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Cathedral
- Narrated by: Malk Williams, Sophie Roberts
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
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Publisher's summary
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, a holy building growing over an often unholy city.
Around this narrative core, Ben Hopkins has constructed his own monumental edifice, a choral novel that is rich with the vicissitudes of mercantilism, politics, religion and human enterprise. Ambitious, immersive, a remarkable feat of imagination, Cathedral deftly combines historical fiction, the literary novel of ideas and a tale of adventure and intrigue.
Fans of authors like Umberto Eco, Elif Shafak, Hilary Mantel, Ken Follett and Jose Saramago will delight at the atmosphere, the beautiful prose and the vivid characters of Ben Hopkins’ Cathedral.
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Critic reviews
"Cathedral is a brilliantly organized mess of great, great characters. It is fascinating, fun, and gripping to the very end." (Roddy Doyle, Booker Prize-winning author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha)
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A goddess in the making... or a demon reborn? In the remote mountain village where she was born, Mariarta dil Alicg lives the untroubled life of a peasant girl...until, soon after a mysterious stranger's arrival, she starts to hear voices in the wind. The voices whisper strange secrets in Mariarta's ears -- promising her the power to command the stormwind, hinting at an unknown, magical heritage, and prophesying a fate marvelous past all Mariarta's imaginings. Then a curse falls on Mariarta's village, shattering the lives of her family and friends.
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This was a suprise!
- By Yvonne on 03-11-12
By: Diane Duane
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The Dragon Waiting
- By: John M. Ford
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In a snowbound inn high in the Alps, four people meet who will alter fate. A noble Byzantine mercenary.... A female Florentine physician.... An ageless Welsh wizard.... And Sforza, the uncanny duke. Together they will wage an intrigue-filled campaign against the might of Byzantium to secure the English throne for Richard, Duke of Gloucester - and make him Richard III.
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Read not listen.
- By Anna Marie on 08-08-21
By: John M. Ford
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Morality Play
- By: Barry Unsworth
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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It is the late 14th century, a dangerous time beset by war and plague. Nicholas Barber, a young and wayward cleric, stumbles across a group of travelling players and compounds his sins by joining them. Yet the town where they perform reveals another drama: a young woman is to be hanged for the murder of a 12-year-old boy. What better way to increase their takings than to make a new play, to enact the murder of Thomas Wells?
But as the actors rehearse, they discover that the truth about the boy's death has yet to be revealed.
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Outstanding writing, outstanding narration
- By Gail N. on 11-03-19
By: Barry Unsworth
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Shadows on the Rock
- By: Willa Cather
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1697, Quebec is an island of French civilization perched on a bare gray rock amid a wilderness of trackless forests. For many of its settlers, Quebec is a place of exile, so remote that an entire winter passes without a word from home. But to 12-year-old Cécile Auclair, the rock is home, where even the formidable Governor Frontenac entertains children in his palace and beavers lie beside the lambs in a Christmas créche.
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wonderful
- By carol perez on 05-18-21
By: Willa Cather
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In the Name of the Family
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Dunant
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1502, and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, age 22 - already three times married and a pawn in her father's plans - is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, brilliant, ruthless, and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with Machiavelli that gives the Florentine diplomat a master class in the dark arts of power and politics.
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One of the best historical fiction novels
- By GrandmaNurseHeather on 04-13-17
By: Sarah Dunant
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Mistress of the Art of Death
- A Novel
- By: Ariana Franklin
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In medieval England, four children have been murdered, and the townsfolk blame their Jewish neighbors. The doctor chosen to investigate is a woman, Adelia. As she examines the victims and retraces their last steps, she must conceal her true identity in order to avoid accusations of witchcraft. Along the way, she's assisted by Sir Rowley Picot, a man with a personal stake in the investigation. A former Crusader knight, Rowley may be a needed friend - or the fiend for whom they are searching.
