The Burning Chambers

A Thrilling Epic of Love and Conspiracy from the No. 1 Bestselling Author

By: Kate Mosse

Narrated by: Hattie Morahan

The Sunday Times No. 1 Bestseller

‘Mosse is a master storyteller’ – Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe

Bringing sixteenth-century France vividly to life, Kate Mosse’s historical epic The Burning Chambers is a gripping story of love, betrayal, war and conspiracy. It is the first volume in the sweeping, spellbinding series, The Joubert Family Chronicles.

Carcassonne, 1562. Nineteen-year-old Catholic Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father’s bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIVE.

But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon, changes her destiny forever. For Piet has a dangerous mission of his own, and he will need Minou’s help if he is to get out of La Cité alive . . .

A thrilling adventure and a heartbreaking love story, The Burning Chambers is the first novel in Kate Mosse's enthralling, meticulously researched historical series. It is followed by The City of Tears.

'A tour de force' – The Observer

'Gripping, complex and intensely atmospheric' – The Mail on Sunday

Praise for The Joubert Family Chronicles:

'Historical fiction to devour' – Anthony Horowitz, bestselling author of Close to Death, on The Burning Chambers

'An utterly absorbing epic' – Lucy Foley, bestselling author of The Paris Apartment, on The City of Tears

'Meticulously researched and stunningly written' – Santa Montefiore, bestselling author of Wait for Me, on The Ghost Ship

Critic reviews

Mosse's fans will relish this tale of secrets, love and treachery

Another of Mosse's immersive dramas, which takes you to the heart of the past (Book of the Week)

Mosse does what good popular historical novelists do best - make the past enticingly otherworldly, while also claiming it as our own

Mosse's narrative lyricism, beautifully drawn female characters and deft journey from the past to the present day are a cut above

A powerful storyteller with an abundant imagination

Rich with historical detail, as you'd expect from Mosse, but it's Minou, the fiery heroine, who makes this a must-read (Book of the Month)

An irresistible read

Impressively bold and ambitious, it features betrayals, broken friendship, family secrets and the horrors of fanaticism. Fans will love it

A tour de force

For a thumpingly immersive historical listen, Kate Mosse’s The City of Tears (Mantle Audio) — the second of her Burning Chambers trilogy, though you don’t have to have read or listened to the first to enjoy this — more than fits the bill. If, like me, your knowledge of 16th-century royal and political life and religious wars is somewhat limited, narration really helps; there’s something clear and precise about having the details of the conflict between the Huguenots and Catholics go straight into my listening brain. But aside from this, Mosse is practised at creating vivid scenes — in this case, a court wedding that is overtaken by the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, with profound consequences for her protagonists. Actor Hattie Morahan, who has read novels by Tracy Chevalier and Stacey Halls, does a superb job, ably capturing the shifts between large-scale action and its impact on individual lives.

A Gripping Historical Journey with Minor Stumbles at the Finish

The Burning Chambers swept me away! I absolutely loved the book — the story moves at a wonderfully engaging pace, weaving rich historical detail with characters you truly care about. One of the standout joys is knowing it’s grounded in real historical events, which adds so much depth and weight to the narrative.

The audiobook’s narrator is fantastic — her voice brings the characters and setting to life beautifully. While her natural reading pace is quite slow, I found that speeding it up made for an even smoother listening experience without losing any of her nuance or emotion.

I’m already eager to dive into the next installments of the series!

My only small complaint is that the ending felt a bit rushed. Earlier chapters had some clever foreshadowing, but that also made parts of the conclusion a bit predictable. Still, this didn’t take away too much from the overall enjoyment.

Highly recommend for lovers of historical fiction and immersive audiobooks!

Love the thrill of all the historical events

The story is spellbinding I listen to the 4 books in a less than a month. I hope they make a movie or series out of this story so good.

classic

Well constructed and keeping up the pace and interest while drawing in history Very well read.

Narrator is excellent! Great story

Like the mix of history and fictional mystery. Sometimes hard to listen to if you are from Huguenot heritage