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Behind The Scenes At The Museum [Paperback]

Kate Atkinson
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Book Description

1996

Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty and born while her father, George, was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster telling a woman in an emerald dress and a D-cup that he wasn't married. Bunty had never wanted to marry George, but here she was, stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster, with sensible and sardonic Patrica aged five, greedy cross-patch Gillian who refused to be ignored, and Ruby...

Ruby tells the story of The Family, from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice and her children, like flowers in amber, to the startling, witty, and memorable events of Ruby's own life.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan; New Ed edition (1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0552996181
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552996181
  • Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

"Delivers its jokes and its tragedies as efficiently as Dickens...outrageously funny on almost every page...will dazzle readers for years to come." (Hilary Mantel London Review of Books )

"'A debut novel of astonishing confidence and skill...Acutely observant, overflowing with good jokes, it is the work of an author who loves her characters and sets them playing with gleeful energy'" (Spectator )

"'An astounding book...without doubt one of the finest novels I have read for years'" (The Times )

"'Little short of a masterpiece...Fizzing with wit and energy, Kate Atkinson's hilarious novel made me laugh and cry'" (Daily Mail )

"'A blinding debut from a Yorkshire mother-of-two who could be Alan Bennett's baby sister...straight-up simplicity veils the depth, poignancy and poetry of her story'" (Time Out )

Book Description

Kate Atkinson's brilliant first novel, which won the Whitbread Prize against competition from Salman Rushdie and Roy Hattersley.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have ever read 26 July 2000
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book is an absolute cracker! It was very relevant to me because of its setting in my home city of York. I really could not put it down & the memory of it lived with me for days after I had finished it.
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80 of 88 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Rubies and Pearls 17 Mar 2006
Format:Paperback
Behind the Scenes at the Museum was Yorkshire mother of two, Kate Atkinson's first novel and this wonderful book it is definitely one to be celebrated.

Kate Atkinson was born in York and she chose the old walled City as the location for the tale of teenage Ruby Lennox and her family. The book starts from the moment of Ruby's conception in 1951, a moment grudgingly obliged by her mother, Bunty. Ruby starts the tale as a growing foetus, a baby inside her mother's womb. Boy, it sure did start to get uncomfortable in there after nine months, there sure wasn't a lot of room. Ruby was pushed into the world while her father George was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster telling a women wearing a D-cup that he wasn't married.

Ruby tells the story of her family exploring complex family relationships, births, weddings, divorce, death, secrets and lies. She spends her childhood trying to placate her mother and playing with elder sister's Gillian and Patrica, under the shadow of the Minister, as they trundle along the old pebble-stone streets and in and out of the pet shop, the family business.

When she is just 5 Ruby is whisked away to stay with her Auntie Babs. She has no idea why, although she's sure that it's not a holiday. She has nightmares and begins to sleepwalk. When she returns no explanation is offered and her mother seems even more unhappy….

Atkinson divides Behind the Scenes at the Museum into Chapters and Footnotes: the Chapters focus on Ruby and her direct family life with her mother and father and her sisters. The Footnotes tie up unexplained information mentioned within the chapters, exploring the history of her family over the previous two generations further, starting with Ruby's great-grandmother Alice, who supposedly died giving birth. Although I liked the footnotes as a unique style of writing, they can cause the reader to lose the thread of the story somewhat, particularly if you are reading slowly.

The book is fluently written and poetic throughout. It is imaginative, thought provoking, hearth warming and funny. A lovely example of the poetic style of the story comes from Ruby's theory of the afterlife. She believes there must be a Lost Property Cupboard where all things we have ever lost have been kept for us - every button, every tooth, every lost library book and spare pen. Lost tempers and patience and innocence and the dreams we forget on waking…. A beautiful analogy.

As for the ending, it is unexpected and shocking, cleverly tying together previous events, fitting together the pieces of the puzzle.

I loved this book and I give it five stars. It is likely to be preferred by the ladies than the gents, although it is suitable for any ages. At 380 pages the book is a nice length, not too long but allowing time for the reader to get to know the characters and to understand Ruby's situation. It is a very British book, exploring life in the middle classes and if you are British, especially if you live in York, or the North, you simply must read it.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum was published in 1995 and it subsequently won the Whitbread prize for book of the year The novel also appears on the 2003 BBC Big Read at number 142.

Poor Ruby. Does anyone ever say that? No they don't. But they should and by the end of this book you will agree….

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80 of 89 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute Gem! 15 May 2007
By Boof TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up as part of a 3 for 2 offer in a bookshop when I had already chosen my first two and was in a rush - I didn't even read the blurb on the back, I just vaguely remembered someone telling me how good it was.

What an absolute treat then to find that this ended up being the best of the lot - infact I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed a book so much in a long time (and I read alot). From the very first paragraph I knew I was going to enjoy Behind the Scenes at the Museum; this book made me laugh and cry. The characters were all so real that I was desperate to know more about them, and I just love the way that the book jumps from present day to another time in the past of this strange but wonderfully fascinating family.

The story starts with the conception of Ruby Lennox in a drunken fumble with her parents in their House Above the Shop in York. Ruby narrates even before her birth and sets the scene with her family - a very disfunctional one at that. The second chapter then goes back in time to Ruby's Great-Grandmother, Alice and her 5 children and from here on in we flit back and forth between Ruby's life and those of her ancestors. All the characters in this book are so 3 dimensional it made me greedy to find out more about them and I found myself thinking about them even when I wasn't reading at the time.

I'm so glad I picked this book up and I am now desperate to read Kate Atkinson's other books. I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book and can't recommend it highly enough.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Not great condition
This was a used copy which was described as being in an excellent condition - maybe the owner likes books that are grubby and bent...
Published 4 days ago by Buyer
5.0 out of 5 stars Recomended by a friend
An interesting and super book. I enjoyed it tremendously. Thank you A trip down memory lane....a good read.
Delivered via the ether very quickly.
Published 17 days ago by Mr. J. D. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent
My favourite novel! I have read a lot of bestsellers. None so warm, witty and moving. Incredibly crafted; the driving narrative of Ruby's life story is intersected with slices of... Read more
Published 27 days ago by Mrs L L McCalla
3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant reading
In my opinion the story has too many secondary characters, so sometimes you feel a bit confused while you try to remember who is who. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Giorgio Brocco
3.0 out of 5 stars Superb opener then tailed off for me
A brilliant beginning. After that, okay... A family saga returning time and again to Ruby's present from her family's history and her own (omniscient seen) future. Read more
Published 1 month ago by K. J. Noyes
5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual and Entertaining
I first began reading Behing the Scenes at the Museum when it was first published and abandoned it. Having read all of Kate Atkinson's book subsequently, I revisited this one and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by clairerice
4.0 out of 5 stars Behind The Scenes At The Museum
I absolutely adored this book and laughed out loud at moments. It has remained my favourite read of all times. Read more
Published 2 months ago by critic
4.0 out of 5 stars Behind the scenes at the museum
A fascinating study of a dysfunctional family spanning generations and examining the complex relationships that develop. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Debbie lee
4.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking, wonderful, complex, profound reading
I love Kate Atkinson and have read almost all of her works (I just have her short stories and her upcoming latest to read)
This was actually the most recent that I've read and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by the honest shopper
5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BOOKS EVER
This is Kate Atkinson's first novel and its marvellous, I couldnt put it down> The story is quite complex but its so interesting. Its sad, happy and very very funny.
Published 3 months ago by Judy Coleman
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