The Great When
The Long London Quintet, Book 1
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
The Great When
Buy for $20.30
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
-
By:
-
Alan Moore
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents The Great When by Alan Moore, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.
This audiobook features an exclusive essay, The True History of What Didn’t Happen, written and read by Alan Moore.
A propulsive tour through a fantastical London, where history and myth collide, murder stalks the streets and the mundane becomes very magical indeed…
The year is 1949, the city London. Amidst the smog of the capital is Dennis Knuckleyard, a hapless eighteen-year-old employed by a second-hand bookshop. One day, on an errand to acquire books for sale, Dennis discovers a novel that simply does not exist. It is a fictitious book, a figment from another novel. Yet it is physically there in his hands. How?
Dennis has stumbled on a book from the Great When, a magical version of London beyond time and space, where reality blurs with fiction and concepts such as Crime and Poetry are incarnated as wondrous, terrible beings. But this other, magical London must remain a secret: if Dennis cannot find a way to return this book to where it belongs, he risks bizarre and disastrous repercussions, such as his body being turned inside out (or worse).
So begins a journey delving deep into the city’s occult underbelly and tarrying with an eccentric cast of sorcerers, gangsters, and murderers – some from legend, some all too real, and all with plans of their own. Soon Dennis finds himself at the centre of an explosive series of events that may alter and endanger both Londons forever.
Thrilling, lyrical and sparkling with dark humour, The Great When is the first book in a new series by Sunday Times-bestseller and icon, Alan Moore.
'A breathless time-travelling classic. Savage, humane, comic, terrifying' Iain Sinclair
‘Brilliant and so powerfully imaginative’ Adam Curtis
'A weird book and a complete joy' Mariana Enríquez
‘A masterful step from one of our very best, uncompromising storytellers; Moore peels back the layers of London and reveals not only the history we know, but the histories that could have been, and, underneath it all, both the dark and beautiful truths about who we are as a nation.’ Heather Parry
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The High Crusade
- By: Poul Anderson
- Narrated by: Oliver Hembrough
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
As Sir Roger Baron de Tourneville is gathering an army to join King Edward III in the war against France, a most astonishing event occurs: a huge silver ship descends through the sky and lands in a pasture beside the little village of Ansby in North East Lincolnshire. The Wersgorix, whose scouting ship it is, are quite expert at taking conquering planets, and having determined from orbit that this one is suitable, they initiate standard procedure. Their ship carries guided missiles and nuclear weaponry—but they have long since lost the art of hand-to-hand fighting.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Peak Pulp
- By Anonymous User on 03-20-25
By: Poul Anderson
-
The Collaborations of H.P. Lovecraft
- By: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
- Length: 23 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 167
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 130
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has produced the definitive audio recording of Lovecraft's collaboration tales. Working from texts prepared by Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi, this collection features stories HPL wrote with other authors and includes, “The Curse of Yig”, “The Horror in the Museum”, “The Mound”, “The Night Ocean”, and many others. All tales include original music by HPLHS composer Troy Sterling Nies. This collection features 33 stories adding up to more than 23 hours of Lovecraftian listening fun.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great collection
- By Amazon Customer on 02-02-20
By: H. P. Lovecraft
-
Neuromancer
- By: William Gibson
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9,226
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 8,068
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,075
Twenty years ago, it was as if someone turned on a light. The future blazed into existence with each deliberate word that William Gibson laid down. The winner of Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer didn't just explode onto the science fiction scene - it permeated into the collective consciousness, culture, science, and technology.Today, there is only one science fiction masterpiece to thank for the term "cyberpunk," for easing the way into the information age and Internet society.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Story? Classic. Narrator? Ugh.
- By Sage on 11-11-14
By: William Gibson
-
The Very First Damned Thing
- An Author-Read Audio Exclusive
- By: Jodi Taylor
- Narrated by: Jodi Taylor
- Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,380
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,908
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,894
Jodi Taylor reads the long-awaited prequel in her Chronicles of St Mary’s series, as Dr Bairstow struggles to set up St Mary’s as we know it in a world still scarred by the ravages of civil war. Ever wondered how it all began? It’s two years since the final victory at the Battersea Barricades. The fighting might be finished, but for Dr Bairstow, just now setting up St Mary's, the struggle is only beginning. How will he assemble his team? From where will his funding come?
