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  • Meet Me at Rainbow Corner

  • By: Celia Imrie
  • Narrated by: Celia Imrie
  • Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (30 ratings)

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Meet Me at Rainbow Corner

By: Celia Imrie
Narrated by: Celia Imrie
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Summary

Bloomsbury presents Meet Me at Rainbow Corner written and read by Celia Imrie.

London, 1944. The air raid sirens are blaring, the bombers are hovering. England has been at war with Germany for four years, and there’s no sign of peace coming. Dot Gallagher, newly arrived from Liverpool to offer her services as a nurse, hurries from her Red Cross hostel to the tube station to join the crowds of people taking shelter. A group of GIs have started dancing around a wind-up gramophone, and it doesn’t take long for Dot to join them. As she jives along with one of the American soldiers, he tells her about Rainbow Corner, a social club in Piccadilly for US troops. There is always a demand for dance hostesses there, women who know how to jitterbug and rock’n’roll, to dance with the soldiers. Would Dot like to apply?

As Dot discovers, Rainbow Corner is like no other place, an oasis in London where, once inside, the constraints of wartime Britain disappear. There is no rationing, all luxuries are available, including a constant stream of donuts, chewing gum and cola. There are restaurants and cafes, boxing matches and movies, and, much to Dot's delight, a huge dance hall. Rather like an Embassy, Rainbow Corner is essentially a plot of America in central London.

It is there that Dot becomes firm friends with many of the other hostesses, and in particular with Lilly, who works for the Colonel.

Meet Me at Rainbow Corner follows the lives of Dot, Lilly and their friends, as they dance the nights away, fall in and out of love, and navigate the horrors of war. Lilly goes on a secret mission with her Colonel to France, and Dot becomes pregnant and returns to Liverpool. When the war is over, they are re-united, having travelled by boat to the US with countless other war brides to meet their repatriated fiancés again. Along the way, they uncover a case of inside espionage and learn the true meaning of love.

Praise for Meet Me At Rainbow Corner:

'Utterly charming and engrossing' – Joanna Lumley

'Hugely enjoyable and meticulously researched… A must for anyone who likes wartime novels with a difference' – Rosie Goodwin

'From the first to the last page, I was captivated by this brilliant novel, and simply didn't want it to end' – Jenny Ashcroft

'A beautiful book about friendship, romance and courage set against a background of war and peril. I loved it' – Sue Cleaver

'Thoroughly enjoyable! A meticulously researched and deeply evocative snapshot of the experiences of a group of feisty and determined women, who became GI Brides in World War 2' – Fiona Valpy

©2024 Celia Imrie (P)2024 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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What listeners say about Meet Me at Rainbow Corner

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Another Fantastic Read

Another fantastic book by Celia Imrie, she never fails to deliver. Having her narrate the book also makes it extra special. The story is so interesting and you really do live through it with the characters. Knowing it’s based on real people’s story really adds something to it. Wonderful
info from Fidelis, what a team. Orphans of the Storm and now Meet me at Rainbow Corner, I can’t wait for the next book!!

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Wonderful story and narration

Such a great story and narrated so brilliantly by Celia. I also enjoyed the bit at the end on the historical facts.

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Another corker from Celia

If you like Celia's previous books then you'll enjoy this too. It's a departure from previous genres but tye storytelling is just as good

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Very enjoyable listen

The characters were all very real. The story was interesting and the bit at the end about how things really were at the time was quite an eye opener and very interesting. I really enjoyed listening to this book, another great one from Celia.

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Fabulous narration by author.

Sometimes difficult to keep track of who's who. Interesting story based on real events
.

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lovely narrator

It took too long to get to the end, should have been 4 chapters less.

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Great Expectations ?

I like Celia Imrie as an actress and was surprised to see she's an author too. I usually read sci-fi/fantasy, and all things military, but felt I needed a change. I've read her other three books: Sail Away, Orphans of The Storm and Not Quite Nice and really liked them, as they were. an enjoyable alternative to my usual fare. I bought Rainbow Corner with great expectation and was a tad disappointed, as the story was good, but it went on a bit too long, but I persevered and in the end found it entertaining enough, but unlike the other three would not read it again. Mss Imrie, however, is an excellent narrator and very capable of doing accents. I did like the historical end piece as it opened my eyes to the whole US war brides thing and also the story was based on real experiences of real women at the time.

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Outstanding

What a story!! Gripped from beginning to end. Really appreciated the historical research at the end. Thank you for writing this book. ❤️

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Avery interesting insight into GI Brides.

I loved this story and it was so interesting, as had an Aunt who was a GI Bride. Beautifully read by the Celia Imrie.

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Brilliant

Couldn’t put it away. I usually do craft of some sort while listening to audio books but this time I ended up putting it all down and just listening to this amazing book. Took a little while for me to get used to Liverpudlian accents 😁. Brilliant story and amazing happenings with these mixed nationals during WWII. Gi brides, MI5, secrets and romances, nurses and resistance groups. All the way from UK to final destination in USA to join their soldier husbands.
Wonderful Celia best yet by far.

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