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The Daffodil Days

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About this listen

 Bloomsbury presents The Daffodil Days by Helen Bain, read by Finty Williams

'Beautiful, affecting and deeply impressive' Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses

In the early 1960s, in a small town near Dartmoor, the church bells ring. The people of North Tawton go about their days, catching glimpses of one another’s lives.

There’s the local GP, who knows more about his patients than he would sometimes prefer. There’s the young shop assistant at Kestrels, who understands that the ladies who come there for a new outfit sometimes hope to find a new self. There’s the tenant farm labourer who rings the tower bells at the church three times a week, the notes – harmonious and clashing – rippling out across the rooftops of the town.

Amid all these lives, a young couple move into focus. New to the town with their small daughter, they have escaped London for a quieter existence in the thatched house beside the church, Court Green. The life they intend to build here – out of fresh lino tiles, second-hand furniture painted with hearts and flowers, and expertly-cooked suppers for weekend guests – will be a good and happy one.

The Daffodil Days depicts a pivotal year in the marriage of 20th-century literature’s most infamous couple, witnessed by the people they lived among. It is a kaleidoscopic portrait of this enigmatic pair, refracted through the rich inner lives of a rural community caught – if only for a moment – in their light.©2026 Helen Bain (P)2026 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural England Heartfelt
All stars
Most relevant
Each character in turn was a perfect vignette building up the character of Sylvia Plath and her relationships. The narrator was superb too.

Brilliant detail of small town early 1960s

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This book is beautifully written and read. I will re-listen because I enjoyed it so much.

Superb, Exquisite.

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Terrific narrative structure that was beautifully read by Finty Williams. Rich fictional characters brought to life interwoven with factual details from Plath’s tragically short life.

Moving, insightful fictional exploration of a great poet.

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