The Weirdstone of Brisingamen

By: Alan Garner

Narrated by: Philip Madoc

About 150 years ago, my great-great-grandfather, Robert Garner, carved the face of an old man with long hair and beard in the rock of a cliff on a hill where my family has lived for at least 400 years, and still does. He carved the face above a well that is much older. How much older, no one knows, but it's centuries older, or even more. And why did he carve it? He carved it to mark that here is the Wizard's Well.

I am Joseph's grandson, and I grew up on that hill, Alderley Edge in Cheshire, aware of its magic and accepting it. I didn't know that it wasn't the same for everyone. I didn't know that not all children played, by day and by night, the year long, on a wooded hill where heroes slept in the ground. Yet there were strange things. Below another ancient well, the Holy Well, a rock lies in a bog. It fell from the cliff above in 1740 and made the Garners' cottage shake. It landed on an old woman and her cow that, for some reason, were standing in the bog, and, as a result, are still there. When I was seven, the bog was dangerous for somebody of my size and I once got stuck in it and thought I was going to drown, even though I sank only to my hips; but I managed to reach the rock and to climb up it to where a fallen tree was lodged, which spanned the bog, and by sliding along the trunk I was able to reach firm land. Nearby, under the leaf mould, is a layer of white clay that we used as soap to wash ourselves before we went home after playing. But there wasn't anything I could do about my clothes, and Grandad was not pleased.

The Edge is a land of two worlds: above and below. It took me my childhood to learn about above; when I was 19, I went to learn the wonders of below: a world of darkness and silence, so dark that you can see the lights of brain cells discharging; so silent that blood in the veins can be heard.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©1960 Alan Garner (P)2005 Naxos Audiobooks

As I remembered!

This was a great story…just as wonderful as when I first read it more years ago than I care to remember!
I loved it then and I live it now. Well written and very well narrated. Thoroughly recommend it!

As good as the first time

As good as it was when I read it for the first time, nearly fifty year's ago!!

Highly recommended

I originally read and thoroughly enjoyed this book as a child, and was more than pleasantly surprised by this audio version. The narration is clear and engaging, and the story is fast-paced and enthusiastic, just as I remembered. The way in which Garner weaves folklore and a clear love of the local landscape, adds a sense of realism which increased the suspense and sheer enjoyment I felt on listening to this well-told tale. Highly recommended.

One of the classics of children's fantasy

This is one of my favourite books of all time. Philip Madoc reads it beautifully and it translates very well from text to audio. I first read it to my daughter when she was 6 and she loved it. She listened to the audio version recently at the age of 31 - and loved it again! This is a book that is suitable for young readers as well as adults with a sense of magic.

I've loved this book since I was a teenager

This book was my introduction to the creepy, atmospheric, exquisitely wrought world of Alan Garner and will always be my favorite. I was delighted to find it in audiobook form. The narrator did an extraordinary job and I know that I'll enjoy listening to it again and again in the coming years.

Certainly an inspiration for D&D

This classic young adult fantasy features wizards, dwarves, shapeshifters, svart alfar (goblins), magical gems, and underearth explorations and escapes.
Adventure-oriented. Fun.