Journey [Abridged, Audiobook, CD] [Audio CD]

Josephine Cox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 21, 2005

Read by Carole Boyd. The new bestseller from the country's number one storyteller is a deeply moving and powerful tale of love and courage and a sacrifice no man should be asked to make. The story begins in 1952 when three strangers meet in a churchyard. One is a local farmer, Ben Morris, walking through the churchyard from his farmhouse. The other two -- Lucy and Eileen Baker -- are mother and daughter, bringing flowers to lay at the resting place of a man by the name of Barney Davidson. There is an air of mystery about them which greatly intrigues Ben. When the older woman stumbles, Ben offers to help. The offer is refused but in that moment of contact with the younger of the two women, he finds himself oddly drawn to her. When a handbag is found, Ben is nominated to return it to an address found inside. He goes to an old Edwardian house which is rumoured to have been a place of ill-repute many years ago. For reasons unknown, this rumour is vigorously denied by an elder who has lived in the hamlet of Salford all her life. When Ben returns with the handbag and is invited into the house, he is caught up in something that will change his life forever. When the old woman is taken ill, and haunted by what happened long ago in her youth, she finally confesses the truth to Ben and her daughter Eileen. What she has to say shocks and amazes Ben, so much so that he can't get it out of his mind. The extraordinary events that follow keep Ben and Eileen at the centre. As the story unfolds, the years fall away. Unsuspecting people are drawn together from both sides of the Atlantic. At long last the real truth about Barney Davidson is known. He was indeed a man amongst men. What he did changed all their lives in ways that could never have been imagined.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Josephine Cox: 'This latest novel from the nation's biggest-selling saga writer is!.one for true romantics.' You

About the Author

Josephine Cox was born in Blackburn, one of ten children. At the age of sixteen, Josephine met and married her husband Ken, and had two sons. When the boys started school, she decided to go to college and eventually gained a place at Cambridge University. She was unable to take this up as it would have meant living away from home, but she went into teaching -- and started to write her first full-length novel. She won the 'Superwoman of Great Britain' Award, for which her family had secretly entered her, at the same time as her novel was accepted for publication.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Harpercollins Audio; Abridged edition (February 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007201028
• ISBN-13: 978-0007201020
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,895,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Story to Warm Your Heart, May 4, 2008

By 

The Mad Hatter "Seagull Books" (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Journey (Paperback)

Contrary to a previous review, I did not find the book confusing or difficult to understand. As far as the terminology and writing style, one has to remember the author is English and because of that, of course, her wording will be different from that of authors on this side of the Atlantic.

This story is filled with joy and tears, happiness and loss, but the plot is strong and overall, it is definitley a book that will warm your heart and keep you interested from start to finish. There is indeed a sequel, Journey's End, but the author has changed the names of the characters in the sequel, so if one finds this book confusng, the sequel may be completely mind boggling. However both books are good and well worth the read. Two other recommendations by this author are "The Lady Who Left" and what appears to be a sequel, "Jinnie". All the books mentioned are attention grabbers and make for easy reading - enjoy!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story despite the inconsistencies, January 4, 2007

By 

Becky (Rocky Mountain West) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Journey (Mass Market Paperback)

Overall, I enjoyed this book. For the most part, the story was good. However, it was obvious that it hadn't been very well edited. There were many spelling and other errors. Some of the language was difficult to decipher and, I had to grab the dictionary to learn what a spinney is.

One confusing thing was that, in the beginning, Lucy married Mr. Solomons after Barney died and then he died when her daughter was a young child. But, at the end, when Lucy's old friend, Arthur, proposes to her, it says that she is excited because she's never been married. What?

Some things were overkill (mentioned too often), but most of the book was good. I loved the character of Bridget and her language. She's a hoot.

But, the main plot of Barney's plan is simply ridiculous. If he actually loved his family, then he wouldn't break their hearts or mistreat them. Why not go with them to America, see a doctor there, and if he dies in a year or so's time, he dies there, after getting his family settled into a new, secure life? It just seemed that pretending to go off the deep end in a week or two's time and turning them against him in such a short time was improbable and absurd.

Furthermore, Barney didn't seem like the type to cheat on his wife, and the touch of other women was a turn-off to him. So, why would he suddenly cheat on his wife with Lucy and play house with her? That just didn't make any sense and I thought it was just plain dumb.

The book ended too soon. And, I am glad to see that there might be a sequel. I'm not positive because the description of "The Journey's End" mentions a Vicky Maitland who went to America and her husband Barney was back in England. The Journey's Barney's wife's name was Joanne. But, I've sent for the book and will see if it is the sequel to The Journey or not.