The Tenth Gift, Jane Johnson
The Tenth Gift, Jane Johnson
4 Rating(s)
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
Club: $11.25

The Tenth Gift

Author: Jane Johnson

Narrator: John Lee, Susan Duerden

Unabridged: 14 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/06/2008


Synopsis

An enthralling story of secrets and discovering love where you least expect it, in The Tenth Gift the art of embroidery uncannily links two fascinating women of different eras and their equally passionate love stories

In an expensive London restaurant, Julia Lovat receives a gift that changes her life. At first glance it is a book of exquisite seventeenth-century embroidery patterns belonging to a woman named Catherine Ann Tregenna. Yet in its margins are the faintest diary entries; they reveal that “Cat” and others were stolen from their Cornish church in 1625 by Muslim pirates and taken on a brutal voyage to Morocco to be auctioned off as slaves. Captivated by this dramatic discovery, Julia sets off to North Africa to determine the authenticity of the book and to uncover more of Cat’s mesmerizing story. There, in the company of a charismatic Moroccan guide, amid the sultry heat, the spice markets, and exotic ruins, Julia will discover secrets long buried. And in Morocco—just as Cat did before her—she will lose her heart.

Though they live almost 400 years apart, the stories of these two women converge in an extraordinary and haunting manner that begs the question, is history fated to repeat itself?

“The Tenth Gift is wildly yet convincingly romantic—a rare combo . . . both a sensitive portrayal of Muslim culture and a delectable adventure of the heart.”—USA Today

About The Author

Jane Johnson is the publishing director at HarperCollins UK. While she was researching the story of an ancestor stolen by pirates, remarkable events changed her life. She now works remotely for part of the year from a Berber village in the mountains of Morocco.JOHN LEE's highly innovative work in the fields of emotional intelligence, anger management, and emotional regression has made him an in-demand consultant, teacher, trainer, coach, and speaker. His contributions in the fields of recovery, relationships, men’s issues, spirituality, parenting, and creativity have put him in the national spotlight for over 20 years. Lee has been featured on Oprah, 20/20, Barbara Walters’ The View, CNN, PBS, and NPR. He has been interviewed by Newsweek, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and dozens of other national magazines and radio talk shows.For over 25 years, Lee has conducted private and group sessions on a variety of issues working with men, women, couples, and families. He lectures, gives workshops and trainings in cities all over the world, delivering sensitive, yet sophisticated material to audiences in a humorous and simple way everyone can understand. His lectures have been branded as “hilariously entertaining, deeply compassionate, yet filled with ‘tell it like it is!’”Lee served as a professor at the University of Texas and at the University of Alabama before becoming a writer, bestselling author, life coach, and personal consultant. He currently resides on breathtaking Lookout Mountain in Mentone, Alabama with his three happy dogs.Susan Duerden’s career spans film, television, theater, voice-overs, and animation. She has played critically acclaimed and award-winning theatrical roles on London’s West End and Off Broadway; narrated many audiobooks, including The Tiger’s Wife and The Eyre Affair; acted in the features Lovewrecked and Flushed Away; and held a recurring role on ABC’s Lost.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Amy

This book was very exciting! The plot bounces between 1625 and modern day as the main character unravels the mystery surrounding an old book and wrangles her love life at the same time. One thing supremely irritated me and ruined the book for me. This is not a spoiler just a pet peeve. So the main ch......more

Goodreads review by Mark

I liked the first line of this one: "There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves just as fiercely as if they had never happened before, like larks that have been singing the same five notes for thousands of years." This is the first book Jane Johnson wrote under her......more

OK, first, this doesn't mix genres so much as it is part of a sub-genre: the centuries-apart parallel stories. I quite enjoy this sub-genre; it's why I picked this book. Unfortunately, it wasn't that good. The parallelism between the two stories was pretty tenuous, consisting mainly of the fact of e......more


Quotes

“A remarkable view of Barbary pirates and their times, and an engrossing romance of clashing cultures and wonderful characters.”
—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“This is such a lush book! It transported me to another time and other places, enticing me into an exotic, turbulent world in which past and present are seamlessly woven into a mesmerizing story.”
—India Edghill, author of Wisdom’s Daughter

“What a tangled web Jane Johnson weaves with the opening of a book of old embroidery patterns! Two heroines cross paths across centuries. Unworthy lovers, treachery, ghosts, and pirates march through the streets and seas of modern day England, 17th century Cornwall, and Morocco as each woman tries to find what is most important to her. Discovering one’s authenticity is a story in which time doesn’t matter, and Johnson stitches the threads of both stories into a lovely, enticing whole.”
—Karleen Koen, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Angels

“I was totally enthralled from the first page to the last by this dramatic, exotic, and passionate tale that slips seamlessly through time. Jane Johnson’s wonderfully researched book leaves the fragrance of spices and the rustle of beautiful silks lingering in the mind with images of two exceptional women and the men in their lives.”
 —Rosalind Laker, author of The Golden Tulip

"A gripping historical mystery based on historical fact. A sensuous, richly-textured novel."
—Rebecca Stott, author of Ghostwalk

"Exciting, intriguing, fascinating and also illuminating."
—Rosalind Miles, bestselling author of I, Elizabeth

"Brings to life a forgotten part of England's past: the capture of inhabitants of the southern coast by Barbary corsairs in the early sixteen hundreds. Rich with detail, wonderfully researched, this is a novel that will surprise and delight."
—Gerri Brightwell, author of The Dark Lantern