Marabel
Or, the Great Exception
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.
Marabel
Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Marilla Wex
About this listen
How did one prickly, imperious schoolgirl—not particularly fond of children—become London’s most original nanny?
The Great War is over, but Marabel's father still has not come home. Soon to graduate from her mother's School for White-Blouse Professions in London, Marabel misses him dearly. Otherwise her ambition is to become a country postmistress, where she need not deal with other people.
Then the King sends her on a quest. Her mother gives her a magic heirloom and Marabel—dragging her 10-year-old brother Thomas with her—flies through time and space to retrieve the soldier who won the Great War's greatest medal. She is to bring him to a royal celebration at Stonehenge—in only two weeks!
So many monarchs to contend with: The King wants Marabel to bring back storied legends to help him celebrate. King Cobra from the London Zoo wants Marabel to free the animals. Angus the West Highland terrier wants to dethrone King Cobra and become King of the Beasts. And handsome artist Bharat Gupta wants to save Marabel from the mystery man following them.
But why is her father hiding the unknown soldier behind the medal?
And how do Marabel and Bharat end up on trial for treason?
What she learns and how she comes of age makes Marabel leave behind the tedium of sorting other peoples’ letters to become a prickly, imperious—and magical—nanny.
©2021 Barbara Wade Rose (P)2022 Barbara Wade RoseListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
- A Novel
- By: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer, Susan Duerden, Rosalyn Landor, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,862
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 11,077
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11,051
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.... As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends - and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
MUCH better than I ever expected! Give it a try!
- By Kent on 10-19-09
By: Mary Ann Shaffer, and others
-
Howl's Moving Castle
- By: Diana Wynne Jones
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,053
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11,630
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11,631
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book and ALA Notable and Best of the Year in Young Adult Fiction, Howl's Moving Castle is by acclaimed fantasy writer Diane Wynne Jones and was transformed into an Academy Award nominated animated motion picture by Hayao Miyazaki. On a rare venture out from her step-mother's hat shop, Sophie attracts the attention of a witch, who casts a terrible spell transforming the young girl into an old crone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Howl's Moving Castle is Amazing!
- By Elisa on 10-23-09
-
Wicked
- The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 10,200
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 7,305
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7,344
Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It's not easy being green
- By PangaeaReads on 07-30-08
By: Gregory Maguire
-
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter
- By: Theodora Goss
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,535
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,140
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,124
Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents' deaths, is curious about the secrets of her father's mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father's former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture...a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes. But her hunt leads her to Hyde's daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Cute, erratic, sloppy but not without charm
- By Rachel on 07-07-17
By: Theodora Goss
-
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
- A Novel
- By: Helen Simonson
- Narrated by: Peter Altschuler
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,628
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,134
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,122
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Charming book with an excellent narrator
- By jc on 03-05-10
By: Helen Simonson
-
Transcription
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,219
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,016
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,000
In 1940, 18-year-old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Sent to an obscure department of MI5 tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathizers, she discovers the work to be by turns both tedious and terrifying. But after the war has ended, she presumes the events of those years have been relegated to the past forever. Ten years later, now a radio producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A very satisfying two days!
- By Frances on 09-30-18
By: Kate Atkinson
-
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
- A Novel
- By: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer, Susan Duerden, Rosalyn Landor, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,862
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 11,077
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11,051
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.... As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends - and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
MUCH better than I ever expected! Give it a try!
- By Kent on 10-19-09
By: Mary Ann Shaffer, and others
-
Howl's Moving Castle
- By: Diana Wynne Jones
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,053
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11,630
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 11,631
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book and ALA Notable and Best of the Year in Young Adult Fiction, Howl's Moving Castle is by acclaimed fantasy writer Diane Wynne Jones and was transformed into an Academy Award nominated animated motion picture by Hayao Miyazaki. On a rare venture out from her step-mother's hat shop, Sophie attracts the attention of a witch, who casts a terrible spell transforming the young girl into an old crone.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Howl's Moving Castle is Amazing!
