The Novice's Tale
Oxford Medieval Mysteries, Book 2
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Narrated by:
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Philip Battley
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By:
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Ann Swinfen
About this listen
When the novice Emma Thorgold goes missing from Godstow Abbey in the summer of 1353, the hunt is on throughout the Oxfordshire countryside. Bookseller Nicholas Elyot and scholar Jordain Brinkylsworth are anxious to help the girl, but her stepfather has other intentions. Why is he so determined to shut her away for life? Or worse? And will she be found unharmed?
©2016 Ann Swinfen (P)2017 Ann SwinfenListeners also enjoyed...
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Uncertain of the past, Aerin-sol, daughter of King Arlbeth, decides to forge her own future by challenging the lashing tongues of the dragon’s fire. Aerin’s proficiency as "the Dragon-slayer" sets her on a quest for the stolen Crown of Damar, believed to be in the hands of rebellious northerners who threaten to destroy the Damarian people and their home forever.
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Second only to Blue Sword
- By mkc on 01-18-13
By: Robin McKinley
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Silent in the Grave
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, Sir Edward collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.
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Happily surprised
- By 9S on 07-04-09
By: Deanna Raybourn
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To Shield the Queen
- By: Fiona Buckley
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Rumor has linked Queen Elizabeth I to her master of the horse, Robin Dudley. As gossip would have it, only his ailing wife, Amy, prevents marriage between Dudley and the Queen. To quell the idle tongues at court, the Queen dispatches Ursula Blanchard to tend to the sick woman's needs. But not even Ursula can prevent the "accident" that takes Amy's life. Did she fall or was she pushed? Was Ursula a pawn of Dudley and the Queen?
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Fun and engrossing
- By SophieG on 05-31-10
By: Fiona Buckley
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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 Fire Rose
- By: Mercedes Lackey
- Narrated by: Kate Black-Regan
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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Accepting employment as a governess after hard times hit her family, medieval scholar Rosalind Hawkins is surprised when she learns that her mysterious employer has no children and only wants her to read to him through a speaking tube.
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Great story, poorly presented
- By Che on 02-26-10
By: Mercedes Lackey
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The Black Rose
- By: Thomas B. Costain
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 17 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Walter of Gurnie, bastard son of an English peer, is forced to flee from Oxford for his part in the university riots of 1273. Inspired by Friar Bacon, he determines to travel to China. With his friend Tristam, he fights his way to the heart of the fabulous Mongol Empire and returns famous, to find that he must choose between the first love he thought lost and the exotic flower that he found in the East.
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Great Book
- By Jean on 03-09-13
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Wessex Tales
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Neville Jason
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Wessex Tales, a collection of short stories including "The Three Strangers", "The Withered Arm", and "The Distracted Preacher", deals with a number of timeless themes seen so often in Hardy’s work: marriage, class, revenge, and disappointed love. Many of the tales have a supernatural tinge, and all are set around Hardy’s much loved homeland.
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A Sampler
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-14
By: Thomas Hardy
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The Outlaws of Sherwood
- By: Robin McKinley
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Young Robin Longbow, subapprentice forester in the King's Forest of Nottingham, must contend with the dislike of the Chief Forester, who bullies Robin in memory of his popular father. But Robin does not want to leave Nottingham or lose the title to his father's small tenancy, because he is in love with a young lady named Marian - and keeps remembering that his mother too was gentry and married a common forester. Robin has been granted a rare holiday to go to the Nottingham Fair, where he will spend the day with his friends Much and Marian.
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A great story paired with the wrong narrator
- By Gail N. on 11-01-19
By: Robin McKinley
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The Innocent
- By: Bertrice Small
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Deceptively fragile-looking, Eleanore of Ashlin had promised her life to God...until fate intervened. With her brother's untimely death, Eleanore - known as Elf to those who love her - becomes the heiress of an estate vital to England's defenses. She is ordered by royal command to wed one of the king's knights rather than take her final vows. With resistant heart, but ever obedient to King Stephen's will, she complies.
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Well written!
- By CHW on 03-06-21
By: Bertrice Small
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Cathedral
- By: Ben Hopkins
- Narrated by: Malk Williams, Sophie Roberts
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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A sweeping story about obsession, mysticism, art and earthly desire. At the centre of this story is the Cathedral. Its design and construction in the 13th and 14th centuries in the fictional town of Hagenburg unites a vast array of unforgettable characters whose fortunes are inseparable from the shifting political factions and economic interests vying for supremacy. From the bishop to his treasurer, from local merchants to lowly stonecutters, the fate of everyone, both Gentile and Jew, is affected by the slow rise of Hagenburg’s cathedral.
