The Jura Affair

by William Boyd, Ruth Everett (Narrator)

A sparkling new 10-part literary whodunnit from the acclaimed author William Boyd, set on the remote Scottish Isle of Jura, and featuring amateur sleuth, Bethany Mellmoth. When Orwell obsessive Bethany Mellmoth finds herself in possession of a rare copy of 1984, so begins a literary trail that will take her to the remote Scottish island where the book was written. On Jura, Bethany, in the seemingly genteel company of an antiquarian bookseller, takes on the role of amateur sleuth, as she faces skulduggery and scams, and even threats to her own life...
Today: when a man drops a book on the tube, George Orwell-obsessive Bethany Mellmoth decides its fate when she sees it's a rare copy of 1984. But what should she do with it? The Jura Affair was inspired by and developed from a short story published in 2017.
Writer: William Boyd, is one of the UK's most acclaimed writers. He is the author of 17 novels, including A Good Man in Africa, winner of the Whitbread Literary Award and the Somerset Maugham Award; An Ice Cream War, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and shortlisted for the Booker prize; Any Human Heart, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet; and Restless, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year.
Reader: Ruth Everett
Producer: Justine Willett

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction

Audiobook

Published March 3, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.

William 2^ Boyd: Literature & Fiction
William 3^ Boyd: Reader in education in the University of Glasgow
William 4^ Boyd: GR author, YA Fantasy

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short audiobook on BBC Sounds. An aspiring author and George Orwell fan finds a copy of a first edition George Orwell's 1984; signed and dedicated, left on a train by a man whom she sees but cannot catch the attention of. She decides to take a journey to the Isle of Jura to return the book to the bookseller, who after some investigating receives the information that this edition is extremely valuable. Bethany finds herself immersed in a mystery and also her life is in peril.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short novella length mystery, very much in the style of Agatha Christie, without the murder.

[Марија · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iskreno, i nije mi se toliko svidela. Zapravo nije toliko loša koliko su moja očekivanja izneverena. Pročitala sam "sparkling new whodunnit" i u mojoj glavi ja već rešavam ubistvo. Ali ovde nema nikakvog ubistva. Bukvalno sam se našla u situaciji da sam razočarana jer niko nije ubijen. A da se ne lažemo, glavna likuša je baš čačkala mečku, tako da sam baš mislila da će se nešto desiti.

Svidelo mi se kako se Džordž Orvel upleo u celu priču i ko je ljubitelj njegovog lika i dela (fokus na 1984) uživaće u detaljima koji se mogu naći. Ali da je neka misterija, baš i nije.

Kraj m3 je razočarao, pogotovo taj momenat kada krene da se loži na svog "progonitelja". S nekim devojkama nešto stvarno nije u redu.

[Mag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio book version via BBC Sounds. It was ok, caught my eye as just finished the genuine 1984. Good descriptions of Jura but the overall style of writing not my cup of tea. Learnt something new about Orwell but the actual whodunnit was a bit predictable and the ending was underwhelming. Still, time well spent while on my runs and driving.

[Annette Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An accomplished writer and engaging enough, but ending wasn’t that great

[Mags Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy reading whodunit

[Janine · Rating 2 out of 5]

easy listening, plot was a bit thin

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing literary mystery.

[Mig Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly too short and simple.