- By Elisa on 10-23-09
-
Wicked
- The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 10,200
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 7,305
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7,344
Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It's not easy being green
- By PangaeaReads on 07-30-08
By: Gregory Maguire
-
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter
- By: Theodora Goss
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,535
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,140
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,124
Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents' deaths, is curious about the secrets of her father's mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father's former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture...a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes. But her hunt leads her to Hyde's daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Cute, erratic, sloppy but not without charm
- By Rachel on 07-07-17
By: Theodora Goss
-
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
- A Novel
- By: Helen Simonson
- Narrated by: Peter Altschuler
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,628
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,134
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,122
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Charming book with an excellent narrator
- By jc on 03-05-10
By: Helen Simonson
-
Transcription
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,219
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,016
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,000
In 1940, 18-year-old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Sent to an obscure department of MI5 tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathizers, she discovers the work to be by turns both tedious and terrifying. But after the war has ended, she presumes the events of those years have been relegated to the past forever. Ten years later, now a radio producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A very satisfying two days!
- By Frances on 09-30-18
By: Kate Atkinson
-
Mr. Churchill's Secretary
- A Maggie Hope Mystery
- By: Susan Elia MacNeal
- Narrated by: Donada Peters
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,830
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,486
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,485
In this daring debut, Susan Elia MacNeal blends meticulous research on the era, psychological insight into Winston Churchill, and the creation of a riveting main character, Maggie Hope, into a spectacularly crafted novel.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lovely
- By Katherine on 10-22-12
-
Girl Waits with Gun
- By: Amy Stewart
- Narrated by: Christina Moore
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,308
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,058
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,066
In 1914 collisions between motor cars and horse-drawn carriages are an everyday occurrence on the streets of Paterson, New Jersey. But when an out-of-control driver smashes into a buggy driven by Constance, Norma, and Fleurette Kopp, their lives change forever. Constance, the oldest, demands payment for the damages but quickly realizes that she is dealing with a madman.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Slice Of Life From Another Time
- By Sara on 11-09-15
By: Amy Stewart
-
The Summer Before the War
- A Novel
- By: Helen Simonson
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham
- Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,988
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,803
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,792
East Sussex, 1914. It is the end of England's brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha's husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won't come to anything.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Divine Book Club Listening
- By Gillian on 03-24-16
By: Helen Simonson
-
The Lacuna
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,688
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,073
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,080
Born in the United States, but reared in Mexico, Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers and, one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed muralist Diego Rivera. When he goes to work for Rivera, his wife, exotic artist Kahlo, and exiled leader Lev Trotsky, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Great Writers need Great Narrators
- By Gypsy Wife on 12-04-09
-
Finding Dorothy
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth Letts
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee, Elizabeth Letts
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,123
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,013
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,010
Hollywood, 1938: As soon as she learns MGM is adapting her late husband’s masterpiece for the screen, 77-year-old Maud Gage Baum sets about trying to finagle her way onto the set. Nineteen years after Frank’s passing, Maud is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book - because she’s the only one left who knows its secrets. But the moment she hears Judy Garland rehearsing the first notes of “Over the Rainbow”, Maud recognizes the yearning that defined her own life story.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Simple
- By Douglas A. Saunders on 04-02-19
By: Elizabeth Letts
-
The Pearl Thief
- By: Elizabeth Wein
- Narrated by: Maggie Service
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,362
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,242
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,236
From the internationally acclaimed best-selling author of Code Name Verity comes a stunning new story of pearls, love and murder. Sixteen-year-old Julie Beaufort-Stuart is returning to her family's ancestral home in Perthshire for one last summer. It is not an idyllic return to childhood. Her grandfather's death has forced the sale of the house and estate, and this will be a summer of good-byes. Not least to the McEwen family - Highland travellers who have been part of the landscape for as long as anyone can remember.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Freshwater Pearls and Scottish Plaid
- By Cynthia on 08-14-17
By: Elizabeth Wein
-
Shrines of Gaiety
- A Novel
- By: Kate Atkinson
- Narrated by: Jason Watkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 702
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 613
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 613
1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time. The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven, whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Rich characters of all stripes
- By Glorious Lorius on 11-09-22
By: Kate Atkinson
-
Midnight for Charlie Bone
- By: Jenny Nimmo
- Narrated by: Simon Russell Beale
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 756
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 504
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 506
Charlie doesn't want to believe it when he discovers that he can hear people in photographs talking. But his horrible aunts are delighted: it means that he is one of the chosen and must attend Bloor's Academy for gifted children. Once there, Charlie realizes that some of his classmates have equally mysterious powers, and soon Charlie is involved in uncovering the mysterious past of one of them.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Adults Take on Charlie Bone
- By Nicole on 12-07-05
By: Jenny Nimmo
-
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
- By: Jacqueline Kelly
- Narrated by: Natalie Ross
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 540
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 434
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 433
The summer of 1899 is HOT in Calpurnia Virginia Tate's sleepy Texas town, and there aren't a lot of good ways to stay cool. Her mother has a new wind machine from town, but Callie might just have to resort to stealthily cutting off her hair, one sneaky inch at a time. She also spends a lot time at the river with her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist. It turns out that every drop of river water is teeming with life - all you have to do is look through a microscope!
