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    An Almond for a Parrot
    Unavailable
    An Almond for a Parrot
    Unavailable
    An Almond for a Parrot
    Audiobook10 hours

    An Almond for a Parrot

    Written by Wray Delaney

    Narrated by Rachel Atkins

    3.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    ‘shades of Sarah Waters…irresistible’ – The Guardian

    ‘I would like to make myself the heroine of this story – an innocent victim led astray. But alas sir, I would be lying…’

    London, 1756: In Newgate prison, Tully Truegood awaits trial. Her fate hanging in the balance, she tells her life-story. It’s a tale that takes her from skivvy in the back streets of London, to conjuror’s assistant, to celebrated courtesan at her stepmother’s Fairy House, the notorious house of ill-repute where decadent excess is a must…

    Tully was once the talk of the town. Now, with the best seats at Newgate already sold in anticipation of her execution, her only chance of survival is to get her story to the one person who can help her avoid the gallows.

    She is Tully Truegood.

    Orphan, whore, magician’s apprentice.

    Murderer?

    A compelling mix of bawdy romp and magical realism.’
    -Sarra Manning, Red magazine

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateNov 3, 2016
    ISBN9780008182571
    Unavailable
    An Almond for a Parrot
    Author

    Wray Delaney

    Wray Delaney is the pen name of Sally Gardner, the award-winning children's novelist who has sold over 2 million books worldwide and been translated into 22 languages. She lives in London and this is her first adult novel.

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    Reviews for An Almond for a Parrot

    3.5/5

    28 ratings5 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 1/5
      Having read the premise of this book in the library, I was expecting some kind of historical crime mystery. What I got was part crime mystery, part fantasy, part erotic novel and part family saga. It seemed as if the author wasn't entirely sure which genre to follow, and so it became a bit of a muddle. The different genres never really blended together, it was either one thing or another, so while we were trying to work out her past the crime got forgotten, while we were 'entertaining' her past got forgotten, and so on. While I don't mind magical realism in the right place, it brought nothing to the party except to provide a diversion from what the actual gist of the story was (which became more and more muddy as the story went on). The ending was strange and I put the book down feeling completely indifferent about it.

      The characters never really developed either, and they all had the same personality so it was hard to differentiate between them. I didn't find the main character very likeable, she bounced form one situation to another without really learning anything in between, and the bit with the rats was very odd. In the beginning I thought Mr Crease was the most interesting person in the book, but by the end his personality had all but faded away.

      For the most part I quite enjoyed the writing style, it was easy to read and scenes were set very well, but some of the prose was a little too flowery and the euphemisms went from amusing to annoying quite quickly. There were also quite a few typos and errors that made it into the book.

      I don't like giving books one star but there was little I liked about this one.
    • 4/5
      I began this with a certain amount of uncertainty because I had the sense that it was a Moll Flanders knock-off. And certainly there are echoes of Moll's story in this piqaresque novel/romance of Tully Truegood, but the tale here is warmer and much more appealing to the contemporary reader than Defoe's novel. Tully is warmer, certainly than the eponymous Moll, and while she loses her innocence and becomes a worldly woman in the course of the novel, she never becomes hardened to life.

      Briefly, An Almond for a Parrot is the story of Tully Truegood, a girl with a peculiar gift. If there is a weakness to the story, it centers on her magical powers which seem to be that if she believes she can do something, she can do it. No boundaries to this are ever explained, leaving the reader with a sense that her magic is both convenient and chaotic, and we are never really certain how she came by them. I came to the end of the story wondering why she didn't do this thing or that thing and avoid all the problems? And of course the answer is that there would have been no story then. (It doesn't do to ask too many questions about magic because you'll end up wondering why Gandalf didn't just have the eagles drop the ring into Mt. Doom instead of sending the fellowship into so much danger.)

      But the book is well written and engaging, moving quickly through Tully's girlhood, her changes in situation, the ups and downs of her life as a courtesan, and finally to the resolution of the love story (which is a little too contrived, in my opinion, but I can overlook that.) It's appealing that the strongest characters in the book are all women. Men propel the plot line to a great degree, but its the women who live it, who cope with the weakness, folly, and malice of those men, and rise above it.

