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The Ship of Brides
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The Ship of Brides
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The Ship of Brides
Audiobook15 hours

The Ship of Brides

Written by Jojo Moyes

Narrated by Nicolette McKenzie

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

From the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You and One Plus One, a post-WWII story of the war brides who crossed the seas by the thousands to face their unknown futures

1946. World War II has ended and all over the world, young women are beginning to fulfill the promises made to the men they wed in wartime.

In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England-aboard HMS Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers. Rules are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier's captain down to the lowliest young deckhand. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined despite the Navy's ironclad sanctions. And for Frances Mackenzie, the complicated young woman whose past comes back to haunt her far from home, the journey will change her life in ways she never could have predicted-forever.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 27, 2014
ISBN9780698164246
Unavailable
The Ship of Brides
Author

Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes is a British novelist and journalist. She is one of only a few authors to have twice won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association and has been translated into eleven different languages.

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Reviews for The Ship of Brides

Rating: 3.934306620437956 out of 5 stars
4/5

274 ratings27 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Great book. Australian brides who married British servicemen during the war are being shipped to UK to reunite with their husbands. Four very different girls are sharing a cabin; some nice others not so much. Characters very true to life. Not a happy ever after for all of them. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Another interesting point of view about war. This time war brides from Australia heading to England. It's all about their time on the ship that lasts for weeks.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Fun to read, nothing too deep and meaningful.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Each character is described so well and there are interesting twists and turns. A good read!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Older book. Intersting history. Liked the characters
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another one of her books to love. I was so glad I could go right back to the beginning when I reached the end. The story is wonderful, from historical parts to the emotional ones. There is so much detail about the ship ----yes, as she said in the acknowledgements....this was not an easy book to put together...but I am so very glad that she did.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Interesting WWII story about the Australian women who married British soldiers during a the war, and their journey to their new homes.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a little slower than the other two books I read by Jojo Moyes, but I enjoyed reading about this nugget of WWII history I had never heard about before.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I love Jojo Moyes and her books. I know I personally always get stuck at a certain part, 1/2 way usually, but I keep reading and they end up so good. This book just dragged for me. I finished it but can't wait to read the next I have in line. I couldn't get excited about the characters like her others.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Interesting piece of history of which I was not aware. After WWII, Australian war brides of British husbands were provided the opportunity to sail to Britain to be with their husbands. A ship filled with 500+ women was bound to be more harrowing than "Here Come The Brides." Jojo Moyes managed to convey the story, focusing on four women primarily and several of the crew of the ship. Her author's note alludes to the research she did (indeed, a family member was one of the brides). The book manages to pull together the stories, history, and imagination in a believable mix. There were several twists I didn't see coming, one minor, one major, that kept me reading, and were entirely plausible. Moyes is hit and miss for me, but this one kept me reading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Although I've read several of Moyes' other books (One Plus One, Silver Bay, and The Girl You Left Behind), this is the first time I've realized what an amazing job she does capturing the feel of different settings. Each of her books as a unique atmosphere, quite unlike any of the others. The four women who feature in this book also have all have very unique personalities and that shows up in Moyes' writing as well. As always, I enjoyed Moyes' writing style. Her writing is plain and straightforward, neither especially literary or unusual, but she's very articulate and knows how to pull me into a story.

    Despite sharing many of the strong points of Moyes' other books, I felt less connected to the characters in this book than in previous ones. I think this might in part be due to the historical context. I really liked seeing the different social expectations at the time, but the perspectives of the women in the story ended up feeling too different for me to fully relate to them. I also disliked that we focused on the stories of the characters who were the most likeable from a modern perspective. Although I think Moyes was trying to make the point that social expectations during this time period were unfair to women, her treatment of the characters struck me as equally unfair, with the more likeable characters getting far more satisfying endings.

    This review first published at Doing Dewey.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Ship of Brides follows four Australian war brides as they board an aircraft carrier and travel to England where they are being taken to their new husbands following WWII. Jean is a 16-year-old uneducated party girl who is daring and always on the lookout for some fun. Avice comes from a wealthy family and is quite a snob. Maggie is the girl next door, a farm girl who’s devoted herself to caring for her father and brothers for the last few years. She’s pregnant and never been away from home before. Frances, a nurse, has seen the horrors of war caring for released POWs in army hospitals. She is dignified and reserved but we know she's keeping a secret of some sort.

