Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Secrets from the Past
    Unavailable
    Secrets from the Past
    Unavailable
    Secrets from the Past
    Audiobook10 hours

    Secrets from the Past

    Written by Barbara Taylor Bradford

    Narrated by Alexandra Boyd

    3/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    A glittering new novel of deeply-buried secrets, passionate love, obsession and redemption from the master storyteller.

    Thirty-year old Serena Stone is a talented war photographer who has followed in her famous father’s footsteps. But when he dies unexpectedly, she steps away from the war zone to reassess her life.

    Drawn to writing her father’s own story, Serena approaches Harry Redford, his best friend and front line colleague. Harry has a request of his own. He wants her to go take care of Zachary North, her former lover, who has come out of Afghanistan suffering from mental and physical exhaustion.

    Serena and Zac inevitably rekindle their passion – and together tackle her father’s huge legacy of iconic photographs. But one collection about Venice has never been seen before. It is among these images that Serena stumbles across photos that turn her world upside down.

    In search of the truth about her father, her family and her own life, Serena begins a desperate quest to uncover a story from decades earlier. Moving from her family’s home in the hills above Nice to the canals and romance of Venice and the riot-filled streets of Libya, Secrets from the Past is a moving and emotional story of secrets, survival and love in its many guises.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateFeb 28, 2013
    ISBN9780007478118
    Unavailable
    Secrets from the Past
    Author

    Barbara Taylor Bradford

    Barbara Taylor Bradford was born and raised in Leeds, and worked as a journalist in London. Her first novel, A Woman of Substance, is one of the bestelling novels of all time and Barbara’s books have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. In 2007, Barbara was appointed an OBE by the Queen for her services to literature. Ten miniseries and television movies have been made of her books. She currently lives in New York City.

    More audiobooks from Barbara Taylor Bradford

    Related to Secrets from the Past

    Related audiobooks

    Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      HOW I WRITE Lucinda Riley

      Jun 17, 2019

      Irish-born Lucinda Riley is the bestselling author of over 20 novels. Her Seven Sisters series has topped the charts the world over, and has been optioned for a TV show. I have to write my first draft in total solitude. As we have four kids and our

      1 min read

    • Article

      Secrets Of The Seamstress

      Apr 20, 2022

      Secrets Of The Seamstress
      8 min read

    • Article

      Beyond the Mangrove Trees

      Aug 6, 2020

      No one expects their house to float away. Ethel certainly hadn’t. Our story begins in the sleepy village of Greenwood, where Ethel had spent her entire life. It was an overcast Sunday afternoon and Ethel watched the rain lash against the window from

      7 min read

    • Article

      My Story Bryce’s Parting Gift To Me

      Nov 2, 2022

      My beloved late husband, Bryce Courtenay, was funny, brave, and romantic. I am certain if he could have known I was writing a memoir about his life he would have slapped both hands on his knees and said, “Good goddles caboddles!” Bryce lived each day

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Southern Christmas

      Nov 1, 2023

      A Southern Christmas
      7 min read

    • Article

      When I Say Goodbye

      May 31, 2018

      When I Say Goodbye
      16 min read

    • Article

      The Posting

      Jun 27, 2023

      The Posting
      35 min read

    • Article

      Lockdown Stories

      Nov 13, 2020

      Lockdown Stories
      6 min read

    • Article

      Home Bound

      May 18, 2020

      Home Bound
      6 min read

    • Article

      My Best Friend

      Oct 1, 2020

      My Best Friend
      6 min read

    • Article

      Book Extract

      Jan 20, 2020

      My year off was also interesting, in that I didn’t feel any less loved, or cherished, or wanted. Why? Because my life is already rich with soulmates, and I got the chance to behold that. You don’t have to shag someone for them to be a soulmate. We do

      7 min read

    • Article

      Too Much Seinfeld

      Nov 30, 2017

      Too Much Seinfeld
      8 min read

    • Article

      As the World Collapses

      Jul 27, 2017

      As the World Collapses
      7 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Two Years Of Solitude

      Dec 31, 2021

      Two Years Of Solitude
      12 min read

    • Article

      BITS & PIECES

      Dec 7, 2021

      I grew up in a small town in Virginia, and I guess I was a typical teenager growing up in the 1960s. I loved rock ’n’ roll music, teen magazines, makeup and really cute boys. One summer day while running errands with my mom, my life changed when I sa

      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘We Are Bridges’: Featured Nonfiction from Cassandra Lane

      Apr 20, 2021

      Lane's memoir, which won the 2020 Louise Meriwether First Book Prize, explores the author's ancestral history in order to give her future child a family history. The post ‘We Are Bridges’: Featured Nonfiction from Cassandra Lane appeared first on The

