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Past Perfect

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Past Perfect

By: Danielle Steel
Narrated by: Jim Frangione
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About this listen

From number one New York Times best-selling author Danielle Steel, Past Perfect is a spellbinding story of two families living 100 years apart who come together in time in a startling moment, opening the doors to rare friendship and major events in early 20th-century history.

Sybil and Blake Gregory have established a predictable, well-ordered Manhattan life - she as a cutting-edge design authority and museum consultant, he in high tech investments - raising their teenagers, Andrew and Caroline, and six-year-old Charlie. But everything changes when Blake is offered a dream job he can't resist as CEO of a start-up in San Francisco. He accepts it without consulting his wife and buys a magnificent, irresistibly underpriced historic Pacific Heights mansion as their new home.

Shocked by an earthquake the night they arrive, the past and present suddenly collide for them in the elegant mansion filled with tender memories and haunting portraits. The original inhabitants suddenly appear for a few brief minutes. In the ensuing days, they meet the large and lively family who lived there a century ago: distinguished Bertrand Butterfield and his gracious wife, Gwyneth; their sons Josiah and little Magnus; daughters Bettina and Lucy; formidable Scottish matriarch Augusta; and her eccentric brother, Angus. All long since dead. All very much alive in spirit - and visible to the Gregorys and no one else.

The two families are delighted to share elegant dinners and warm friendship. They have much to teach each other, as the Gregorys watch the past unfold while living their own modern-day lives. Within these enchanted rooms, it is at once 1917 and a century later, where the Gregorys realize they have been given a perfect gift - beloved friends and the wisdom to shape their own future with gratitude and grace from a fascinating past.

Past Perfect is Danielle Steel at her bewitching best, a novel for the ages. Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's most popular authors, with over 650 million copies of her novels in print. Her many international best sellers include Magic, Blue, Undercover, Country, Prodigal Son, Pegasus, A Perfect Life, Power Play, Winners, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children's book Pretty Minnie in Paris.

©2017 Danielle Steel (P)2017 Recorded Books
Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Genre Fiction Romance Women's Fiction Marriage Consulting

What listeners say about Past Perfect

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Fun book

The book was very entertaining. It's light and fun. I enjoyed it very much.

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A very different type of story.

A most enjoyable read. Loved the history of this old family. As always DS delivered a most intriguing story. Thank you.

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Wonderful book

I thoroughly enjoyed the book couldn’t wait for the next chapter, stayed up all night, listening to it. I would love to meet a Butterfield family myself!

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  • Overall
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Enjoyable, but questions

I enjoyed the premise of this book, and it has so much potential, but there were too many things I just couldn't get me head around. Buying a mansion, for example, for a "steal" that included furniture and fittings, that needed nothing more than paint and a bit of a kitchen make-over, with IKEA products non the less seems highly improbable. A wealthy family wouldn't do this, and being the owner of a 100+ year old house (not a mansion), I wouldn't either.

The house hadn't been lived in for "years", and while it doesn't say that previous tenants didn't stay due to the ghosts, it indicates this is the reason it's uninhabited and up for sale. Did the ghosts scare away other potential buyers? Had no other family ever offered to buy it since it was a 20 room mansion up for a song.

The youngest boy never had a single friend to the house in 3 years, that I recall. The older children only ever had their respective partners. I understood the parity of different dimensions living together, but certainly not how they could eat the same food. if anything, the meals should have come from both dimensions. I enjoyed the narration, the characters, and the brief history moments intertwined throughout. First Danielle Steele book for me from memory .

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Past Perfect

The story ended too soon felt like there could have been more but still a very different style!

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A joy to listen to

I really loved. This book the characters were delightful the intertwining stories bring a richness to a beautifully written book

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Love

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book.I stayed up late several nights to get my fill if the Butterfields.

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