The Illuminator

By: Brenda Rickman Vantrease

Narrated by: Simon Jones

Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

It is England, in the 14th century, a time of plague, political unrest, and the earliest stirrings of the Reformation. The printing press had yet to be invented, and books were rare and costly, painstakingly lettered by hand and illuminated with exquisite paintings. Finn is a master illuminator who works not only for the Church but also, in secret, for John Wycliffe of Oxford, who professes the radical idea that the Bible should be translated into English for everyone to read. Finn has another secret as well, one that leads him into danger when he meets Lady Kathryn of Blackingham Manor, a widow struggling to protect her inheritance from the depredations of Church and Crown alike. Finn's alliance with Lady Kathryn will take us to the heart of what Barbara Tuchman once called "the calamitous fourteenth century".

Richly detailed and irresistibly compelling, The Illuminator is a glorious story of love, art, religion, and treachery at an extraordinary turning point in history.

©2005 Brenda Rickman Vantrease (P)2005 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Just WOW

This is still one of my favorite go to books to listen to. I have probably re-listen to it a dozen times. The story never gets old or boring. It has so many twists and turns that you aren't able to predict exactly what the author is going to do next. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good love story with some deep plot twists to it. You wont regret it.

Excellent Listen

This definitely kept my attention, it is an engaging story, with great attention to the detail of the time.

The Illumkinator.

The story was interesting, though the timeline somewhat confusing.
The narrating was good, though it took me awhile to get used to Katherine's voice.

Amazing

If you’re looking for a good period and a little bite of romance book this is it. I thought that this book was great. I really like the way that it filled out all the characters and the way the storyline progressed. It always gave away just enough information to keep you wanting more. This is a book I will enjoy rereading over and over.

Magical storytelling at its best!

Brilliant masterpiece of literary narrative, offering a poignant tale of love, hope and redemption amidst the turmoil of the early beginnings of the reformation when all was brought into question. Watch the unfolding of this spectacular historical sequence of events through the fears and hopes and desires of each character as they cast their faith with the choices they make. If you like Cider House Rules, you'll love this book. Superb story telling, and outstanding narrator!

Very Interesting

I picked this book because I really like Simon Jones as a narrator but I really liked the book in it's own right. It had a really great historical feeling with just a slight bit of the mystical. Vantrease was really good at really fleshing out all of her characters, although there were a couple that I just wanted to smack sometimes. She also really captured the way classes and social status worked in the dark ages.

Great narrator

Thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Simon Jones is my favourite narrator yet, great characters all (more words more words so that this review will be accepted)

extremely enjoyable

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love this era and already had familiarity with it, yet I still learned more by reading this novel. The overlay of spirituality in the piece also satisfied me, as the specifics of Julian of Norwich's visions and writings were new to me. The novel truly was one that I did not want to put down.

riveting

a view into the lives of a 14th century demesne, and the interaction with the domineering church and nobility of the time. Wonderfully enveloping..you could almost be there! And superbly read...I highly recommend this if you like the period.

More like this.

Really good historical fiction with such wonderful, beautiful detail, many enjoyable characters, so well written - and superb narration! Simon Jones was delightful as narrator. The “Illuminator” new all time fav audiobook for me and I really hope there is more of the same to come from the Brenda Vantrease and Simon Jones team! Loved it!