      8 min read

    • Article

      My So-called Cottage Life

      Jun 26, 2019

      My So-called Cottage Life
      7 min read

    • Article

      Allegiance

      Nov 6, 2023

      Allegiance
      12 min read

    • Article

      The Inherited Imagination

      Aug 18, 2020

      The Inherited Imagination
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Ones We Sent Away

      Aug 7, 2023

      The Ones We Sent Away
      47 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Secrets from the Past

    3/5

    36 ratings8 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Ok book. Not very exciting. Kind of slow.
    • 3/5
      As with the author’s other novels, Secrets from the Past has a strong and determined woman as the central character, with some family drama, but this one just didn’t measure up. The characters were flat, relationships felt forced, and the shallow storyline, being rather predictable, had little to draw me in – very few unexpected twists.A few positive notes – the descriptive writing is beautiful and is still what you’d expect from this writer. Also, a part of the story takes us to war torn Libya that adds credibility and some interest to the storyline.Unfortunately there were too few redeeming qualities and I found this book to be just lukewarm. My rating is 3 stars.
    • 4/5
      Another good book by Barbara Taylor Bradford!
    • 3/5
      I spent the entire book wondering if I'd read it before... and I had not. That may be the most damning thing I could say about this story. The book had some moments of beauty - descriptions of homes, of Venice, of Tommy's photography. The love between the sisters was pretty to read also, but especially between Serena and Jessica more than a bit too sweet. Ditto Serena and Harry. The heroine was so lacking in depth - toss shocking secrets at her, have her boyfriend smash the television with a copper frying pan, witness a woman shot in the streets surrounded by beseeching relatives - nothing seems to register deeply. Looking at the replacement television months later, she realized she's never seen that copper frying pan before. What? Oh well.I have read BTBradford many times in the past when I needed a bit of "strong woman" fiction, but this work was disappointing. Areas of the story had great potential, but we never dug below surface smiles and unblemished family love. Gag.
    • 3/5
      The settings are exotic and for that reason enjoyable, but the characters and circumstances cliched. The plots are disorganized and it takes a long time to build any suspense, if it ever happens. Not one of her best.
    • 2/5
      I have been a Barbara Taylor Bradford fan for years, but was totally disappointed in this newest book of hers. This is the story of sisters, Jessica, Cara and Serena and the history of their family including secrets that are revealed about their past. It is just a very mundane story and really lacks any of the page-turner qualities usually found in Bradford's books. I do not recommend this book.
    • 2/5
      I was surprised by the blandness of this latest Barbara Taylor Bradford novel. Bradford paints all these lovely characters and worldwide settings, but the plot falls in crevice. The range of emotions so poignant in previous novels has taken a vacation. I felt as if I was reading a required book instead of a book for enjoyment. Maybe Bradford has reached the denouement of her writing.
    • 5/5
      So – I should admit right here and now that Barbara Taylor Bradford was my gateway author to the romance genre. A favorite of my grandmother and great aunt, I would grab her books from their bedside tables and sneak off to read: devouring each book as soon as it appeared. To have the opportunity to read one of her books for review was a major source of excitement. And, Secrets from the Past did not disappoint in the least.

      Focusing on Serena, a recently retired from the front war photographer, we are slowly introduced into her life, as she reflects on her past while compiling her father’s photos into a memoir composite. Recovering from her father’s death, the end of her first serious relationship, and at a bit of loose ends, she is the main point of view to guide us through her story. One peppered with loving family memories, travel, antiquated clichés from her grandmother, and continuous ‘watching over’ by her father’s best friend and boss, Harry.

      Add to this, other story lines that involve Serena’s twin sisters, a co-worker, the maintenance for the house the three inherited from their parents in Nice, the Arab Spring uprisings, and a series of photographs that provide only questions with few answers, the different threads all weave a beautiful pattern of a life of a woman well loved and cared for by family and co-workers alike.

      The pages flew by, highlighted by descriptions of Venice, Nice, New York and Libya the sense of the worldliness of characters and the story was heightened and the descriptions helped to place visual references for the characters and scenes, making them more familiar. The addition of information about PTSD and the oddly chaotic behavior patterns gives readers a solid sense of the difficulties experienced by those who suffer, and the glimpses into a photojournalists life felt like an introductory course in “can you manage this?”.

      The multiple story lines weave together to provide the reader with visual and tactile references and an emotional understanding of the story that enriches in a way that just reading words would never do without the author’s skilled writing. Emotionally complex characters, with defined personalities and solid voices all present fact and display relationship dynamics that are easy to relate to real lives. Mingled with a touch of romance and sensually detailed intimate scenes that are a feast for the imagination, the connections romantic and familial are solid, defined and palpable.

      Solid writing, great characters, compelling action, glamour and secrets all combine to make this book a very good read – one that many can and will enjoy.

      I received a Galley Copy from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.