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Lovely Coming of Age Story
- By Julie on 03-13-12
By: Jacqueline Kelly
-
The Star of Kazan
- By: Eva Ibbotson
- Narrated by: Ruth Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
In 1896, in a pilgrim church in the Alps, an abandoned baby girl is found by a cook and a housemaid. They take her home, and Annika grows up in the servants' quarters of a house belonging to three eccentric Viennese professors. She is happy there but dreams of the day when her real mother will come to find her. One day a glamorous stranger arrives at the door.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
not recommended for pleasure
- By SEE on 08-27-17
By: Eva Ibbotson
-
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone
- By: Jaclyn Moriarty
- Narrated by: Charlie Sanderson
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
Bronte Mettlestone is 10 years old when her parents are killed by pirates. This does not bother her particularly: Her parents ran away to have adventures when she was a baby. She has been raised by her aunt Isabelle, with assistance from the butler, and has spent a pleasant childhood of afternoon teas and riding lessons. Now, however, her parents have left detailed instructions for Bronte in their will. (Instructions that, annoyingly, have been reinforced with faery cross-stitch, which means that if she doesn't complete them, terrible things could happen!)
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fun!
- By Heather on 06-24-22
By: Jaclyn Moriarty
-
The Cabinet of Wonders
- The Kronos Chronicles: Book I
- By: Marie Rutkoski
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it's never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. Petra's life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home - blind.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It was okay
- By Robbin Sutherland on 05-29-12
By: Marie Rutkoski
Critic reviews
"MARABEL is “a tale of sheer delight. This fresh fantasy shimmers with sunny wit and warm-hearted charm. Take flight with the irrepressible Marabel on her magical mission for King and Country. You may never want to come home.” (Barbara Kyle, best-selling author of the Thornleigh Saga novels and The Man From Spirit Creek)
"5 out of 5 stars!" (Reedsy)
“[A] marvelous hodgepodge of ideas.” (Kirkus Reviews)
Related to this topic
-
The Mysterious Howling
- The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1
- By: Maryrose Wood
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,724
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,480
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,485
Of especially naughty children, it is sometimes said: “They must have been raised by wolves.” The Incorrigible children actually were. Discovered in the forests of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
ALL BOOKS ARE JUDGED BY THEIR COVER UNTIL THEY ARE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 02-04-15
By: Maryrose Wood
-
The Cabinet of Wonders
- The Kronos Chronicles: Book I
- By: Marie Rutkoski
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it's never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. Petra's life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home - blind.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It was okay
- By Robbin Sutherland on 05-29-12
By: Marie Rutkoski
-
Oz Reimagined
- New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond
- By: Douglas Cohen - editor, John Joseph Adams - editor
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl, Tanya Eby
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 72
When L. Frank Baum introduced Dorothy and friends to the American public in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz became an instant, best-selling hit. Today the whimsical tale remains a cultural phenomenon that continues to spawn wildly popular books, movies, and musicals. Now, editors John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen have brought together leading fantasy writers such as Orson Scott Card and Jane Yolen to create the ultimate anthology for Oz fans.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The Many Faces of Dorothy or Dot
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 07-19-14
By: Douglas Cohen - editor, and others
-
Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories
- By: Kelly Link - editor, Gavin J. Grant - editor
- Narrated by: Sarah Coomes, Nico Evers-Swindell, Shannon McManus, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 110
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 94
Imagine an alternate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and recraft a world of automatons, ornate clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, and intrepid orphans - decked out in corsets, clockwerk suits, and tall black boots - solve dastardly crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
MMMM, Orca Bacon
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 09-14-13
By: Kelly Link - editor, and others
-
Wicked
- The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 10,200
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 7,305
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7,344
Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It's not easy being green
- By PangaeaReads on 07-30-08
By: Gregory Maguire
-
Bloody Jack
- By: L. A. Meyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,456
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,766
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,769
Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of 18th-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Sometimes it clicks
- By Terry on 12-09-09
By: L. A. Meyer
-
The Mysterious Howling
- The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1
- By: Maryrose Wood
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,724
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,480
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,485
