-
Book of Colours
- Narrated by: Katy Sobey
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
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
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Book of Colours
Buy for $21.59
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Anchoress
- By: Robyn Cadwallader
- Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells, Steve West
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 33
Sarah is just 17 when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a cell that measures only seven by nine paces, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth as well as pressure to marry the local lord's son, she decides to renounce the world - with all its dangers, desires, and temptations - and commit herself to a life of prayer. But it soon becomes clear that the thick, unforgiving walls of Sarah's cell cannot protect her as well as she had thought.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining
- By Here-and-faraway on 07-01-15
-
The Orchid Hour
- By: Nancy Bilyeau
- Narrated by: Quinn Kitmitto
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4
Zia De Luca’s life is about to be shattered. Having lost her husband to the Great War, she lives with her in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library. But when a quiet poetry-lover is murdered outside the library, the police investigation focuses on Zia.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Transcendent Historical Fiction
- By T. E.J. on 01-13-24
By: Nancy Bilyeau
-
The Stolen Crown
- By: Carol McGrath
- Narrated by: Charlotte Strevens
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1
When Princess Matilda is eighteen years old, tragedy strikes the royal family, and she becomes the only child of the king of England - the de facto heir to the throne. As her dying father persuades the barons to pledge allegiance to her, Matilda returns to England - but the lords and clergy do not like an independent woman. And Matilda is nothing if not headstrong. When the old king dies, the country is plunged into instant chaos. So begins a fierce battle between cousins that will go down in history as a time called 'The Anarchy'.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Enjoyed the book overall
- By cstif on 10-28-23
By: Carol McGrath
-
The Girl from Oto
- The Miramonde Series, Book 1
- By: Amy Maroney
- Narrated by: Meg Price
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6
A Renaissance-era woman artist and an American scholar. Linked by a 500-year-old mystery...The secrets of the past are irresistible - and dangerous. 1500: Born during a time wracked by war and plague, Renaissance-era artist Mira grows up in a Pyrenees convent believing she is an orphan. When tragedy strikes, Mira learns the devastating truth about her own origins. But does she have the strength to face those who would destroy her? 2015: Centuries later, art scholar Zari unearths traces of a mysterious young woman named Mira in two 16th-century portraits.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An excellent story!
- By Helena on 02-20-23
By: Amy Maroney
-
The Fortune Keeper
- An Enchanting Historical Novel of Renaissance Italy
- By: Deborah Swift
- Narrated by: Diana Croft
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this dangerous occupation, fearing it will lead her into trouble. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Great Experience
- By Barbara Lunz on 07-13-23
By: Deborah Swift
-
East of the Sun
- By: Julia Gregson
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues
- Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 157
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 109
Autumn 1928. Three young women are on their way to India, each with a new life in mind. Rose, a beautiful but naive bride-to-be, is anxious about leaving her family and marrying a man she hardly knows. Victoria, her bridesmaid couldn't be happier to get away from her overbearing mother, and is determined to find herself a husband. And Viva, their inexperienced chaperone, is in search of the India of her childhood, ghosts from the past and freedom.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Indian history takes a back seat to 3 young women
- By Richard on 05-24-16
By: Julia Gregson
-
The Anchoress
- By: Robyn Cadwallader
- Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells, Steve West
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 33
Sarah is just 17 when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a cell that measures only seven by nine paces, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth as well as pressure to marry the local lord's son, she decides to renounce the world - with all its dangers, desires, and temptations - and commit herself to a life of prayer. But it soon becomes clear that the thick, unforgiving walls of Sarah's cell cannot protect her as well as she had thought.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining
- By Here-and-faraway on 07-01-15
-
The Orchid Hour
- By: Nancy Bilyeau
- Narrated by: Quinn Kitmitto
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 4
Zia De Luca’s life is about to be shattered. Having lost her husband to the Great War, she lives with her in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library. But when a quiet poetry-lover is murdered outside the library, the police investigation focuses on Zia.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Transcendent Historical Fiction
- By T. E.J. on 01-13-24
By: Nancy Bilyeau
-
The Stolen Crown
- By: Carol McGrath
- Narrated by: Charlotte Strevens
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1
When Princess Matilda is eighteen years old, tragedy strikes the royal family, and she becomes the only child of the king of England - the de facto heir to the throne. As her dying father persuades the barons to pledge allegiance to her, Matilda returns to England - but the lords and clergy do not like an independent woman. And Matilda is nothing if not headstrong. When the old king dies, the country is plunged into instant chaos. So begins a fierce battle between cousins that will go down in history as a time called 'The Anarchy'.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Enjoyed the book overall
- By cstif on 10-28-23
By: Carol McGrath
-
The Girl from Oto
- The Miramonde Series, Book 1
- By: Amy Maroney
- Narrated by: Meg Price
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6
A Renaissance-era woman artist and an American scholar. Linked by a 500-year-old mystery...The secrets of the past are irresistible - and dangerous. 1500: Born during a time wracked by war and plague, Renaissance-era artist Mira grows up in a Pyrenees convent believing she is an orphan. When tragedy strikes, Mira learns the devastating truth about her own origins. But does she have the strength to face those who would destroy her? 2015: Centuries later, art scholar Zari unearths traces of a mysterious young woman named Mira in two 16th-century portraits.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An excellent story!
