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Wolf Hall
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 24 hrs and 15 mins
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Publisher's summary
National Book Critics Circle, Fiction, 2010
Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2009
Tudor England. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is charged with securing his divorce. Into this atmosphere of distrust comes Thomas Cromwell - a man as ruthlessly ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.
Critic reviews
"...as soon as I opened the book I was gripped. I read it almost non-stop. When I did have to put it down, I was full of regret the story was over, a regret I still feel. This is a wonderful and intelligently imagined retelling of a familiar tale from an unfamiliar angle - one that makes the drama unfolding nearly five centuries ago look new again, and shocking again, too. " ( The Times)
"The reader, Simon Slater, skilfully adopts contrasting voices and the narrative has an immediacy close to a dramatisation... Provocative, rewarding listening." (The Times)
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Margaret George's novel brings into focus the larger-than-life King Henry VIII, monarch of prodigious appetites for wine, women, and song.
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Perfection!
- By Amy M. Walts on 10-20-07
By: Margaret George
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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
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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.
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Old fashioned heroine
- By Margaret on 06-22-13
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The Agincourt Bride
- By: Joanna Hickson
- Narrated by: Catherine Harvey
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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When her own first child is tragically still-born, the young Mette is pressed into service as a wet-nurse at the court of the mad king, Charles VI of France. Her young charge is the princess, Catherine de Valois, caught up in the turbulence and chaos of life at court. Mette and the child forge a bond, one that transcends Mette’s lowly position. But as Catherine approaches womanhood, her unique position seals her fate as a pawn between two powerful dynasties.
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Disappointing
- By Michelle on 02-16-13
By: Joanna Hickson
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Empress
- Godspeaker, Book 1
- By: Karen Miller
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In a family torn apart by poverty and violence, Hekat is no more than an unwanted mouth to feed, worth only a few coins from a passing slave trader. But Hekat was not born to be a slave. For her, a different path has been chosen. It is a path that will take her from stinking back alleys to the house of her God, from blood-drenched battlefields to the glittering palaces of Mijak. This is the story of Hekat, slave to no man.
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depressing and left me feeling empty
- By Bonnie on 09-16-09
By: Karen Miller
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A Place of Greater Safety
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 33 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1789, and three young provincials have come to Paris to make their way. Georges-Jacques Danton, an ambitious young lawyer, is energetic, pragmatic, debt-ridden - and hugely but erotically ugly. Maximilien Robespierre, also a lawyer, is slight, diligent, and terrified of violence. His dearest friend, Camille Desmoulins, is a conspirator and pamphleteer of genius. A charming gadfly, erratic and untrustworthy, bisexual and beautiful, Camille is obsessed by one woman and engaged to marry another, her daughter.
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Disaster
- By Frank Dudley Berry Jr. on 08-01-13
By: Hilary Mantel
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The Winthrop Woman
- By: Anya Seton
- Narrated by: Corrie James
- Length: 27 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1631 Elizabeth Winthrop, newly widowed with an infant daughter, set sail for the New World. Against a background of rigidity and conformity she dared to befriend Anne Hutchinson at the moment of her banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony; dared to challenge a determined army captain bent on the massacre of her friends, the Siwanoy Indians; and, above all, dared to love a man as her heart and her whole being commanded.
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Historical Fiction that Aged Very Well
- By Lulu on 11-26-14
By: Anya Seton
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The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.
- By: Sandra Gulland
- Narrated by: Kim Handysides
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In this first of three books inspired by the life of Josephine Bonaparte, Sandra Gulland has created a novel of immense and magical proportions. We meet Josephine in the exotic and lush Martinico, where an old island woman predicts that one day she will be queen. The journey from the remote village of her birth to the height of European elegance is long, but Josephine's fortune proves to be true.
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Performance...ugh
- By Lisa on 02-17-18
By: Sandra Gulland
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Tremontaine, Season One
- 13 Book Series, Box Set
- By: Ellen Kushner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Malinda Lo, and others
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren, Nick Sullivan, Sarah Mollo-Christensen
- Length: 22 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In a city that never was, sex, scandal, and swordplay combine in a melodrama of manners that takes listeners to a world inspired by Elizabethan London, 18th century Paris, and 1980s New York City. Sexuality is fluid, politics is everything, and outcasts are the tastemakers. Intrigue is afoot when a Duchess, a scholar, a swordswoman, and a genius, are brought together by long-buried lies and truths that cannot be denied.
