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.

Drums on the Night Air

By: Veronica Cecil
Narrated by: Imogen Church
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

Veronica Cecil was 25 years old when her husband was offered a job at a large multi-national company in the Congo. Filled with enthusiasm for their new life, the couple and their 11-month-old son set off for an African adventure. Very soon, however, Veronica began to realise that life in the Congo was not what she had imagined. Food shortages were an everyday occurrence; she felt like an outsider at the club in Léopoldville, which only the Belgians and other expats frequented; and flickers of violence were starting to erupt everywhere.

Six months later Veronica and her family were sent to Elizabetha, a remote palm oil plantation on the banks of the Congo River. But even here paradise didn’t last. Civil war broke out, and the rebels captured the neighbouring town of Stanleyville and took all the whites hostage.

Despite the fact that Veronica was on the verge of giving birth, the situation was so dangerous that she and her toddler had to be evacuated. Leaving her husband and all their possessions behind, she and her son began on a two-day journey through the jungle. But on the plane back to Leopoldville, the first labour pains began....

©2013 Veronica Cecil (P)2013 Audible Ltd
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Kirilov Star cover art
Who Knows Tomorrow cover art
Packing Up cover art
Pacific cover art
As Green as Grass cover art
The Girl on the Beach cover art
Full Marks for Trying cover art
I Wish I Could Say I Was Sorry cover art
The Kingdom of the Rose cover art
Going Places cover art
The Jewel in the Crown cover art
Paradise Postponed cover art
Before I Go cover art
Just Me cover art
Jupiter's Travels cover art
The Complete Short Stories cover art

What listeners say about Drums on the Night Air

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

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

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A real life adventure story and history, beautifully remembered.

An astonishing novel mixing high drama with historically accurate domestic memories. An incredible attention to detail. The story of Veronica Cecil‘s escape from Africa is wonderfully told in cinematic style. Observation and empathy abound. I knew nothing of central Africa but this novel is a great primer. Wonderfully narrated too. This would make an excellent movie or tv series!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!