Of especially naughty children, it is sometimes said: “They must have been raised by wolves.” The Incorrigible children actually were. Discovered in the forests of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
ALL BOOKS ARE JUDGED BY THEIR COVER UNTIL THEY ARE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 02-04-15
By: Maryrose Wood
-
The Cabinet of Wonders
- The Kronos Chronicles: Book I
- By: Marie Rutkoski
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 81
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it's never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. Petra's life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home - blind.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It was okay
- By Robbin Sutherland on 05-29-12
By: Marie Rutkoski
-
Oz Reimagined
- New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond
- By: Douglas Cohen - editor, John Joseph Adams - editor
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl, Tanya Eby
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 76
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 72
When L. Frank Baum introduced Dorothy and friends to the American public in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz became an instant, best-selling hit. Today the whimsical tale remains a cultural phenomenon that continues to spawn wildly popular books, movies, and musicals. Now, editors John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen have brought together leading fantasy writers such as Orson Scott Card and Jane Yolen to create the ultimate anthology for Oz fans.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The Many Faces of Dorothy or Dot
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 07-19-14
By: Douglas Cohen - editor, and others
-
Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories
- By: Kelly Link - editor, Gavin J. Grant - editor
- Narrated by: Sarah Coomes, Nico Evers-Swindell, Shannon McManus, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 110
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 93
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 94
Imagine an alternate universe where romance and technology reign. Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and recraft a world of automatons, ornate clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, and intrepid orphans - decked out in corsets, clockwerk suits, and tall black boots - solve dastardly crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
MMMM, Orca Bacon
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 09-14-13
By: Kelly Link - editor, and others
-
Wicked
- The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 10,200
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 7,305
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7,344
Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
It's not easy being green
- By PangaeaReads on 07-30-08
By: Gregory Maguire
-
Bloody Jack
- By: L. A. Meyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,456
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,766
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,769
Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of 18th-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Sometimes it clicks
- By Terry on 12-09-09
By: L. A. Meyer
-
The Pearl Thief
- By: Elizabeth Wein
- Narrated by: Maggie Service
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,362
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,242
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,236
From the internationally acclaimed best-selling author of Code Name Verity comes a stunning new story of pearls, love and murder. Sixteen-year-old Julie Beaufort-Stuart is returning to her family's ancestral home in Perthshire for one last summer. It is not an idyllic return to childhood. Her grandfather's death has forced the sale of the house and estate, and this will be a summer of good-byes. Not least to the McEwen family - Highland travellers who have been part of the landscape for as long as anyone can remember.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Freshwater Pearls and Scottish Plaid
- By Cynthia on 08-14-17
By: Elizabeth Wein
-
Flame Tree Road
- By: Shona Patel
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
India, 1870s. In a tiny village where society is ruled by a caste system and women are defined solely by marriage, young Biren Roy dreams of forging a new destiny. When his mother suffers the fate of widowhood - shunned by her loved ones and forced to live in solitary penance - Biren devotes his life to effecting change.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Riveting Love Story
- By Granny on 01-15-20
By: Shona Patel
-
The Star of Kazan
- By: Eva Ibbotson
- Narrated by: Ruth Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
In 1896, in a pilgrim church in the Alps, an abandoned baby girl is found by a cook and a housemaid. They take her home, and Annika grows up in the servants' quarters of a house belonging to three eccentric Viennese professors. She is happy there but dreams of the day when her real mother will come to find her. One day a glamorous stranger arrives at the door.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
not recommended for pleasure
- By SEE on 08-27-17
By: Eva Ibbotson
-
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
- By: Jacqueline Kelly
- Narrated by: Natalie Ross
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 540
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 434
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 433
The summer of 1899 is HOT in Calpurnia Virginia Tate's sleepy Texas town, and there aren't a lot of good ways to stay cool. Her mother has a new wind machine from town, but Callie might just have to resort to stealthily cutting off her hair, one sneaky inch at a time. She also spends a lot time at the river with her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist. It turns out that every drop of river water is teeming with life - all you have to do is look through a microscope!