- By Helena on 02-20-23
By: Amy Maroney
-
The Fortune Keeper
- An Enchanting Historical Novel of Renaissance Italy
- By: Deborah Swift
- Narrated by: Diana Croft
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this dangerous occupation, fearing it will lead her into trouble. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Great Experience
- By Barbara Lunz on 07-13-23
By: Deborah Swift
-
East of the Sun
- By: Julia Gregson
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues
- Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 157
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 108
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 109
Autumn 1928. Three young women are on their way to India, each with a new life in mind. Rose, a beautiful but naive bride-to-be, is anxious about leaving her family and marrying a man she hardly knows. Victoria, her bridesmaid couldn't be happier to get away from her overbearing mother, and is determined to find herself a husband. And Viva, their inexperienced chaperone, is in search of the India of her childhood, ghosts from the past and freedom.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Indian history takes a back seat to 3 young women
- By Richard on 05-24-16
By: Julia Gregson
-
The Sewing Machine
- By: Natalie Fergie
- Narrated by: Angus King, Ruth Urquhart
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 553
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 480
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 482
It is 1911, and Jean is about to join the mass strike at the Singer factory. For her, nothing will be the same again. Decades later, Connie sews coded moments of her life into a notebook, as her mother did before her. More than 100 years after his grandmother's sewing machine was made, Fred unpicks the secrets of four generations, one stitch at a time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Historical perspective
- By susan schumacher on 03-06-18
By: Natalie Fergie
-
Cathedral
- By: Ben Hopkins
- Narrated by: Malk Williams, Sophie Roberts
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 65
A sweeping story about obsession, mysticism, art and earthly desire. At the centre of this story is the Cathedral. Its design and construction in the 13th and 14th centuries in the fictional town of Hagenburg unites a vast array of unforgettable characters whose fortunes are inseparable from the shifting political factions and economic interests vying for supremacy. From the bishop to his treasurer, from local merchants to lowly stonecutters, the fate of everyone, both Gentile and Jew, is affected by the slow rise of Hagenburg’s cathedral.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting description of life in the Middle Ages
- By leongork on 06-30-21
By: Ben Hopkins
-
The Forgotten Palace
- By: Alexandra Walsh
- Narrated by: Emma Gregory
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
Eloise De’Ath is meant to be a grieving widow. But if people knew the truth about her late husband, they’d understand why she can’t even pretend. Needing to escape, Eloise heads to Crete and the house her father-in-law Quinn left her, and slowly Quinn’s home begins to reveal its mysteries. In his office Eloise discovers his life’s work: the study of the Victorian excavation to find the Minotaur’s labyrinth. Fascinated by the diaries of a young woman from the dig, Eloise is drawn into Alice’s tale of lost love and her growing obsession with Ariadne, the princess of the labyrinth.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderfully engaging!
- By Kindle Customer on 05-05-23
By: Alexandra Walsh
-
Hidden in the Mists
- By: Christina Courtenay
- Narrated by: Eilidh Beaton
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
Skye Logan has been struggling to run her remote farm on Scotland's west coast alone ever since her marriage fell apart. When a handsome stranger turns up looking for work, it seems that her wish for help has been granted. Rafe Carlisle is searching for peace and somewhere he can forget about the last few years. But echoes of the distant past won't leave Skye and Rafe alone, and they begin to experience vivid dreams which appear to be linked to the Viking jewellery they each wear.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Fun listen
- By "mentalfix" on 03-24-23
-
Wolf Hall
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 24 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,875
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,776
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3,778
In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII's court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king's favor and ascend to the heights of political powerEngland in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Divorced, beheaded, died...
