Moonfleet cover art

Moonfleet

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Moonfleet

By: J. Meade Falkner
Narrated by: Peter Joyce
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £12.93

Buy Now for £12.93

Summary

A tale of smuggling and mystery on the Dorset coast as told by John Trenchard, a boy obsessed with discovering the secret of Colonel 'Blackbeard' Mohune's hidden treasure. One night, trapped in the Mohune family vault beneath the church, John finds a locket round the Colonel's neck which contains verses from the Psalms of David. What could it mean? Elzevir Block, landlord of the local public house, who has lost his son in the contraband wars, befriends John and together they struggle to find the secret of Blackbeard's buried wealth. It is an adventure story full of action and misfortune spanning many years, two different countries and ending with a message to us all.

About Assembled Stories: Over the years the national press have reviewed Assembled Stories titles as "excellent", "remarkable", "entrancing", "superb", "magic for sure", "masterly", "wonderful", "a class act" and "a splendid example of audio at its best".

©2004 J. Meade Falkner (P)2004 Assembled Stories Classics
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

"Peter Joyce is the most remarkable one-man band in audiobook publishing. Joyce, an experienced actor, reads them all himself." ( The Independent)
All stars
Most relevant
A rollicking tale of smuggling, adventure and growing up. Of course, by our standards, the moral underlay about greed and generosity is rather heavy handed and in your face, and the plot depends on both a ludicrously improbable set of events to set up the second half and then an equally improbable coincidence to create the resolution. But the themes of loyalty and the choices we make affecting others are actually rather well done. The narration started out feeling a little blunt but soon grew on me - it allows the emotion to come over from the words without excessive dramatisation.

A classic of its type

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There is something in the writing quality of the classic novels. A depth and a flourish that is rarely found in modern authors. Moonfleet had me drawn into a living breathing world of smugglers and the raging sea.
The narration is absolutely perfect. I will listen to this production again and again.

A Beautiful classic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read Moonfleet when I was at school. It was one of the set texts for English Literate when I was in the fourth year which I think approximates to year 10 in today's system. I liked it at the time as it was an easy story to read and the protagonist John Trenchard was a similar age at the beginning of the story as I was. It is all jolly good stuff too with a background of smugglers, lost treasure, cryptic clues and the curse of Blackbeard.

The plot is, of course, a bit far fetched and silly but that does not matter as the characters are sufficiently strong to allow the reader (or listener) to suspend belief and let themselves be taken along for the adventure. It is the story of friendship and morals and the good old fashioned concept of good triumphing over evil.

This is just as much fun 40 years from reading this for the first time. A special mention should be given to the excellent narrator Peter Joyce who has the Dorset accents down to a tee. Brilliant stuff.

Boy's own style 18th century smuggling adventure

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A very exiting story beautifully narrated in the dialect of the time and region. Listening to the story while staying in the area made it even more magical for us. Highly recommended.

An enchanting and very engaging story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A story that though dated survives the test of time, mainly thanks to great narration that captures the spirit of this type of writing. A enjoyable break from more deep and serious stuff!

Classic adventure story, brilliantly narrated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews