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The Leviathan

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The Leviathan

By: Helen-Rose Andrews, Rosie Andrews
Narrated by: Rupert Farley
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About this listen

Bloomsbury presents The Leviathan by Rosie Andrews, read by Rupert Farley.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
SELECTED AS ONE OF THE OBSERVER'S 10 BEST DEBUT NOVELISTS OF 2022

'It’s hard to believe that such an accomplished novel could be a debut... Superb' Susan Stokes-Chapman, number one bestselling author of Pandora

‘Bewitching’ Stacey Halls, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars

A beguiling, highly atmospheric tale of superstition, myth and murder, perfect for listening as the nights draw in.

SHE IS AWAKE...

Norfolk, 1643. With civil war tearing England apart, reluctant soldier Thomas Treadwater is summoned home by his sister, who accuses a new servant of improper conduct with their widowed father. By the time Thomas returns home, his father is insensible, felled by a stroke, and their new servant is in prison, facing charges of witchcraft.

Thomas prides himself on being a rational, modern man, but as he unravels the mystery of what has happened, he uncovers not a tale of superstition but something dark and ancient, linked to a shipwreck years before.

Something has awoken, and now it will not rest.

Richly researched, incredibly atmospheric, and deliciously unsettling, The Leviathan is a tale of family and loyalty, superstition and sacrifice, but most of all it is a spellbinding mystery and a story of impossible things...

'Outstanding... a seething, haunting delight' Beth Underdown, award-winning author of THE WITCHFINDER'S SISTER

'Thoroughly gripping and utterly absorbing' Jennifer Saint, author of ARIADNE

©2022 Rosie Andrews (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Magic Magical Realism Fantasy Crime Exciting Scary Mystery Witchcraft
All stars
Most relevant
only just started the book and feel like I missed a part of the narrative...

Is this the style of the writing? The narrator is cut off at 04.34 and resumes speaking after a few seconds mid way through another scene.

just thought I would let Audible know incase it's a mistake.

cuts off mid sentence in chapter 1... 04.34

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Open this book and you are immediately taken to C17th England and to the heart of the story. Well written and well paced it's difficult to put down! If you enjoy Hilary Mantel or Ellis Peters writing style pick this one up!

Immersive and beautifully crafted!

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This is a mighty tale. I loved the narrative shifts between two dates centuries ago.

Infused with powerful characters and themes as old as time.

Loved the appearance of John Milton.

Mary and Thomas suffer, live and love together.

Listened twice and enjoyed the nuances of the story even more the second time. Brilliant writing.

Epic

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narration is amazing and really helps you get into the story!!

i don’t know anything about the period of history in which this book is written but it seems like a big effort was made to be historically accurate which allows you to drift into its world effortlessly

the story is such a page turner and the wording is beautiful

i have a soft spot for historical fiction but this and Circe were my favourite reads this year!!!

SO good

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The first thing to mention about this novel, before the story, setting or anything else is that the reader, Rupert Farley, maintains an excellent NORFOLK accent throughout! This never happens in my experience, not ever! So there's bonus points from me right from the start. It's a great supernatural tale set in the time of the English Civil War. Although it takes it's time setting the scene the pace quickens, at first gradually then later on rather less so. It has a very denite "Lovecraftian" feel which is not so obvious in the earlier chapters but which has fully reared it's unearthly head by halfway through. The poet John Milton shows up as well and... well, you'll have to read it! I should say though that it's no simple blood-and-guts historical horror story; ultimately the novel looks at the relationships between the major characters and leaves the reader, (well, listener in my case), with a sense of three dimensional human beings with all the complicated motivations and desires that go therewith. I can't reccomend this book highly enough!

An outstanding book!

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