- By Tim on 09-30-11
By: Hilary Mantel
-
The Book of Longings
- A Novel
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò, Sue Monk Kidd
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,820
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,087
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,056
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with 18-year-old Jesus changes everything.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Made me cringe
- By Joan on 05-08-20
By: Sue Monk Kidd
-
People of the Book
- A Novel
- By: Geraldine Brooks
- Narrated by: Edwina Wren
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,866
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,098
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,080
This ambitious, electrifying work traces the harrowing journey of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illuminated Hebrew manuscript created in 15th-century Spain. When it falls to Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, to conserve this priceless work, the series of tiny artifacts she discovers in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—only begin to unlock its deep mysteries.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing, fabulous, wonderful!!!
- By Yvette on 03-13-09
By: Geraldine Brooks
-
The Physician
- The Cole Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Noah Gordon
- Narrated by: Richard Higgins
- Length: 24 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 599
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 538
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 537
A child holds the hand of his dying mother and is terrified, aware something is taking her. Orphaned and given to an itinerant barber-surgeon, Rob Cole becomes a fast-talking swindler, peddling a worthless medicine. But as he matures, his strange gift - an acute sensitivity to impending death - never leaves him, and he yearns to become a healer. Arab madrassas are the only authentic medical schools, and he makes his perilous way to Persia.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
From a Persian
- By Lilian Piruzan Ansari on 01-01-18
By: Noah Gordon
-
The School of Mirrors
- A Novel
- By: Eva Stachniak
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 80
During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating and Heartbreaking
- By HistoryNerd on 08-21-22
By: Eva Stachniak
-
China
- The Novel
- By: Edward Rutherfurd
- Narrated by: Daniel York Loh, Zheng Xi Yong, Andrew Wincott
- Length: 34 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 491
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 439
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 436
Edward Rutherfurd has enthralled millions of people with his grand, sweeping historical sagas that tell the history of a famous place over multiple generations. Now, in China: The Novel, Rutherfurd takes listeners into the rich and fascinating milieu of the Middle Kingdom. The story begins in 1839, at the dawn of the First Opium War, and follows Chinese history through Mao's Cultural Revolution and up to the present day. Rutherfurd chronicles the rising and falling fortunes of members of Chinese, British, and American families, as they negotiate the tides of history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Simply outstanding
- By Serenissima on 06-20-21
-
Dreamland
- By: Nancy Bilyeau
- Narrated by: Cicely Long
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
The year is 1911 when 20-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground. The invitation to Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer working at the Moonrise Bookstore than keeping up appearances with New York City socialites and her snobbish, controlling family. But hidden behind her family's pomposity lurks a web of deceit, betrayal, and deadly secrets.
By: Nancy Bilyeau
-
Romeo and Juliet: A Novel
- By: David Hewson
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,366
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,274
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,269
It's a story you think you know: the age-old tale of "star-cross'd lovers"; two families at war; a romance, so pure and absolute, fated for a tragic end. It's a story so thoroughly embedded in our culture, and so frequently retold. Yet, nothing captures the spark, the possibility, and the surprise of Shakespeare's work quite like this....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful, Imaginative
- By DPM on 12-13-16
By: David Hewson
Publisher's summary
From Robyn Cadwallader, author of the internationally acclaimed novel The Anchoress, comes a deeply profound and moving novel of the importance of creativity and the power of connection, told through the story of the commissioning of a gorgeously decorated medieval manuscript, a Book of Hours.
London, 1321: In a small shop in Paternoster Row, three people are drawn together around the creation of a magnificent book, an illuminated manuscript of prayers, a book of hours. Even though the commission seems to answer the aspirations of each one of them, their own desires and ambitions threaten its completion. As each struggles to see the book come into being, it will change everything they have understood about their place in the world. In many ways, this is a story about power - it is also a novel about the place of women in the roiling and turbulent world of the early 14th century; what power they have, how they wield it, and just how temporary and conditional it is.
Rich, deep, sensuous, and full of life, Book of Colours is also, most movingly, a profoundly beautiful story about creativity and connection, and our instinctive need to understand our world and communicate with others through the pages of a book.
"Robyn Cadwallader fashions words with the same delicate, colourful intensity that her 14th century illuminators brought to their illustrated manuscripts. Book of Colours brings alive a harsh but rich past, filled with the fantasies, fears, sly wit and tender longings of the medieval imagination." (Sarah Dunant)
"Book of Colours shows the depth of possibility a book might hold - all the while shimmering with the beauty and fragility of an ancient gilded page." (Eleanor Limprecht)
"Extraordinary...a real sensory experience...suffused with colours." (ABC Radio National - The Bookshelf)
Critic reviews
"Robyn Cadwallader fashions words with the same delicate, colourful intensity that her 14th century illuminators brought to their illustrated manuscripts. Book of Colours brings alive a harsh but rich past, filled with the fantasies, fears, sly wit and tender longings of the medieval imagination." (Sarah Dunant)
"Book of Colours shows the depth of possibility a book might hold - all the while shimmering with the beauty and fragility of an ancient gilded page." (Eleanor Limprecht)
"Extraordinary ... a real sensory experience ... suffused with colours" (ABC Radio National - The Bookshelf)
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
Cathedral
- By: Ben Hopkins
- Narrated by: Malk Williams, Sophie Roberts
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 65
A sweeping story about obsession, mysticism, art and earthly desire. At the centre of this story is the Cathedral. Its design and construction in the 13th and 14th centuries in the fictional town of Hagenburg unites a vast array of unforgettable characters whose fortunes are inseparable from the shifting political factions and economic interests vying for supremacy. From the bishop to his treasurer, from local merchants to lowly stonecutters, the fate of everyone, both Gentile and Jew, is affected by the slow rise of Hagenburg’s cathedral.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting description of life in the Middle Ages
- By leongork on 06-30-21
By: Ben Hopkins
-
A Vision of Light
- A Margaret of Ashbury Novel, Book 1
- By: Judith Merkle Riley
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
Margaret of Ashbury wants to write her life story. However, like most women in 14th-century England, she is illiterate. Three clerics contemptuously decline to be Margaret’s scribe, and only the threat of starvation persuades Brother Gregory, a Carthusian friar with a mysterious past, to take on the task. As she narrates her life, we discover a woman of startling resourcefulness.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Old fashioned heroine
- By Margaret on 06-22-13
-
The Anchoress
- By: Robyn Cadwallader
- Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells, Steve West
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 33
Sarah is just 17 when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a cell that measures only seven by nine paces, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth as well as pressure to marry the local lord's son, she decides to renounce the world - with all its dangers, desires, and temptations - and commit herself to a life of prayer. But it soon becomes clear that the thick, unforgiving walls of Sarah's cell cannot protect her as well as she had thought.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining
- By Here-and-faraway on 07-01-15
-
The Stolen Lady
- A Novel of World War II and the Mona Lisa
- By: Laura Morelli
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Caroline Hewitt, Paul Woodson
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 398
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 348
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 345
From the acclaimed author of The Night Portrait comes a stunning historical novel about two women, separated by 500 years, who each hide Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa - with unintended consequences.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
hard to finish
- By jeannetteW on 01-05-22
By: Laura Morelli
-
The Book of Longings
- A Novel
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò, Sue Monk Kidd
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,820
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,087
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,056
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with 18-year-old Jesus changes everything.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Made me cringe
- By Joan on 05-08-20
By: Sue Monk Kidd
-
Anticipation
- A Novel
- By: Melodie Winawer
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy, Samantha Desz, Jonathan Davis, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 195
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 176
From the author of the “engrossing historical epic” (Booklist) The Scribe of Siena comes a thrilling tale set in the crumbling city of Mystras, Greece, in which a scientist’s vacation with her young son quickly turns into a fight for their lives after they cross paths with a man out of time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Historical novel with a twist
- By Jbbee on 07-05-22
By: Melodie Winawer
-
Cathedral
- By: Ben Hopkins
- Narrated by: Malk Williams, Sophie Roberts
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 65
A sweeping story about obsession, mysticism, art and earthly desire. At the centre of this story is the Cathedral. Its design and construction in the 13th and 14th centuries in the fictional town of Hagenburg unites a vast array of unforgettable characters whose fortunes are inseparable from the shifting political factions and economic interests vying for supremacy. From the bishop to his treasurer, from local merchants to lowly stonecutters, the fate of everyone, both Gentile and Jew, is affected by the slow rise of Hagenburg’s cathedral.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting description of life in the Middle Ages