     

    I had heard of war brides before, of course, but had no idea how committed the British government was to reuniting their fighting men with the women they married while at war. Competition to get permission to travel was fierce and nothing was guaranteed. Once on board, the brides could still be rejected by their husbands. Over the course of the journey, several brides receive the dreaded Not Wanted/Don’t Come telegram informing them that their husband had changed his mind. Now the journey is over for that bride, who is taken off ship at the next available port and sent back to Australia.

     

    I was expecting a standard love story and was captured by the adventure and bravery of these young women who were traveling thousands of miles away to begin a life with virtual strangers. I was swept up in the stories about the four fictional women and the marines on the ship. I felt like it was well researched and entertaining. It was a fast enjoyable read about an interesting period of history.

    "
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Dieses Buch beschäftigt sich mit einem geschichtlichen Kapitel, von dem ich bisher nichts wusste: Es geht um australische Frauen, die sich im Krieg mit britischen Soldaten verlobten oder auch heirateten und nun auf einem Schiff, dem Flugzeugträger Victorious, nach England reisen. Die vier Protagonistinnen sind sehr unterschiedlich: Reich und verwöhnt (Avice), eine freundliche und ruhige Bauerstochter (Margaret), eine verschlossene Krankenschwester (Frances) und eine fröhliche, unbekümmerte und ungebildete Sechzehnjährige (Jean). Die Sympathien sind recht eindeutig verteilt: Margaret ist definitiv eine positive Figur und Avice eine eher negative.Es ist natürlich interessant, wie sich Personen auf so engem Raum verhalten und entpuppen. Zudem geschehen einige sehr aufwühlende Dinge. Dennoch fand ich das Buch nicht allzu spannend. Die männliche Hauptfigur ist zu wenig ausgearbeitet. Überhaupt ist die Liebesgeschichte nicht wirklich fesselnd. Meine Tochter fand das Buch wunderbar, ich selber eher solala.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My mom made such a trip from France to America in 1946 and I made it with her prior to birth. This book is about a trip from Australia to England which took about 3 times as long. I very much enjoyed all the descriptions of life on the ship with the difficulties. We get to see things from several viewpoints. There are stories of several people and we get a good look at each of them as our understanding changes as more of their past is revealed. One of those threads is a wonderful romance. I listened to the audiobook with excellent voice work with many different accents of folks speaking English.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A great story about a group of women in a situation that must have been incredibly alien. Well reserached, and with a strong, varied cast of characters, it brings to life this piece of history, even though it is fiction. The interwoven stories of the characters all remain interesting throughout the novel, and there are plenty of unexpected plot twists. Difficult to put down.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great story

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Jojo Moyes has a way of revealing the intriguing detail as the story unfolds. She creates one helluva dynamic that keeps the reader sitting up all night to find out the juiciest of detail that makes the whole story come together wanting the best for all

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I recently borrowed The Ship of Brides from the local library, and I was so excited to read another Jojo Moyes’ novel. However, this story seemed disjointed and lagged in plot development, almost to the point where I nearly considered putting the book down. As I plodded on, I discovered that Moyes valiantly described the characters of her story with attentive detail, and I was drawn into the lives of the women and the dilemma they faced, as they traveled aboard the HMS Victoria, a military ship on its final voyage at the end of World War II. The story encompasses historical fiction, as six hundred and fifty women traveled from Australia to England to meet their husbands in England. Moyes accurately depicts the experiences of the women on board, as they endured the long voyage and the inclement conditions, such as seasickness and living in close quarters to each other. The author especially focuses on four main characters. Margaret, who is abundantly pregnant, sneaks her tiny, frail puppy onboard the vessel, hoping to have it accompany her to England. Avice is a self possessed, high society woman, who is a bit snobby to the girls at times. Jean is a chatty, sixteen-year-old young woman who drinks too heavily onboard. And Frances is a reserved military nurse, who keeps to herself, as she hides the secrets from her past. By the story’s end, I was glad that I persevered through the disconnected text, as the story was intriguing and worthy of attention.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    1946. World War II has ended and all over the world, young women are beginning to fulfill the promises made to the men they wed in wartime.In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England—aboard HMS Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers. Rules are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier’s captain down to the lowliest young deckhand. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined despite the Navy’s ironclad sanctions. And for Frances Mackenzie, the complicated young woman whose past comes back to haunt her far from home, the journey will change her life in ways she never could have predicted—forever.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The story opens in 2002 with some drama in India. This is not explained until the end - and felt like a ploy to introduce the main part of the book, rather than being entirely necessary.