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Wonderful story, flawed narration
- By Kristin on 05-25-18
By: Ellen Kushner, and others
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Royal Mistress
- By: Anne Easter Smith
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Jane Lambert, the quick-witted and alluring daughter of a silk merchant, is twenty-two and still unmarried. When Jane’s father finally finds her a match, she’s married off to the dull, older silk merchant William Shore. Marriage doesn’t stop Jane from flirtation, however, and when the king’s chamberlain, Will Hastings, comes to her husband’s shop, Will knows King Edward will find her irresistible.
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All history, no romance!
- By Erin on 07-05-13
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The Speckled Monster
- A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox
- By: Jennifer Lee Carrell
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The Speckled Monster is both a hair-raising tale of courage in the face of the deadliest disease that has ever struck mankind, and a gripping account of the birth of modern immunology. Jennifer Lee Carrell's dramatic story follows two parents who, after barely surviving the agony of smallpox themselves, flouted 18th century European medical tradition by borrowing folk knowledge from African slaves and Eastern women in frantic bids to protect their children. Their heroic struggles gave rise to immunology.
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Wish it was another 19 hours long!
- By Book reader on 06-10-14
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The School of Mirrors
- A Novel
- By: Eva Stachniak
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Fascinating but pedophilia nonetheless.
- By Barbara W. on 05-10-22
By: Eva Stachniak
What listeners say about Wolf Hall
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Steve
- 06-09-15
Brilliant!
I have always enjoyed reading about the kings and queens of England but this book so beautifully narrated tells the story from Thomas Cromwell's side. I could not put it down.
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- Carlo Hagemann
- 05-30-13
Too many people for my ears/brain
Any additional comments?
I have tried to listen to this book, but it was too hard for me (non-native) to tell all the persons apart. What I heard was intriguing, but every distraction (I listen while I walk from home to work) made me feeling lost between the characters.
It's not the fault of Simon Slater. He does an extraordinary job. Maybe I will try later, but for now I think I wille have to read the book first, and even then.....
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- smithcorp
- 05-17-15
A stunning work with remarkable narration
What a pleasure this book is to listen to. Wonderful narration. Highly recommended. Draws you in to the period and provides a nuanced view of Cromwell.
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Overall
- Margaret
- 07-21-10
Wolf Hall
This is an extraordinary book written by an extraordinary writer. I read first the print version, but found myself at times lost in the story telling - now who is speaking - now whose story is being told. This audible version brings the characters to life wonderfully and adds a depth to the story. I give the narrator, Simon Slater, five stars also.
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13 people found this helpful
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- Joy
- 01-07-13
A Masterpiece
If you could sum up Wolf Hall in three words, what would they be?
Superb, Brilliant, Worth the Man Booker win
What other book might you compare Wolf Hall to and why?
Nothing, it is one of the best historical fictions i have ever come across, Ken Follett came close years ago but this is magic. The characters are alive, every voice is perfect. Even when the narrator draws breath you know which character it is. The historical detail and the tiniest events mentioned are all covered and closed off. I think half the women who read this will fall for Thomas Cromwell.
Which scene was your favorite?
So many but I found the detail about the rituals of Easter and Thomas Cromwell advising on cooking a real hoot. The tortue scenes are fascinating without being gross and the history is detailed without being boring - and for once - interesting
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Yes, I could not stop recommending it to people - after 5 years of book club this one stole the show
Any additional comments?
Now onto Bring up the Bodies and I am loving it already.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 01-17-22
Great for Audio Book
Amazing book in general, but the experience is enhanced by Slater’s performance because there is quite a lot of dialogue.
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Overall
- Conor
- 06-24-10
Wolf Hall
Hard to imagine a better interpretation. Simon Slater has a huge repertoire of voices and knows how to manipulate silence... masterly
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7 people found this helpful
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- Kanwal Brar
- 05-08-17
An Immersive Experience !
A great story narrated with finese. Historical fiction at it's best. Hilary Mantel fleshes out the characters in detail and makes you relive the Tudor era.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jennifer
- 03-19-13
Excellent
What made the experience of listening to Wolf Hall the most enjoyable?
Historical accuracy of the events - facts around Henry's time as king and the events around this.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Wolf Hall?
All good.
Which scene was your favorite?
All good
Who was the most memorable character of Wolf Hall and why?
Cromwell
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- gautham
- 10-13-13
Not gripping
Would you try another book from Hilary Mantel and/or Simon Slater?
NO
What do you think your next listen will be?
God of small things
How did the narrator detract from the book?
hard to differentiate between the persons thoughts and the various characters actually interacting
Any additional comments?
Please allow me to choose another audio book. Will really appreciate it
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