- By leongork on 06-30-21
By: Ben Hopkins
-
A Vision of Light
- A Margaret of Ashbury Novel, Book 1
- By: Judith Merkle Riley
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
Margaret of Ashbury wants to write her life story. However, like most women in 14th-century England, she is illiterate. Three clerics contemptuously decline to be Margaret’s scribe, and only the threat of starvation persuades Brother Gregory, a Carthusian friar with a mysterious past, to take on the task. As she narrates her life, we discover a woman of startling resourcefulness.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Old fashioned heroine
- By Margaret on 06-22-13
-
The Anchoress
- By: Robyn Cadwallader
- Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells, Steve West
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 33
Sarah is just 17 when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a cell that measures only seven by nine paces, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth as well as pressure to marry the local lord's son, she decides to renounce the world - with all its dangers, desires, and temptations - and commit herself to a life of prayer. But it soon becomes clear that the thick, unforgiving walls of Sarah's cell cannot protect her as well as she had thought.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining
- By Here-and-faraway on 07-01-15
-
The Stolen Lady
- A Novel of World War II and the Mona Lisa
- By: Laura Morelli
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Caroline Hewitt, Paul Woodson
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 398
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 348
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 345
From the acclaimed author of The Night Portrait comes a stunning historical novel about two women, separated by 500 years, who each hide Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa - with unintended consequences.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
hard to finish
- By jeannetteW on 01-05-22
By: Laura Morelli
-
The Book of Longings
- A Novel
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò, Sue Monk Kidd
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,820
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,087
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,056
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with 18-year-old Jesus changes everything.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Made me cringe
- By Joan on 05-08-20
By: Sue Monk Kidd
-
Anticipation
- A Novel
- By: Melodie Winawer
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy, Samantha Desz, Jonathan Davis, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 195
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 176
From the author of the “engrossing historical epic” (Booklist) The Scribe of Siena comes a thrilling tale set in the crumbling city of Mystras, Greece, in which a scientist’s vacation with her young son quickly turns into a fight for their lives after they cross paths with a man out of time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Historical novel with a twist
- By Jbbee on 07-05-22
By: Melodie Winawer
-
The Serpent Garden
- By: Judith Merkle Riley
- Narrated by: Alison Larkin
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
Susanna Dallet is the daughter of a Flemish painter and wife to a philandering husband, living in the court of Henry VIII. When her husband is murdered, Susanna is suddenly left with a household to provide for and nothing to her name. Her days of anonymity are over when Susanna finds that guild rules preventing women from working do not apply at the king’s court, and she manages to secure a position as a miniature-portrait painter. Before long, she has not only made a name for herself, she is close to those who surround Princess Mary. But even in this lofty company, Susanna is not safe....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
DON'T FALL FOR THE PRINT VERSION AMAZON REVIEWS
- By The Louligan on 03-06-14
-
In the Name of the Family
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Dunant
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 356
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 326
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 324
It is 1502, and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, age 22 - already three times married and a pawn in her father's plans - is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, brilliant, ruthless, and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with Machiavelli that gives the Florentine diplomat a master class in the dark arts of power and politics.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
One of the best historical fiction novels
- By GrandmaNurseHeather on 04-13-17
By: Sarah Dunant
-
Year of the Reaper
- By: Makiia Lucier
- Narrated by: Jonathan Myles
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 59
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 54
Three years ago, young Lord Cassia disappeared in the midst of war. Since then, a devastating illness has swept the land, leaving countless dead and a kingdom forever altered. Having survived war and plague, Cas, now 18, wants only to return to his home in the mountains and forget past horrors. But home is not what he remembers.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator Really Isn't My Cup of Tea...