    The rest of the novel takes place in 1946, when a boatload of Australian brides are en route to the UK to be reunited with their husbands. Although the characters are fictional, they are based on real people. At the start of each chapter is a brief quotation written by some of the people involved at the time. The general feel is authentic.

    Different chapters are written from the different perspectives of some of the main characters, giving a good picture of what life would have been like for these courageous women who crossed the world to be with their husbands, some of them uncertain whether they would ever see their home and families again.

    I found the book interesting, but as a novel, it didn't really work for me. It was more like a series of anecdotes than a real plot, and I didn’t warm much to any of the characters. The ending was satisfying, and made sense, but didn’t feel like part of the book.

    I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys realistic historical fiction without a strong storyline. It would probably make good holiday reading. The writing is good, and at times I could almost imagine the situations.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Moyes turns her talent to historical fiction. The WWII Australian women who married British GI’s during the war are transported to England vial Bride Ships. Four very different women end up as roommates on an aircraft carrier. This is an enjoyable story about what it was like for the British Navy personnel and the 600 brides on board in very close, very supervised quarters. Hum, it made me think those women my mom’s age certainly weren’t always the prime, proper young things they lead their children to believe! As usual, Moyes picked a very interesting subject as the basis of a novel. For some the trip ended in sorrow with telegraphs that read “Not wanted. Go back.” And for others, wives did live happily ever after with their spouse.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a wonderful, memorable story and a fascinating glimpse into a part of history of which I was not aware. In July 1946, the British aircraft carrier HMS Victorious traveled from Sydney to take 655 Australian war brides of British servicemen to Britain where their husbands awaited them. More than 1100 men also were on board. These young women had married British servicemen serving in Australia during the war. When the author discovered that her grandmother had actually been one of these brides on the HMS Victorious, she resolved to create a story from it. She envisioned four young women from very different backgrounds who were thrown together in a small cabin for the journey.Avice is a wealthy society girl, and “desperately disappointed” that her bunk mates have a lower social standing than her own. Maggie is heavily pregnant, and charming. She worries she won’t be a good mother, because her own mother abandoned her. Frances is a nurse, very quiet, and seems to be carrying a secret. And Jean is only sixteen, and probably married too young: she is wild, indiscreet, and not immune to the flirtations of the sailors.The girls are guarded in the their bunks at night, and Frances becomes friends with the marine, Henry, who stands nightly in front of their door. Henry has received a devastating letter from his wife back home. But neither Frances nor Henry confide their secrets to one another.As the story progresses, we become familiar with the tensions between everyone cooped up together on the ship. Some of the tension was among the brides, with Moyes especially picking up upon the class snobbery that prevailed at the time. There was also a sexual tension between the brides and the men. Many of these girls hadn’t seen their husbands since the night they wed them - in some cases several years before. And the men of course had been deprived of the company of women for quite some time. There was also tension coming from the husbands back in Britain: upon receiving word that their wives would be coming, some sent telegrams to the ship succinctly advising: “Not Wanted Don’t Come.” A woman about whom the message was directed was dropped off at the next port, where a representative of the Australian government would make arrangements for her to go back home. All the brides dreaded getting the call to the Captain’s office.The Captain is close to retirement age, and "at sea" about what he is to do next. He is also plagued by a war wound that he dare not admit bothers him, but it has gotten so bad he fears for his survival. And now he has do deal with all these women, with their lingerie hanging to dry on lines around the ship, having to come up with entertainments for them, and the occasional trysting, and so on. Moyes limns him so well you can almost hear his heavy sighing as you read the book.Although the voyage only lasts less than six weeks, some of the lives of those on board go through radical changes. Matters come to a head for the protagonists just as the ship nears the port of Plymouth. Evaluation: The characters are so good - I felt sad at the end not to be able to hear more about them, especially Maggie and Frances. Moyes always makes me care about characters and think about them long after I finish a book by her. In addition, another of the ways in which Moyes is so excellent is that she always manages to throw complete surprises into what you assumed was a predictable plot. And finally, the exceptionally skilled way in which Moyes takes readers into that aircraft carrier so that we feel we too are experiencing every aspect of the trip is so rewarding - as Emily Dickens said, “There is no frigate like a book….” What a happy double entendre for this reading experience.Highly recommended!