The Key
The most gripping, heartbreaking novel of World War Two historical fiction from the global bestselling author of The Memory Box
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3 Months Free
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Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
The Key
Narrated by:
Joanne Froggatt
Buy Now for £14.35
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Narrated by:
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Joanne Froggatt
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By:
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Kathryn Hughes
From Kathryn Hughes, the #1 bestselling author of The Letter and The Secret, comes a powerful, shocking, heartbreaking story set to get everyone talking in spring 2018.
1956
It's Ellen Crosby's first day at work as a student nurse at Fairhaven County Lunatic Asylum. When she meets Amy Sullivan, a young woman committed for allegedly attempting to drown herself and her stepsister, and Dr Stephen Lambourn, a pioneering physician keen to try out the various 'cures' available for mental illness, little does Ellen know that a choice she will make is to change all their lives irrevocably...
Present day
Under the cover of darkness, a young woman, Kate, picks her way through the brambles to the abandoned Fairhaven Asylum. A vast building with over six miles of corridors, the asylum still houses the metal-framed beds, rusty instruments and infamous padded cells used before it closed its doors for the last time. In an old wardrobe, Kate discovers a suitcase belonging to a female patient who was admitted to the asylum in 1956. The shocking contents of the suitcase lead Kate to unravel a forgotten story of tragedy, lost love and an old wrong that only Kate may have the power to put right.©2018 Kathryn Hughes
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Critic reviews
A heartbreakingly powerful read
Praise for Kathryn Hughes' international bestsellers
Autumnal Sunday afternoons were invented solely to read heart-tugging novels like this
This moving love story had everyone talking . . . Get set to be hooked
A beautiful story . . . I didn't want to put it down
You will find it hard to put down. I cried buckets of tears reading it
A wonderful, uplifting story (Lesley Pearse)
Beautifully written and incredibly poignant. You cannot fail to fall for this story . . . I am delighted to highly recommend
The story kept me gripped . . . A breath of fresh air, and just what I needed after a long day in the office
An emotional and intriguing read . . . Keeps you guessing right to the end
Gripping
Heart-warming and optimistic
A gripping and moving family drama that will tug at the reader's heart
Pulled me in right from the first page . . . I really enjoyed this book
I so thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was filled with all kinds of mystery, family secrets, [and] characters that really stood out
One that you just HAVE to finish
A wonderful and memorable read that will stay with me for a long time
A mixed bag
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Gorgeous
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Brilliant!
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Beautiful story, beautifully read
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Great book
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