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The Baker's Secret: A Novel Audiobook
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From the multiple-award-winning, critically acclaimed author of The Hummingbird and The Curiosity comes a dazzling novel of World War II—a shimmering tale of courage, determination, optimism, and the resilience of the human spirit, set in a small Normandy village on the eve of D-Day.
On June 5, 1944, as dawn rises over a small town on the Normandy coast of France, Emmanuelle is making the bread that has sustained her fellow villagers in the dark days since the Germans invaded her country.
Only twenty-two, Emma learned to bake at the side of a master, Ezra Kuchen, the village baker since before she was born. Apprenticed to Ezra at thirteen, Emma watched with shame and anger as her kind mentor was forced to wear the six-pointed yellow star on his clothing. She was likewise powerless to help when they pulled Ezra from his shop at gunpoint, the first of many villagers stolen away and never seen again.
In the years that her sleepy coastal village has suffered under the enemy, Emma has silently, stealthily fought back. Each day, she receives an extra ration of flour to bake a dozen baguettes for the occupying troops. And each day, she mixes that precious flour with ground straw to create enough dough for two extra loaves—contraband bread she shares with the hungry villagers. Under the cold, watchful eyes of armed soldiers, she builds a clandestine network of barter and trade that she and the villagers use to thwart their occupiers.
But her gift to the village is more than these few crusty loaves. Emma gives the people a taste of hope—the faith that one day the Allies will arrive to save them.
This audiobook includes an episode of the Book Club Girl Podcast, featuring an interview with Stephen P. Kiernan about The Baker’s Secret.
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“Narrator Cassandra Campbell’s penetrating voice conveys the suffering of a German-occupied French Village during WWII. The enemy is content to deny the villagers the most basic necessities, including food, and Campbell’s emotionless voice reflects their futile circumstances…Emma’s clandestine undertakings are conducted under a guise of cool stoicism masterfully expressed through Campbell’s soft and controlled delivery.”
— AudioFile
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“Luminous…Emma is an unforgettable heroine, and Kiernan’s novel will have you weeping, and then cheering. A tale beautifully, wisely, and masterfully told.”
— Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author -
“Kiernan invites readers to fully connect with his depressed and stoic heroine in this beautifully written account of the emotional and moral struggles of a people gripped by fear in the depths of WWII.”
— Booklist -
“Moving and thought-provoking…will be popular with lovers of other recently popular World War II novels such as Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“Transcends even a critical moment in history to suggest the inescapable human condition of ignorance of the future, and the absolute necessity of hope, courage, and unselfish sacrifice.”
— Sena Naslund, author of Ahab’s Wife
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About Stephen P. Kiernan
Stephen P. Kiernan is an author of fiction and nonfiction. Over his twenty-plus years as a journalist, he has won numerous awards, including the Brechner Center’s Freedom of Information Award, the Scripps Howard Award for Distinguished Service to the First Amendment, and a George Polk Award. He is a graduate of Middlebury College, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop
About Cassandra Campbell
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.