- By Kallie on 12-03-21
By: Makiia Lucier
-
How to Be Both
- A Novel
- By: Ali Smith
- Narrated by: John Banks
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 173
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 147
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 147
Borrowing from painting’s fresco technique to make an original literary double-take, it's a fast-moving, genre-bending conversation between forms, times, truths, and fictions. There’s a Renaissance artist of the 1460s. There’s the child of a child of the 1960s. Two tales of love and injustice twist into a singular yarn where time gets timeless, structural gets playful, knowing gets mysterious, fictional gets real--and all life’s givens get given a second chance.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Incompetent Foreign Pronunciation
- By J. Kahn on 06-28-15
By: Ali Smith
-
The Black Rose
- By: Thomas B. Costain
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 17 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
Walter of Gurnie, bastard son of an English peer, is forced to flee from Oxford for his part in the university riots of 1273. Inspired by Friar Bacon, he determines to travel to China. With his friend Tristam, he fights his way to the heart of the fabulous Mongol Empire and returns famous, to find that he must choose between the first love he thought lost and the exotic flower that he found in the East.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Book
- By Jean on 03-09-13
-
The Invasion of Heaven
- Part One of the Newirth Mythology
- By: Michael B. Koep
- Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir, John Rubinstein, Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 370
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 340
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 339
Psychologist Loche Newirth becomes hunted when he sees a painting that opens a window onto the afterlife. An ancient order of men seeking to control the art pursue him across the world, through centuries, into madness, and beyond. The first part of Michael B. Koep's the Newirth Mythology The Invasion of Heaven is mystery, adventure, myth, betrayal, murder, and madness. Loche Newirth wonders if it was his fall: The 50-foot drop from the rocky cliff to the icy water below. Is this why he has been hallucinating?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good story - well written
- By Amy Q on 05-17-20
By: Michael B. Koep
-
Veil of Lies
- A Crispin Guest Medieval Mystery, Book 1
- By: Jeri Westerson
- Narrated by: Noah James Butler
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 15
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 12
Accused of treason and stripped of his knighthood, Crispin Guest has survived on the gritty streets of London by reinventing himself as The Tracker, an investigator for hire who can locate lost objects and uncover secrets. When the merchant Nicholas Walcote hires Guest to investigate his young wife Philippa for adultery, he discovers an underground world of danger and dirty dealings. Philippa is indeed hiding something—but she's not the only one. Walcote himself is rumored to possess a holy relic so powerful that some would even kill for it.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not My Cup of Tea
- By E. Fischel on 05-01-23
By: Jeri Westerson
-
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
- By: V. E. Schwab
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37,013
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 32,962
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32,847
France, 1714: In a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever - and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Prose style not to my liking
- By C.V. Cox on 10-18-20
By: V. E. Schwab
-
Dreamwalker
- The Ballad of Sir Benfro, Book 1
- By: J.D. Oswald
- Narrated by: Wayne Forester
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 126
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 120
Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Ballad of Sir Benfro: Dreamwalker, the first installment in the new fantasy series from JD Oswald, read by Wayne Forester. Miles from the great cities of the Twin Kingdoms, a young boy called Errol tries to find his way in the world. He's an outsider, and no one, not even himself, has any knowledge of his true lineage. Deep in the forest, Benfro, the young male dragon begins his training in the subtle arts.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Entertaining, albeit predictable
- By Marilyn C on 02-05-15
By: J.D. Oswald
-
Girl in Hyacinth Blue
- By: Susan Vreeland
- Narrated by: Loren Lester, Sheryl Bernstein
- Length: 5 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 206
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 131
A professor shows a colleague a painting that he has kept secret for decades. The professor swears it is a Vermeer - but why has he hidden this important work for so long? The reasons unfold in a series of stories that trace ownership of the painting back to World War II and Amsterdam, and still further back to the moment of the work's inspiration.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
wonderful
- By Sybil on 04-07-03
By: Susan Vreeland
-
The Lost War
- The Eidyn Saga, Book 1
- By: Justin Lee Anderson
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 309
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 281
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 278
With a ragged peace in place, demons burn farmlands, violent Reivers roam the wilds and plague has spread beyond the Black Meadows. The country is on its knees. In a society that fears and shuns him, Aranok is the first magically-skilled draoidh to be named King's Envoy. Now, charged with restoring an exiled foreign queen to her throne, he leads a group of strangers across the ravaged country. But at every step, a new mystery complicates their mission.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Holy Cow!
- By Lisa M. Perkey on 05-11-20
-
Annie Dunne
- By: Sebastian Barry
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9
It is 1959 in Wicklow, Ireland, and Annie and her cousin Sarah are living and working together to keep Sarah’s small farm running. Suddenly, Annie’s young niece and nephew are left in their care. Unprepared for the chaos that two children inevitably bring, but nervously excited nonetheless, Annie finds the interruption of her normal life and her last chance at happiness complicated further by the attention being paid to Sarah by a local man with his eye on the farm.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Splendid
- By Shady on 06-21-23
By: Sebastian Barry