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Ship of Brides is a well-researched fictional account of a voyage, carrying amazingly young brides, from Australia to England, on a WWII aircraft carrier, the HMS Victorious. It is the story of new beginnings, with themes of sacrifice, love, loss, and heartache. Maggie, Avice, Jean, and Frances had very little in common, but they all wanted the same thing – to reach England and be reunited with their husbands. The four are among 650 brides who shared the same hopes and fears. They were about to make this arduous journey on an aircraft carrier to a life of uncertainty.Maggie is pregnant and prepares to go to England to be with her husband, Joe. She started having doubts as to whether she should leave her family behind. She didn’t want to think of them on their own, but Maggie was the character who exuded strength and confidence. By the time her baby would be born, Maggie and Joe would have shared only 4 weeks alone together in their married life. Avice – The war had hastened everything, and Avice’s marriage to Ian took place only 4 months after they first met. Avice came from a well-to-do family, her father owned the biggest radio manufacturer, and she was rather spoiled, accustomed to living a rich lifestyle.Jean was 16 years old and immature, acting in a disgraceful way. She was not the kind of girl the other brides would normally associate. There was the air of mutual dislike for Jean among the girls – she could be awfully trying. Jean was on her way to England to meet her 19 year-old-husband.Frances, a nurse, was the character I found to be the most interesting. She was reserved, not sharing her past with any of the girls. She showed little interest in what the girls were doing, and seemed emotionless. There was a bit of mystique about Frances. Australia – 1946 -There was an air of nervous anticipation as the brides left Australia, perhaps viewing it for the last time. The four brides had very little in common, other than they all wanted the same thing – to reach England and be reunited with their husbands. And the story unfolds as the brides were overcome with a myriad of obstacles and they struggled to cope with the difficult realities of the long voyage. The author does a marvelous job capturing the mood and living conditions on the ship, and her power with words is incredible! This story has an interesting premise and has the potential to be a really good read. The plot moves rather slowly, but with interesting twists and turns developing along the way. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to stay engaged with the characters and storyline, especially in the middle section. I have mixed feelings about this book – it was an interesting read, but not one I’d enthusiastically recommend. My rating is 3.5 stars.I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in exchanged for an honest review.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Who knew the British Navy would bring all of those wives from Australia to England on an aircraft carrier. What a great story! Those poor women. Those poor men having to deal with those women. This is a huge book, but I enjoyed the whole thing.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A fictional account of an actual voyage from Australia to England in 1946 by HMS Victorious, a WW2 aircraft carrier. On this, its last voyage before decommissioning, the role of the Victorious could not have been more different to its one in the war. It was a transport ship for some of the last Australian war brides to leave Australia, young women who had married British servicemen serving in Australia during the war, taking them to their husbands and new homes in the UK. The story is woven around four young women from vastly different backgrounds who are brought together through having to share a cabin for the journey. It is an easy read. Jojo Moyes has written it well, achieving a nice balance between the stories of the four young women, other women on the voyage and the officers and sailors whose job was to "look after" them. It is made stronger in that it has a well researched historical base - despite some slip ups - dollars did not become Austrlia's currency until twenty years after the story took place. An interesting fictional insight into a social phenomenon that would probably otherwise be lost, except in diaries and faded albums now tucked away in dusty drawers in cities and towns across the UK.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow. Reading the first few chapters I started to worry I bought myself a romance book, well if this is a romance I am going to buy many more!!!Last night, this book has nearly 500 pages I went to bed and still had more than 200 pages to read. Well I could just not stop reading so I read all of it and now I am sad cause it is finished lol.Great book, it captivated me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A slow start that picked up after a few chapters. It dipped again towards the end but overall a good book that was easy to read. Many characters to become involved with. I wasn't quite as interested in the sailors as I was the brides but they were just as big a part of the story so necessary. The prologue felt wasted but is needed in some respects to link in with the epilogue. The author acknowledges her sources at the start but I wouldn't know what was historically accurate and what wasn't. An interesting mix of female characters with some unlikely heroines. And as the blurb says "sometimes the journey is more important than the destination".