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Interesting description of life in the Middle Ages
- By leongork on 06-30-21
By: Ben Hopkins
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The Dead Travel Fast
- By: Deanna Raybourn
- Narrated by: Charlotte Parry
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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With a modest inheritance and the three gowns that comprise her entire wardrobe, Theodora leaves Edinburgh—and a disappointed suitor—far behind. She is bound for Romania, where tales of vampires are still whispered, to visit an old friend and write the book that will bring her true independence. She arrives at a magnificent, decaying castle in the Carpathians, replete with eccentric inhabitants, including the castle’s master, Count Andrei Dragulescu.
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Process vs getting their
- By Aryn on 04-29-11
By: Deanna Raybourn
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Novice Dragoneer
- Dragoneer Academy, Book 1
- By: E. E. Knight
- Narrated by: Nicole Poole
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Fourteen-year-old Ileth grew up in an orphanage, and thanks to her stutter was never thought to be destined for much beyond kitchen work and cleaning. But she's dreamed of serving with the dragons ever since a childhood meeting with a glittering silver dragon and its female dragoneer. For years she waits, and as soon as she is old enough to join, Ileth runs away to become a novice dragoneer at the ancient human-dragon fortress of the Serpentine.
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She’s 14yrs old
- By Alex D. on 10-23-21
By: E. E. Knight
What listeners say about The Novice's Tale
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Marcia
- 08-21-17
A Medieval Cozy
This second book in the series is interesting more for its historical detail than for its plot or characterisation. There is no mystery to solve as in The Bookseller's Tale; however, details of medieval monastic customs and the legal status of women carry the novel. Narration is excellent. This is a gentle book.
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2 people found this helpful
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- AKowalczyk
- 01-28-19
Wonderful story!!
While there is no tale of murder, this tale is very well done!! I love just how much of daily Medieval life I have learned listening to both the first volume— The Booksellers Tale and this one. The Novice’s Tale is full of suspense, and I found myself saying, “Just one more chapter!” The narration is wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook!
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- MCubed
- 06-07-19
Loved this book, can't wait for #3
love the story, love the characters, love the fact that there's nothing i have to worry about censoring. no bad language, no gore or extreme violence... good story, kept my interest, can't wait to get to book 3 and find out what happens next.
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- Gvido
- 08-30-18
Entertainment continues
I really enjoyed book 1, and book 2 was no disappointment. Its a lively and fun tale that gives an authentic feeling of medieval life arround Oxford. The mystery is subtly interwoven in the larger story and is not built as the story in book 1.
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- E.M.
- 02-08-24
So good!
The narration was just fantastic and the story compelling without being too violent or gory. A very sweet installment in the series, making the era vivid in the reader’s imagination. Loved it!
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- C. Sykes
- 03-23-21
Great fun for Medieval enthusiasts
A very enjoyable tale, but I missed the first one in the series. Worth listening to the rest of the series with fine narration.
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- Holly
- 05-08-22
You'll Fall Straight into Medieval Oxford
It is so hard to resist falling straight into the pages of this lovely, realistic story that seems so very authentic--and that means you fall straight into Medieval Oxford as the plague has waned. I love the fact the mystery involves terrible fraud and deceit, rather than bloody murder (though that was a possibility). The main character is completely compelling and believable. The main female character--the same. The plight of the medieval woman is presented compellingly, and an integral part of the story. Perfectly read by Philip Battley. Highly recommended.
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- M.S. Green
- 06-06-17
Simply Lovely
A beautifully told tale with great historic accuracy that brings to life the lives of the characters with quiet certainty
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6 people found this helpful
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- Florence
- 12-29-17
Read Book One First!
This is a well written medieval mystery, with a wonderfully described sense of place , and character development very well done.
This tale is more of a story rather than a mystery per se (although the motives behind the story are a mystery) .
It's important to have read book one first ...the Book Seller's Tale; otherwise you will spend far too much time trying to work out who's who.
And it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so now I simply must listen to book Three, which won't be a hardness. Well narrated. Great listen
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- bigdjunta
- 06-22-22
Loving this series!
Great series. I love the plot lines, the characters, the narrator....it's just an enjoyable read.
I can't wait to get to the next book.
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