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Lovely Coming of Age Story
- By Julie on 03-13-12
By: Jacqueline Kelly
-
Egg & Spoon
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 693
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 622
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 621
Elena Rudina lives in the impoverished Russian countryside. Her father has been dead for years. Her brothers have been conscripted into the Tsar's army and taken as servants in the house of the local wealthy landowner. Her mother is dying, slowly, in their tiny cabin. And there is no food. But then a train arrives in the village, a train carrying untold wealth, a cornucopia of food, and a noble family destined to visit the Tsar in St. Petersburg - a family that includes Ekaterina, a girl of Elena's age.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Book Ever!!!
- By Kindle Customer2 on 10-15-14
By: Gregory Maguire
-
Bend Sinister
- By: Vladimir Nabokov
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 71
The first novel Nabokov wrote while living in America, and the most overtly political novel he ever wrote, Bend Sinister is a modern classic. While it is filled with veiled puns and characteristically delightful wordplay, it is, first and foremost, a haunting and compelling narrative about a civilized man caught in the tyranny of a police state. Professor Adam Krug, the country's foremost philosopher, offers the only hope of resistance to Paduk, dictator and leader of the Party of the Average Man.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A fantastic fairytale of fascism
- By Darwin8u on 12-12-13
By: Vladimir Nabokov
-
The Secret of Platform 13
- By: Eva Ibbotson
- Narrated by: Angela Thorne
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 134
Beyond the everyday world of King's Cross Station lies an island of oddities and magic. When their infant Prince is stolen, the island's magical residents form a team to rescue him. The only trouble is, they can't get to him for nine years.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Light, funny, magical listen.
- By E. Onaya on 06-01-17
By: Eva Ibbotson
-
A Charmed Life
- The Worlds of Chrestomanci, Book 1
- By: Diana Wynne Jones
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 772
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 567
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 572
Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Delightful Read!
- By Amazon Customer on 09-27-05
-
The Blind Assassin
- By: Margaret Atwood
- Narrated by: Margot Dionne
- Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,089
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,398
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,391
For the past twenty-five years, Margaret Atwood has written works of striking originality and imagination. In The Blind Assassin, she stretches the limits of her accomplishments as never before, creating a novel that is entertaining and profoundly serious. The novel opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge." They are spoken by Iris, whose terse account of her sister Laura's death in 1945 is followed by an inquest report proclaiming the death accidental.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Good book, TERRIBLE audio!
- By Whitney on 04-27-09
By: Margaret Atwood
-
Single & Single
- By: John le Carré
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 325
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 290
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 288
A lawyer from the London finance house of Single & Single is shot dead on a Turkish hillside by people with whom he thought he was in business. A children's magician is asked by his bank to explain the unsolicited arrival of more than five million pounds sterling in his young daughter's modest trust. A freighter bound for Liverpool is boarded by Russian coast guards in the Black Sea. The celebrated London merchant venturer "Tiger" Single disappears into thin air.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The spy who came back to the bank
- By Darwin8u on 03-12-14
By: John le Carré
-
The Book of Magic
- By: Gardner Dozois - editor, Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, and others
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Sile Bermingham, Maxwell Caulfield, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 176
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 161
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 160
Hot on the heels of Gardner Dozois's acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf... and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda... and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore... and Severus Snape? Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped - or misshaped - by the potent magic they seek to wield.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
some stinkers mostly good
- By M.T. on 12-11-18
By: Gardner Dozois - editor, and others
-
Stories
- All-New Tales
- By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, Al Sarrantonio - editor, Joe Hill, and others
- Narrated by: Anne Bobby, Jonathan Davis, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 886
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 691
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 691
The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Something for Everyone
- By Nicole on 05-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, and others