The Necessary Marriage, Elisa Lodato
The Necessary Marriage, Elisa Lodato
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The Necessary Marriage

Author: Elisa Lodato

Narrator: Emma Powell

Unabridged: 9 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/23/2018

Synopsis

Jane is sixteen when she first becomes aware of Leonard Campbell. He is a tall, gentle man with full lips and no ring on his left hand. He is her teacher. As he begins to shower her with attention, giving her novels to read and discuss, Jane's interest grows and slowly she falls in love. They overcome obstacles in the form of school bullies and Jane's parents, and it is only once married, that Jane realises she might have settled down too early and given up too much of herself in the process.

They have two children, Becca and Julia, and settle into suburban Surrey in the 1980s. But when Marion and Andrew, a couple whose passion frequently tips into violence, move in next door, Jane is forced to face up to feelings she didn't know she could have. And when Marion abandons her family to return home to Ireland, Jane steps in to help with the couple's two boys, setting in motion a series of events - all of which expose the push and pull within every family. As desire and loyalty are blurred, it becomes clear that nobody can escape the devastating impact of a family falling apart.

Read by Emma Powell
(p) Orion Publishing Group 2018

About Elisa Lodato

Elisa Lodato grew up in London and read English at Pembroke College, Cambridge. After graduating she went to live in Japan where she spent a year teaching, travelling and learning to speak the language. On returning to the UK she spent many happy years working for Google before training to become an English teacher. Helping pupils to search for meaning in a text inspired Elisa to take up the pen and write her own. Her first novel, AN UNREMARKABLE BODY, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and longlisted for the Bath Novel Award. Elisa lives in Gloucestershire with her husband and two children.

About Emma Powell

Emma Powell's recent theatre credits include '.45' for Hampstead Theatre, Lady Macbeth and Lady Capulet for C Company, roles in 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' and 'Julius Caesar' for the RSC and 'Persuasion' and 'The Rivals' for ReCreation Theatre Company. Her Radio Drama work includes the classic series 'A Dance to the Music of Time' for Radio 4 and 'Use It or Lose It' for Radio 3 as well as the comedy horror podcast series 'In the Gloaming'. She also has many voice-over credits. GRACELING and FIRE are her first audiobooks for Orion.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Latkins on June 23, 2018

I was really impressed by Elisa Lodato's first novel, An Unremarkable Body, and I found this one to be equally as good. It has rather a slow start, as, in the 1970s, Jane falls in love with her teacher Leonard and begins a relationship with him. Her parents don't approve, and Jane is frustrated by L......more

Goodreads review by Lucille on July 08, 2018

The first section of The Necessary Marriage is a gripping tale of a teacher/student relationship which leads to marriage when the student, Jane, becomes pregnant. Her husband, Leonard, is a serious, quite strait laced man and as the years pass Jane becomes restless and wonders if she has missed out......more

Goodreads review by Susan on April 08, 2020

Absolutely blown away by this beautiful book. Having previously read and loved Elisa Lodato’s only other novel ‘A remarkable body’ I knew I had to get my hands on this one. This book is a work of art. Beautifully written and just oh so readable. I raced through this book despite trying to savour eac......more

Goodreads review by Anne on September 19, 2018

Earlier this year I read and reviewed Elisa Lodato's first novel; An Unremarkable Body. I was utterly transfixed by it and I said at the time that I was sure it would be in my Top Books of 2018. After reading her second novel, The Necessary Marriage, I am almost certain that this years's best books......more

Goodreads review by Fiona on January 03, 2020

A gripping read, this book is tight with tension. When her next-door neighbour Marion disappears, Jane helps out by looking after her sons while their shady, flirtatious father Andrew is out at work. Prone to violence, Andrew is the complete antithesis to Jane’s husband, Leonard, who is twenty years......more

Quotes

Elegant, subtle and tender, with a sharp sting in the tale SUNDAY MIRROR

This is a novel which closely examines hidden lives and secret motives . . . I would call it Surrey Gothic: a superbly written suburban saga with an agreeable sense of creeping dread DAILY MAIL

A captivating novel which gets to the core of lust, love and commitment. Lodato's writing is delicate, yet direct . . . an excellent examination of rash decisions and their consequences IRISH TIMES

Beautifully written and with emotional intelligence pulsing through its veins, this portrait of marriage is a gripping read right up to its shocking end

An intimate portrait of two couples that lays bare the truth of their marriages and the danger of relationships that stretch across neighbouring walls. Beautifully written, poignant and thrilling

I adored this beautifully told, immersive portrait of two marriages and the flaws and desires within . . . so gripping and original

Gripping and atmospheric, this book will knock you sideways

Tragic and affecting, this novel absorbed me from the first page - and what an ending, wow!

I adored this tale of two very different marriages. Beautifully written, utterly compelling, and so tense, I was gripped from page one

I hugely enjoyed this novel - a subtle and unexpected take on marriage and the paths we weave through life. A lovely evocation of time and place and a perfectly judged ending.

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