Hello again, dear audiobooks friends. Today’s spotlight article is dedicated to The Courtship of Eva Eldridge, a captivating new audio production that beautifully brings to life Diane Simmons’ compelling work of narrative journalism. The audiobook is performed by Kimberly Conwell and is almost 10 hours and a half in length.
This sounds like a very promising listen, so I can’t wait to get started. Those of you who follow my articles already know that now it is time for me to introduce you to our author and narrator, but not before sharing the Publisher’s Summary.
Everyone got married in the 1950s, then started to produce the soon-to-be-famous baby boom. For Americans who had survived the Great Depression and World War II, prosperous married life was a triumph. The unwed were objects of pity, scorn, even suspicion. Women over twenty-three were considered old maids.
But Eva Eldridge— who’d left the farm for a job in a wartime shipyard where she made a hasty and disastrous marriage—finds herself left out. Now in her thirties and marginally employed, she is the perfect target for handsome Vick, who promises everything: storybook romance, marital respectability, and the lively social life Eva loves. When he disappears not long after their honeymoon, she is devastated.
Refusing to believe her adoring husband has abandoned her, Eva sets about tracking down a man who, she now believes, was more damaged by wartime trauma than she knew. But instead of a wounded hero, she finds a long string of women much like herself—hard-working, intelligent women who had loved and married Vick and now had no idea where—or even who—he was.
Drawing on a trove of some eight hundred letters and papers, Diane Simmons tells the story of Eva’s poignant struggle to get her dream husband back, as well as the stories of the women who had stood at the altar with Vick before and after her. Eva’s remarkable life illuminates women’s struggle for happiness at a time of social change, when marriage—and the perfect husband—meant everything.
About Diane Simmons
Our author is a Westerner-descended from pioneers on the Oregon Trail and raised in the high desert of Eastern Oregon. Diane Simmons earned a BA in history from the University of Oregon Honors College. After working as a newspaper reporter for several years in Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska, she moved to New York City, where she earned an MA in creative writing and a PhD in English literature. She served as a Fulbright teaching fellow in the Czech Republic and is professor emerita at City University of New York. She has authored numerous works of award-winning fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and criticism.
About Kimberly Conwell
Our narrator has been passionate about performing since the age of 5. Whether it was singing in the choir, acting in plays, or dancing in competitions, she always found herself in the spotlight, embracing every moment of it. For the past 20 years, Kimberly has channeled her love for storytelling into creating audio content and recording short stories for a wide range of clients.
In 2023, she decided to take her passion to the next level by becoming a full-time audiobook narrator and voice-over artist. After a year of exploring the world of audio narration, she fully committed to her new path, diving in with enthusiasm—and she hasn’t looked back since.
Now, after raising two incredible children, enjoying 25+ years with her significant other, and caring for her beloved fur babies, Kimberly has turned her lifelong love of performing into a full-time career and she has already narrated several captivating works, including The Courtship of Eva Eldridge, Haunted States: An American Gothic Guidebook by Miranda Corcoran, Ruby Red – Ruby Dead: An Invisible Vampire Spin-Off by Tanya Coleby, and Usher House Rising: A Madeline Usher Novel by Don Roff.
With her background in performance and passion for storytelling, Kimberly continues to bring her unique voice and talent to the world of audiobooks.
I will return soon with a full review for The Courtship of Eva Eldridge, but until then, take care, stay safe, and don’t forget, always listen with your heart!
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Victor Dima is an internationally recognized Audiobooks Industry specialist, consultant, insider and reviewer with almost 10,000 helpful votes on Audible. Listened to more than 1,400 audiobooks, have written reviews for almost 400 and rated close to 800 of them. If you want Victor to review your audiobook or if you need help with choosing the right narrator, you can get in touch at [email protected]
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