Devotion
- Author Louisa Young
- Narrator Eve Karpf
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date 2 June 2016
- Run Time 14 hours and 19 minutes
- Format x-book®
- Genre Classic fiction, Historical fiction.
Flexible Pricing & Rewards For Listening
At xigxag, the more you read, the less you pay* on select audiobook and x-book® titles, as in the table below. Pricing updates automatically in the app and resets one year after your first purchase. And you can always find a selection of brilliant titles available for only $7.95.
*Only the full price titles you buy count toward your personal pricing tier. Full price titles don’t include Listen for Less or other books bought with a voucher or discount code.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- $13.95
- $12.95
- $11.95
- $10.95
- $9.95
Listen to a sample
What to expect
From the bestselling author of My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You and The Heroes’ Welcome, Louisa Young's Devotion is a novel of family, love, race and politics set during the electric change of the 1930s.
Tom loves Nenna. Nenna loves her father. Her father loves Mussolini.
Ideals and convictions are not always so clear in the murky years between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second. For Tom and Kitty Locke, children of the damaged WW1 generation, visiting their cousin Nenna in Rome is a pure joy. For their adoptive parents Nadine and Riley, though, the ground is still shifting underfoot.
Nobody knew in 1919 that the children they were bearing would be just ripe for the next war in 1939; nobody knew, in 1935, the implications of an Italian Jewish family supporting Mussolini.
Meanwhile Peter Locke and Mabel Zachary have found each other again together in London, itself a city reborn but riddled with its own intolerances. As the heat rises across Europe, voices grow louder and everyone must brace once more to decide what should bring them together, and what must drive them apart.
Music composed by Robert Lockhart. Used by permission of Faber Music Ltd.
Critics Review
Praise for DEVOTION:
n‘Young has conjured up another rich historical novel and I longed to know the fate of this tragic cast of friends. These characters demand devotion — they’ll get it, too’ The Times
n‘Elegantly written and compulsively readable, Devotion manages to be both thrilling and heartfelt – a real treasure of a book’ Jami Attenberg
nPraise for THE HEROES’ WELCOME and MY DEAR, I WANTED TO TELL YOU:
n‘Fierce and tender, The Heroes' Welcome depicts heroism on the grand scale and the importance of the tiniest act of courage’ Observer
n‘Young possesses in abundance emotional conviction, pace and imaginative energy, and these qualities will draw readers with her through time and space, as she unfolds the story of the Lockes and Purefoys on their journey through the 20th century’ Guardian
n‘If you read one novel about the effects of the First World War this year, make it this one. It has brain with its brawn and deserves a hero’s welcome’ The Times
n‘Powerful, sometimes shocking, boldly conceived, it fixes on war’s lingering trauma to show how people adapt – or not – and is irradiated by anger and pity’ The Sunday Times
n‘A moving exploration of the war’s toll on a generation…deeply affecting’ Metro
n‘A brilliant, passionate, intense examination of what it is to survive a war and to negotiate a peace with a body and mind that have been irrevocably altered’ Elizabeth Buchan
n‘This novel is a triumph’
Elizabeth Jane Howard
‘Every once in a while comes a novel that generates its own success, simply by being loved.’
The Times
‘Birdsong for the new millennium’
Tatler
‘Powerful, sometimes shocking, boldly conceived, it fixes on war’s lingering trauma to show how people adapt – or not – and is irradiated by anger and pity’
The Sunday Times
‘[A] tender, elegiac novel. Others have been here before, of course, from Sebastian Faulks to Pat Barker, but Young belongs in their company’
Mail on Sunday
More from the same
About xigxag and the x-book®
Discover the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed to simplify finding, purchasing, and enjoying your favourite books in audio format. Our flexible pricing model makes bestselling audiobooks affordable, offering the best audiobook deals without the need for a subscription. You can also give the perfect gift with our convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.
A core differentiator of xigxag is our groundbreaking listen-and-read x-book® technology, which delivers a truly immersive digital book experience. This unique innovation seamlessly combines the audiobook, text, and images into a brilliant, integrated format, complete with exclusive audiobook features and a next-generation digital reading experience. Our growing x-book selection is easily discoverable by looking for the distinctive purple x-book® ribbon, or by simply filtering your search by ‘x-book’.
Beyond our technology, xigxag is committed to sustainability and ethical practices, ensuring a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we stand as a leader in audiobook innovation and a compelling alternative to big tech. Our commitment extends to delivering extraordinary customer service, provided by our friendly UK support team.
Effortlessly search audiobooks, gain insights from honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. You can download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere, guaranteeing the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Experience the future of audiobooks today.