Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

A Fine Imitation

By: Amber Brock
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Set in the glamorous 1920s, A Fine Imitation is an intoxicating debut that sweeps readers into a privileged Manhattan socialite's restless life and the affair with a mysterious painter that upends her world, flashing back to her years at Vassar and the friendship that brought her to the brink of ruin.

Vera Bellington has beauty, pedigree, and a penthouse at The Angelus - the most coveted address on Park Avenue. But behind the sparkling social whirl, Vera is living a life of quiet desperation. Her days are an unbroken loop of empty, champagne-soaked socializing while her nights are silent and cold, spent waiting alone in her cavernous apartment for a husband who seldom comes home.

Then Emil Hallan arrives at The Angelus to paint a mural above its glittering subterranean pool. The handsome French artist moves in to the building, shrouds his work in secrecy, and piques Vera's curiosity, especially when the painter keeps dodging questions about his past. Is he the man he claims to be? Even as she finds herself increasingly drawn to Hallan's warmth and passion, Vera can't suppress her suspicions. After all, she has plenty of secrets, too - and some of them involve art forgers like her bold, artistically talented former friend, Bea, who, years ago at Vassar, brought Vera to the brink of catastrophe and social exile.

When the dangerous mysteries of Emil's past are revealed, Vera faces an impossible choice - whether to cling to her familiar world of privilege and propriety or to risk her future with the enigmatic man who has taken her heart. A Fine Imitation explores what happens when we realize that the life we've always led is not the life we want to have.

©2016 Amber Brock (P)2016 Random House Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

A Lasting Impression cover art
The Masterpiece cover art
Forbidden French cover art
Where Courage Calls cover art
The Memory of Us cover art
The Ugly Stepsister cover art
The Luxe cover art
A Mad, Wicked Folly cover art
Sleeping Beauty cover art
Love Comes Silently cover art
The Glass Ocean cover art
The Witness cover art
The Address cover art
The Dollhouse cover art
Honest Illusions cover art
The Forgotten Garden cover art

Critic reviews

"Told from the inside of the gilded cage, A Fine Imitation explores one Manhattan socialite's growing realization that who she's been brought up to be is increasingly at odds with who she is. Although set in a rarified corner of the early 20th century, this lush, incisive debut novel explores the universal choice between doing what is right versus what is expected." (Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, New York Times best-selling author of Bittersweet)
"An absorbing tale of art, deception, romance, and forbidden desire." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Rich in color and drama, A Fine Imitation is a sharp and absorbing period piece that skillfully portrays the tensions of social class and love. Fans of Amor Towles and Laura Moriarty will adore Amber Brock - a spellbinding new voice in historical fiction." (Erika Robuck, national best-selling author of Hemingway's Girl)

What listeners say about A Fine Imitation

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.