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Wait for it on Kindle. Not the best on audio
- By Sheryl on 11-05-15
By: Jodi Taylor
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,312
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,986
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,976
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed, Interesting and Entertaining
- By Marc-Andr? on 05-13-10
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Exordia
- By: Seth Dickinson
- Narrated by: Sulin Hasso
- Length: 26 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 68
Anna Sinjari—refugee, survivor of genocide, disaffected office worker—has a close encounter that reveals universe-threatening stakes. While humanity reels from disaster, she must join a small team of civilians, soldiers, and scientists to investigate a mysterious broadcast and unknowable horror. If they can manage to face their own demons, they just might save the world.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A mess
- By Cayton on 02-26-24
By: Seth Dickinson
-
The High Crusade
- By: Poul Anderson
- Narrated by: Oliver Hembrough
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
As Sir Roger Baron de Tourneville is gathering an army to join King Edward III in the war against France, a most astonishing event occurs: a huge silver ship descends through the sky and lands in a pasture beside the little village of Ansby in North East Lincolnshire. The Wersgorix, whose scouting ship it is, are quite expert at taking conquering planets, and having determined from orbit that this one is suitable, they initiate standard procedure. Their ship carries guided missiles and nuclear weaponry—but they have long since lost the art of hand-to-hand fighting.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Peak Pulp
- By Anonymous User on 03-20-25
By: Poul Anderson
-
The Collaborations of H.P. Lovecraft
- By: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
- Length: 23 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 167
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 130
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society has produced the definitive audio recording of Lovecraft's collaboration tales. Working from texts prepared by Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi, this collection features stories HPL wrote with other authors and includes, “The Curse of Yig”, “The Horror in the Museum”, “The Mound”, “The Night Ocean”, and many others. All tales include original music by HPLHS composer Troy Sterling Nies. This collection features 33 stories adding up to more than 23 hours of Lovecraftian listening fun.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great collection
- By Amazon Customer on 02-02-20
By: H. P. Lovecraft
-
Neuromancer
- By: William Gibson
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 9,226
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 8,068
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 8,075
Twenty years ago, it was as if someone turned on a light. The future blazed into existence with each deliberate word that William Gibson laid down. The winner of Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer didn't just explode onto the science fiction scene - it permeated into the collective consciousness, culture, science, and technology.Today, there is only one science fiction masterpiece to thank for the term "cyberpunk," for easing the way into the information age and Internet society.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Story? Classic. Narrator? Ugh.
- By Sage on 11-11-14
By: William Gibson
-
The Very First Damned Thing
- An Author-Read Audio Exclusive
- By: Jodi Taylor
- Narrated by: Jodi Taylor
- Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,380
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,908
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,894
Jodi Taylor reads the long-awaited prequel in her Chronicles of St Mary’s series, as Dr Bairstow struggles to set up St Mary’s as we know it in a world still scarred by the ravages of civil war. Ever wondered how it all began? It’s two years since the final victory at the Battersea Barricades. The fighting might be finished, but for Dr Bairstow, just now setting up St Mary's, the struggle is only beginning. How will he assemble his team? From where will his funding come?
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Wait for it on Kindle. Not the best on audio
- By Sheryl on 11-05-15
By: Jodi Taylor
-
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
- A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,312
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,986
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,976
Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat? Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages. The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Detailed, Interesting and Entertaining
- By Marc-Andr? on 05-13-10
By: Ian Mortimer
-
Exordia
- By: Seth Dickinson
- Narrated by: Sulin Hasso
- Length: 26 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 68
Anna Sinjari—refugee, survivor of genocide, disaffected office worker—has a close encounter that reveals universe-threatening stakes. While humanity reels from disaster, she must join a small team of civilians, soldiers, and scientists to investigate a mysterious broadcast and unknowable horror. If they can manage to face their own demons, they just might save the world.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
A mess
- By Cayton on 02-26-24
By: Seth Dickinson
The Great Now
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.