Looking for the Durrells, Melanie Hewitt
Looking for the Durrells, Melanie Hewitt
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
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Looking for the Durrells
A heartwarming, feel-good and uplifting novel bringing the Durrells back to life

Author: Melanie Hewitt

Narrator: Angharad Price

Unabridged: 8 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Harper Inspire

Published: 08/03/2021


Synopsis

At 33, after a year that has seen her break off her engagement to Bruce, her long-time boyfriend, and then the loss of her beloved father to cancer, Penny takes time off from her career as a children’s book illustrator to nurse her broken heart and loneliness. She flies out alone to Corfu to begin a month-long pilgrimage - planning to explore the island through the eyes of The Durrells, a curiosity she’s had about the whimsical family life on Corfu in the 1930s. When she arrives, she is unexpectedly drawn into the secrets of the several strangers she meets.  With secrets and pasts only she can reconcile and secrets that pull her into the world of those who live and work around the Athena restaurant in the coastal village of St George South, Penny must reevaluate her own secrets. There’s Tess, the attractive, seemingly tireless widow who runs the place, to Alex, her little boy who lives for his animals and struggles to remember the face of the father he has lost. There are Guy and Rich, the seemingly carefree holiday reps, to Dimitris, the successful lawyer, now fisherman, who returned to his island and boat a decade ago - and then Nic, the Professor who carries the burden of a love he can’t share or voice. And then Lily, the waitress looking for a new start, but fearing it too. As they share their hopes and fears on a journey that runs parallel with Penny’s exploration of The Durrell’s story, their lives become entwined in a way none of them could have imagined or predicted. 

About Melanie Hewitt

After deciding she wanted to be a book illustrator, at 18, Melanie Hewitt went to Art College. Halfway through the year, she changed her mind and secured a place at Swansea University to study English. After 18 months, she moved on again to a college just outside her hometown of Doncaster and studied an eclectic mix of linguistics, sociology, and economics. Then she saw a job advert for a reporter and took up the post at the Doncaster Advertiser, later became Editor, and then worked in PR. She now works in education as Communications Lead for the XP Schools Trust based in Yorkshire and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Looking for the Durrells is her first novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by [ J o ] on October 11, 2021

Not my usual thing, but I managed to finally get around to watching the ITV comedy-drama The Durrells and wanted to explore Corfu in particular and thought this book was a very good way to start. Sadly not. Penny is mourning the loss of her father and her recent break-up and decides a holiday to Corf......more

Goodreads review by Jules on October 04, 2021

This is a lovely, feel-good, inspiring book, that appeals to the side of me that constantly wants to pack a suitcase & run away from life!!! Penny decides to take a month long trip to Corfu to follow in the steps of the Durrells, after the death of her father & the break up of her relationship. The D......more

Goodreads review by Anne on June 27, 2022

I had intended to read Looking For The Durrells during my holiday to Corfu in October 2021 but sadly, due to family illnesses, that trip was cancelled. I saved my copy and was delighted to read this really quite wonderful story during our re-arranged trip to Arillas in North-West Corfu earlier this......more

Goodreads review by The Cookster on July 23, 2021

Rating: 2.1/5 As someone who has enjoyed numerous holidays on the Greek islands, I was one of the many millions who was regularly glued to television adaptation of Gerald Durrell's Corfu trilogy. That being the case, I couldn't resist the temptation to pick up this debut novel from Melanie Hewitt. Ta......more