe Secret Scripture
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreRoseanne McNulty, once one of the most beautiful and beguiling girls in County Sligo, Ireland, is now an elderly patient at a mental hospital. As her hundredth year draws near, she decides to record the events of her life but hides the manuscript.
Meanwhile, the hospital is preparing to close and is evaluating which patients can return to society. Dr. Grene, Roseanne’s caretaker, takes a special interest in her case. In his research, he discovers a document written by a local priest that tells a very different story of Roseanne’s life than what she recalls. As doctor and patient attempt to understand each other, they begin to uncover long-buried secrets about themselves.
Set against an Ireland besieged by conflict, The Secret Scripture is an epic story of love, betrayal, and unavoidable tragedy.
Sebastian Barry, named Irish fiction laureate in 2018, is a playwright and author whose novels include A Long Long Way, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, as was The Secret Scripture, which was also a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist and winner of the Costa Book of the Year Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, and the Irish Novel of the Year. His plays have been produced in London, Dublin, Sydney, and New York.
Wanda McCaddon (a.k.a. Nadia May or Donada Peters) has narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, has earned numerous Earphones Awards, and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.
Reviews
“Above all it is the surpassing quality of Mr. Barry’s language that gives it its power…It is like a song, with all the pulse of the Irish language, a song sung liltingly and plaintively from the top of Ben Bulben into the airy night.”
“Just as [Barry] describes people stopping in the street to look at Roseanne, so I often found myself stopping to look at the sentences he gave her, wanting to pause and copy them down…When I reached the last page, I did feel that I had shared a profound experience.”
“Luminous and lyrical.”
“Written in captivating, lyrical prose, Barry’s novel is both a sparkling literary puzzle and a stark cautionary tale of corrupted power.”
“Wanda McCaddon’s British dialect is no hindrance to her remarkable portrayal of protagonist Roseanne McNulty, as she leaps into character with a stunning, perfect Irish accent that captures every nuance of the West Coast dialect. McCaddon’s performance is among the best of the year. Her believable portrayal is perfectly modulated and nuance-filled, creating a stunning listening experience.”
“Lucky listeners receive the gift of a great narrator and an amazing writer…Wanda McCaddon’s exquisite reading illuminates the lyrical writing and brings listeners deep into the book’s explosive emotions. Rose’s determined Irish lilt, a priest’s oily tones, Dr. Grene’s fragile neutrality. It’s all here, and it’s terrific.”
“Author Barry (A Long Long Way) describes 1930s-40s Ireland in bold, vibrant language, while Wanda McCaddon (What Was She Thinking?) does a spectacular job voicing the characters, playing at turns an aging, haunted woman and a mourning male doctor. Among the year’s best audio adaptations; highly recommended for all collections.”
“Their stories beautifully unfold like blooming roses, breathtakingly revealing the ties that bind them. The prose is rich, and Barry’s gift for description and especially dialog are considerable.”
“A subtle study of psychology, religion, family and politics in Ireland…Barry beautifully braids together the convoluted threads of his narrative.”
“Sebastian Barry has created one of the great narrative voices in contemporary fiction in The Secret Scripture. It is a book of great brilliance, powerfully and beautifully written.”
“By juxtaposing several views of the life of Roseanne McNulty, Sebastian Barry creates a remarkable portrait, detailed analysis, and an engaging mystery surrounding her life…Narrator Wanda McCaddon alternates between an old woman’s creaky rasps for Roseanne and Dr. Grene’s outwardly professional, sympathetic though insecure voice. McCaddon does a fine job of presenting the nuances of Roseanne’s history through these two characters’ actions, thoughts, and memories. Those who love historical novels will find this audiobook fascinating. Those interested in women’s history, especially in the times and places where women come under the influence of an unscrupulous, moralistic, patriarchal, and blatantly biased society, will come to admire Roseanne’s survival to the century mark. A thought-provoking audiobook for adults and mature teens.”
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