      On the whole I think it's one of the better and more engaging historical romances I've read in the last few years, with memorable characters. If the plot has bumps along the way, they're not so large or troubling that they take away from the enjoyment of the book.
    • 1/5
      What made me want to read this story was its title and book blurb. I should have passed on it and here’s why.You’ve heard me say this many times but it ‘s worth repeating: I read books because I love stories that offer me characters that are complex and that are driving the said stories. All else, plot, pace and setting is secondary to me. I have to be vested in the characters in order to care for their story. If I’m not vested, the story will almost always fail to grab me.That said, I’m not surprised that I found this story lacking. I found the heroine, if she can even be called that, unrealistic. I felt that the author couldn’t make up her mind how many “heartaches” to saddle her with, so she just gave her all she could think of, from physical and sexual abuse, child marriage and prostitution and oh, let’s not forget that she can communicate with spirits.I also found the erotic part of this story to be so ridiculous that all it did was to make me laugh and keep me away from some vegetables. I’ll leave it to your imagination to figure that statement!In all honesty, I have to say just skip this one.Melanie for b2bComplimentary copy provided by the publisher
    • 5/5
      I got a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program to review. I actually really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting and easy read. This is a historical fantasy erotica of sorts; so there is very explicit sexual content (just FYI for readers who don’t like that).The story starts with our heroine, Tilly, in jail. Tilly decides to write about her life on some paper that is left with her. Thus starts Tilly’s life story; it is a story filled with sadness, happiness, brutality, warmth, and magic all in turns. Tilly’s life starts out hard; she is the only daughter of a lord who has drunk and gambled away all his fortunes. At the age of 12 Tilly’s dad sells her into marriage to clear his debts...but Tilly’s husband goes off to war and Tilly is never forced to consummate the marriage.From that point Tilly’s life is a series of magical and beautiful fortunes that alternate with periods of tragedy. Tilly falls in love, learns what it is to be a courtesan, and suffers the sacrifices a woman must make to be independent in this time of history. Amidst this Tilly learns she has magical powers which help her to make her way and gain notoriety.The story flowed beautifully and I enjoyed the main character of Tilly quite a bit. Tilly is naive and witty when the story begins and as she ages and learns she keeps her wit. The story is told in Tilly’s own ironic and amusing voice and was very entertaining to read. This book was effortless to read and I ended up loving it. It was very hard to put down and I was desperate to know how everything would end up.I also enjoyed some of the fun twists in the story. There are some very ironic events that happen especially toward the end of the book that will make you shake your head and smile. As mentioned above there is a lot of explicit sex, some violence, and sexual violence in here; so if that really offends you I would steer clear.Overall this ended up being a highly entertaining book and I really loved it. The story has a lot of highs and lows but somehow still comes off as being happy and hopeful. I loved Tilly and the characters that surrounded her and enjoyed the touches of magic throughout. I would recommend to those who enjoy historical fantasy and don't mind some eroticism in their stories.
    • 4/5
      I love historical fiction and I really enjoyed An Almond for a Parrot by Wray Delaney. This is a rags to riches story where Tully Truegood is sold by her father to pay his gambling debts and ends up joining the Fairy House, a brothel, as a young girl. Tully falls in love with her first client and becomes a sought after courtesan. She has supernatural powers and can see ghosts and spirits so she also becomes a performer in the Fairy House. An altercation with the man she was sold to as a child sends her to prison where she is due to be tried for murder. If found guilty she will be hanged so Tully writes her memoirs in prison to pass on to her unborn baby if she is hanged after the birth. This is a very atmospheric read and I was hooked from the first chapter. Tully is a very friendly character and a good narrator of her own story but I found her to be a bit too obsessed with sex before she left her father’s house. Once she joins the brothel she calms down a little and I enjoyed her and her journey more. I was not interested in the graphic sex scenes which are described in great detail by the author and skipped most of them as I did not feel they added anything to the story. I understand they are relevant and with Tully being a courtesan they are not out of context but I found them boring and they did not keep my attention. I really enjoyed the great descriptions of the different characters according to their class in society, London and Bath in the 1750s and Lord B’s amazing gardens. Tully is a strong woman who wants to be independent and be able to support herself without depending on a husband. Her ideas are quite modern for her time and towards the end there are hints of class clashes and what will eventually become the French Revolution so there is a lot more to this novel than just the life of a courtesan in a London brothel. I believe Wray Delaney did a lot of research to create Tully’s world and it shows in little details like the Fairy House décor, the gossip the characters talk about, the descriptions of the costumes and the manor house gardens and the hints of unrest leading to the ideals of the French Revolution. The novel is so descriptive I would really like it to be turned into a TV series and the characters to be brought to life. Tully Truegood could be compared to Fanny Hill but with magical powers and the ability to talk to ghosts and makes a great heroine. Wray Delaney is the pen name of Sally Gardner, the award-winning author of the young adult novel The Red Necklace, a story of the French Revolution, interwoven with gypsy magic. I read The Red Necklace in 2008 and really enjoyed it and I can see a few similarities in style and narrative in An Almond for a Parrot. I was very lucky to have received a proof copy from the publishers in return for an honest review and this is my personal and unbiased opinion.