Sample

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Winter Sea

By: Susanna Kearsley
Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $26.95

Buy for $26.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

When venturing into the historical fiction genre, I’m often drawn to specific, brief events that were either glossed over or left entirely out of the history books, as opposed to those that cover broad subjects that can be densely overwhelming. Given a subject like Henry XIII and his wives or Joan of Arc, both popular subjects of the genre, an author could easily lose an audience to an overwhelming amount of explanation and facts. Instead, Susanna Kearsley’s The Winter Sea offers a narrow, controlled exploration of a lesser known event, the 1708 Jacobite failed uprising by James Stewart against William of Orange and Mary Stewart to reclaim the throne. It is an enthralling story that makes the facts and descriptions of the people and places surrounding the uprising much more palatable and absorbing.

The Winter Sea also offers a unique narrative format. Main character and popular historical fiction novelist Carrie McClelland rents a cottage for the summer on the coast of Scotland, not far from Slain Castle (where she sets her story) and where the Jacobite uprising occurred centuries ago. Thus, The Winter Sea has two narratives: McClelland in present day Scotland, writing her novel; and McClelland’s novel, a work in progress detailing the Jacobite uprising in 1708 Scotland. Such a narrative format is fodder for narrator Rosalyn Landor, whose performance skillfully embodies the complex mind of a writer. Her voicing of Carrie is investigative, creative, imaginative, and discerning. Her deep, expressive tone allows her the versatility to voice the myriad supporting characters, both male and female, past and present. The dreamlike writing sequences of McClelland writing her novel really sing under Landor’s rendering. With Landor as a guide, it’s easy to lose yourself in The Winter Sea’s journey through Scotland and through history.

The Winter Sea confidently flourishes in the intrigue surrounding this political uprising, while also offering the accommodating narrative device of delivering the story through the mind of a writer. Kearsley and Landor together remind us that history does not have to get bogged down by the facts, but instead can be thrilling, suspenseful, and imaginative, especially when presented from a unique perspective. Suzanne Day

Publisher's summary

History has all but forgotten...

In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.

But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth-the ultimate betrayal-that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her...

Please note: This novel has also been published under a different title: Sophia's Secret.

Please note, this title is the original recording, which is now known as Sophia's Secret

©2010 Susanna Kearsley (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

  • Audie Award Winner, Romance, 2012
"Rosalyn Landor provides delightful Scottish accents for many of the characters Carrie meets inside and outside her novel....Landor adds a poetic edge to her storytelling while at the same time giving a dreamy aura to the historical side of the story." ( Audiofile)

Featured Article: The Best Audiobooks for Outlander Fans


Have you been swept away by the Outlander series, the epic time travel romance spanning eight books (and counting) by Diana Gabaldon? If you’ve made it through the entire series and still want more high-stakes historical adventure, passionate romance, and time-traveling twists, we have some great recommendations for you. While nothing can quite match up to the magic of Claire and Jamie’s love story, these audiobooks will capture your heart!

What listeners say about The Winter Sea

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,909
  • 4 Stars
    2,157
  • 3 Stars
    961
  • 2 Stars
    266
  • 1 Stars
    186
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,912
  • 4 Stars
    1,664
  • 3 Stars
    658
  • 2 Stars
    177
  • 1 Stars
    137
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,545
  • 4 Stars
    1,776
  • 3 Stars
    810
  • 2 Stars
    267
  • 1 Stars
    168

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I loved it, a good listen! Romance, history, mystery all in one excellent story! enjoy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love Love Love Love Love

Beautiful romance told in exquisite detail. I fell in love with the romance and the way she described the countryside. I need to be in Scotland now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Couldn't finish the book due to the narration

Can't comment on the story b/c I was too distracted by the accent in the narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliance!

Brilliant storyline and equally brilliant narration. Simply enchanting. I couldn't stop listening! and I cried, which never happens when I read novels. Such a touching story and so well-written.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Scotland History

The narrator's use of the Scottish accent made the audio book ring true, but at times it was unintelligible. The back and forth from current times to historical events was hard to follow.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Spellbinding

I have never reviewed a book even though I have really enjoyed many. This book captured my interest from the start and held it to the end Beautifully written and narrated. I will be looking for mor books by this author and narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just right

First time listening to this author and narrator- the story and narration were well paired. I liked both very much. Sure the accents are wonky but I didn’t care. The narrator did a good job separating the characters.

This is a light story, pleasant and historical. I’ll explore this author again.

Enjoy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

History and romance, oh my!

This story transcends time and it's uncanny how Susanna Kearsley presents the historical facts and intertwines the story of predestined love

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

great book but narrator very distracting style

What did you love best about The Winter Sea?

I liked the story alot, I'm a Kearsley fan. Unfortunately this reader is very annoying and distracting for two reasons (1) voice sounds constantly like an advertisement or a voice over/newscaster style. Not natural (2) she puts very odd pauses as she reads which makes listening difficult - e.g. in the phrase "coal stove" there is a pause between coal and stove, or with "not very long" there's a long pause between not and very long. its just not easy to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another winner

A Susanna Kearsley novel read by Rosalyn Landor. That's what I call a win win.

I'm

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!