Listen to a sample
Trouble Was
- Author
- Charlotte Edwardes
- Narrator
- Harley Viveash
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 2 July 2026
- Run Time
- 6 hours 31 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
‘A transporting piece of 1970s gothic with a viscous sensory pull’ The Times
'Evocative, resonant, and quite simply, brilliant' Claire Fuller
‘Like the building of a thunderstorm through a sultry day … the novel’s engines thrum from the first page’ Sarah Moss, Guardian
'Disturbing and heartbreaking in equal measure’ Hari Kunzru
‘To view the world through the lens of Frank Dart is a moving and captivating experience’ Irish Times
A powerfully evocative and tenderly realised debut novel about family secrets, the power of imagination - and coming of age in the dying dreams of the 1970s
1976. Nine-year-old Frank Dart dreams of his absent dad, away at sea; while making sure his mum’s got all the cigarettes she needs for the long drive in their battered Citroën down to their new home in North Devon.
Here in Aunt Perry’s house, Frank and his little sister Odette must make sense of their cousins’ hostility – while their mum seems to drift further and further away. The house is haunted by secrets, past and present; and as spring turns to a suffocatingly hot summer, the past threatens to boil over and scald everything in its wake.
Trouble Was is a raw and tender story of growing up too soon, betrayal and resilience, love and survival – and a dazzling exploration of toxic family politics, buried secrets and the power of the imagination.
Critics Review
-
Taut, atmospheric … This is a transporting piece of 1970s gothic with a viscous sensory pull, its observations of class, behaviour, dress and coded language resonant. As the heatwave summer blooms, then rots, Edwardes ramps up the sense of incipient dread … After such a striking, assured start, it is intriguing to wonder what she could do next
The Times
-
A haunting debut … the novel’s engines thrum from the first page … Like the building of a thunderstorm through a sultry day … The joy here is that of good writing
Guardian, Book of the Day
-
Moving and captivating ... Edwardes writes the toughness of toxic families with great tenderness. This is a powerful evocation of childhood and the treachery of the adults who are meant to protect them
IRISH TIMES
-
I've read no better novel in years. It's intimate and enormous, of its time and timeless, in the way great novels are. I think it has the makings of a classic
Samantha Harvey, author of the Booker Prize-winning Orbital
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
Crisply told, shot through with slow-burn menace, it’s a period novel that avoids nostalgia to be clear-eyed about cruelty and heartache
Daily Mail
-
A really skillful storyteller ... Shades of early Ian McEwan ... Very well-written ... This is really capturing something
BBC Radio 4 Front Row
-
The drama is in the detail, and it’s here that the book comes alive, Frank’s child’s-eye narration perfectly suited to capturing the specificity of every tiny detail ... A terrific debut
Spectator
-
A gulpable coming-of-age novel about growing up too soon
i paper, Best books of the summer
-
Perfectly captures the long hot summer of 1976 from a child's eye view. Evocative, resonant, and quite simply, brilliant
Claire Fuller
-
An evocation of a seventies English childhood that’s so intense, so immediate, that you can almost taste the sticky orange squash on your tongue. Trouble Was is disturbing and heartbreaking in equal measure
Hari Kunzru
-
Vivid, involving, full of feeling and acutely observed moments
Edward Docx
-
Gripping ... An unforgettable account of a child struggling to understand the dysfunctionality of the grown ups around him, trying to make sense of an impenetrably complex adult world. Edwardes’ clear, sharp writing transports you to the past so powerfully that you can smell the 1970s. I loved it
Amelia Gentleman
-
Trouble Was gives us childhood with breath-taking precision - the shifting loyalties and life-altering betrayals (big and small), the fog of an adult world illuminated by a child’s uncanny insight, the unbearably steadfast love children have for their often unlovable parents. One of the most beautiful, and heart-rending, books I've read in a long time
Krystelle Bamford
-
A child's-eye view of a fraught and often treacherous adult world: rarely has a novel succeeded in such a tense and tender capturing ... The masterly evocation of a hot and troubling 1970s summer meshes with a growing tension in the telling. Searingly written and tautly paced: you feel for the children in this novel, and you fear for them
Jenny McCartney
-
A story of complicated families and yearning for an easier life
Sun
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Charlotte Edwardes
- Narrator
- Harley Viveash
- Duration
- 6 hours 31 minutes
- Release Date
- 2 July 2026
- ISBN
- 9781037201615
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre
- Fiction: literary and general non-genre, Narrative theme: coming of age, Family life fiction / Stories about family
Synopsis
'I've read no better novel in years' Samantha Harvey‘A transporting piece of 1970s gothic with a viscous sensory pull’ The Times'Evocative, resonant, and quite simply, brilliant' Claire Fuller‘Like the building of a thunderstorm through a sultry day … the novel’s engines thrum from the first page’ Sarah Moss, Guardian'Disturbing and heartbreaking in equal measure’ Hari Kunzru‘To view the world through the lens of Frank Dart is a moving and captivating experience’ Irish TimesA powerfully evocative and tenderly realised debut novel about family secrets, the power of imagination - and coming of age in the dying dreams of the 1970s1976. Nine-year-old Frank Dart dreams of his absent dad, away at sea; while making sure his mum’s got all the cigarettes she needs for the long drive in their battered Citroën down to their new home in North Devon. Here in Aunt Perry’s house, Frank and his little sister Odette must make sense of their cousins’ hostility – while their mum seems to drift further and further away. The house is haunted by secrets, past and present; and as spring turns to a suffocatingly hot summer, the past threatens to boil over and scald everything in its wake. Trouble Was is a raw and tender story of growing up too soon, betrayal and resilience, love and survival – and a dazzling exploration of toxic family politics, buried secrets and the power of the imagination.
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.