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Lynne Reid Banks
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The Warning Bell Kindle Edition

by Lynne Reid Banks (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 out of 5 stars 75 ratings
A literary masterpiece from the bestselling author of The L-Shaped Room. Perfect for fans of Ali Smith, Jeanette Winterson and Deborah Levy.

At each turning point in her life, Maggie heard the warning bells chime…

Scotland, 1950s



Depressed by her rural upbringing, Maggie Robertson dreams of leading the glamorous life of an actress in London. However, her father expects her to stay at home and learn to take care of the family.

When Maggie secretly gets a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, everything changes. And with each step towards adulthood, the warning bell of her conscience chimes.

Are friends and family worth sacrificing for her freedom? Will her own son become disposable on the road to success?

Maggie must decide how far she is willing to go to achieve her dreams…

The Warning Bell is a dramatic and moving saga of one women’s fight to achieve independence in a man’s world – a literary masterpiece that will stay with you long after the pages have turned.

‘Lynne Reid Banks knows how to get to her reader: this novel grips like superglue’ — Observer

‘Enjoyable… entertaining… it will give a lot of pleasure’ — Scotsman

‘Extremely satisfying’ — Time Out

‘a compelling and lifelike novel’ — Library Journal

‘Banks has a delicate talent for eulogizing life’s ordinary tragedies, and a knack for painting characters with swift, sure strokes. She has created a strong cast of touching, courageous and decisive characters’ — The New York Times Book Review

‘A bittersweet tale that examines the innate conflict between familial responsibility and personal fulfillment’ — Booklist

‘Banks describes Maggie’s arduous maturation with compassion and lyricism; insights into the vagaries of the acting profession add to the book’s veracity’ — Publishers Weekly

‘This enraptured story of an impulsive Scottish girl burning with ambition would bring tears to the eyes of an iguana… Likely to strike chords in the hearts of many a reader’ — Kirkus
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  1. Print length
    438 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    December 2, 2019
  4. File size
    1.4 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Banks ( The L-Shaped Room eloquently depicts Maggie Robertson, a woman encumbered by guilt and ambivalence because she shunned her father's repressive, antiquated beliefs. While living with her family in Scotland after WW II, Maggie decides she cannot be the subservient spinster her father envisions. Mr. Robertson rages when he learns that Maggie has enrolled in drama school, and at his instigation the teacher who aided her is fired. Although Maggie has talent, discouraging periods of unemployment plus persistent remorse cause her to marry a man she doesn't love and accompany him to Nigeria. Just as she could not give herself completely to acting, Maggie withholds uninhibited devotion from Matt, her son, whose loyalty belongs to the Ibo tribeswoman who nurtured him. Finally, Maggie and Matt return to London, where she must decide whether to prod the dormant instincts connecting her with "primitive sources of feeling and being," or be forever enslaved by propriety, indecisiveness and fear. Banks describes Maggie's arduous maturation with compassion and lyricism; insights into the vagaries of the acting profession add to the book's veracity.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Maggie Robertson's desire to escape her puritanical Scottish home and become a stage actress leads her to marriage and motherhood in Africa, alienation from her family, and a long struggle to regain her dream after divorce and more family conflicts and personal heartaches. The "warning bells" marked turning points in Maggie's life, but she often ignored them, and learned to have no regrets in her quest for personal and professional happiness and satisfaction. The author of The L-Shaped Room has written a compelling and lifelike novel that is certainly suitable for any public library collection. Virginia A. Doser, Saddleback Coll., Mission Viejo, Cal.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08293RSC5
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sapere Books (December 2, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 2, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.4 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 438 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 75 ratings

About the author

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Lynne Reid Banks

Lynne Reid Banks

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Lynne Reid Banks is a best-selling author for children and adults. Her classic children's novel 'The Indian in the Cupboard' has sold nearly six million copies worldwide. She was born in London in 1929 and worked as an actress, writer and TV news reporter. Lynne has written thirty books: her first, 'The L-Shaped Room', was published in 1960. She now lives in Dorset, where she continues to write. Lynne says that writing for children comes much more easily than writing for adults. Tony Ross was born in London in 1938. He has worked as an art director at an advertising agency, a graphic designer, a cartoonist, a teacher, a film maker and as a Senior Lecturer in Art at Manchester Polytechnic.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
75 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Lizzard8803
    2.0 out of 5 stars Not gripping
    Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    I chose this book because I love The Indian in the Cupboard. I should never have spoiled that wonderful imaginative magical unforgettable story by reading this. There is no point here, no magic, a waste of time, just like Maggie's life.
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