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History-Mystery of the Year & its only March
- By Irenehope on 03-02-07
By: Ariana Franklin
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Gimpel the Fool and Other Stories
- By: Isaac Bashevis Singer
- Narrated by: Theodore Bikel
- Length: 2 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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These 4 stories are infused with the wit and imagination, the humor and wisdom, that characterizes all of Isaac Bashevis Singer's work. Theodore Bikel reads these wise and funny tales in classic Yiddish storyteller cadence, injecting special warmth and resonance. The tales include "Gimpel the Fool," "Esther Kreindel the Second," "The Spinoza of Market Street," and "The Black Wedding."
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Incredible narration
- By Frances on 01-10-19
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The Town House
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Juliet Prague, Martyn Read
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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"It was in the first week of October in the year 1391 that I first came face to face with the man who owned me… the man whose lightest word was to us, his villeins, weightier than the King’s law or the edicts of our Holy Father…” So began the story of Martin Reed - a serf whose resentment of the automatic rule of his feudal lord finally flared into open defiance.
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Another winner by Norah Lofts
- By Bird Lady 147 on 10-03-17
By: Norah Lofts
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Year of the Reaper
- By: Makiia Lucier
- Narrated by: Jonathan Myles
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Three years ago, young Lord Cassia disappeared in the midst of war. Since then, a devastating illness has swept the land, leaving countless dead and a kingdom forever altered. Having survived war and plague, Cas, now 18, wants only to return to his home in the mountains and forget past horrors. But home is not what he remembers.
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Narrator Really Isn't My Cup of Tea...
- By Kallie on 12-03-21
By: Makiia Lucier
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A Morbid Taste for Bones
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Cadfael's return to his Welsh homeland for a visit proves a rather discomfiting homecoming when an honorable nobleman turns up in a patch of forest with an arrow embedded in his chest. There are questions about the arrow, the man's daughter needs Cadfael's help, and a very odd burial takes place.
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Very pleasant if not much of a mystery.
- By Zenjen on 04-15-10
By: Ellis Peters
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The Secret History
- A Novel of Empress Theodora
- By: Stephanie Marie Thornton
- Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In sixth-century Constantinople, one woman, Theodora, defied every convention and all the odds and rose from common theater tart to empress of a great kingdom - the most powerful woman the Roman Empire would ever know. The woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told....
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How very hard to sympathize with a narcissist
- By DrBon on 03-15-22
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Taliesin
- The Pendragon Cycle, Book 1
- By: Stephen R. Lawhead
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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It was a time of legend, as the last shadows of the mighty Roman conqueror faded from the captured Isle of Britain. Meanwhile, across a vast sea, bloody war shattered a peace that had flourished for 2,000 years in the doomed kingdom of Atlantis. This is the remarkable adventure of Charis, the courageous princess from Atlantis who escapes the terrible devastation of her land, and of the fabled seer and druid prince Taliesin, singer at the dawn of the age. It is a story of an incomparable love that joins two astonishing worlds....
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A Classic interpretation of a Classic tale
- By John on 08-11-03
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1660 England. General Edward Whalley and his son-in law Colonel William Goffe board a ship bound for the New World. They are on the run, wanted for the murder of King Charles I—a brazen execution that marked the culmination of the English Civil War, in which parliamentarians successfully battled royalists for control.
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I've loved Robert Harris' Books; but...
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Shuggie’s mother Agnes walks a wayward path: She is Shuggie’s guiding light but a burden for him and his siblings. She dreams of a house with its own front door while she flicks through the pages of the Freemans catalogue, ordering a little happiness on credit, anything to brighten up her grey life. Married to a philandering taxi-driver husband, Agnes keeps her pride by looking good - her beehive, make-up, and pearly-white false teeth offer a glamourous image of a Glaswegian Elizabeth Taylor.
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There’s far too much real pain and sadness in the world to spend any time listening to this tale of woe
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What listeners say about Cathedral
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- B & C
- 11-16-21
I Truly Love This Book
Just the right amount of character development. Wonderful progression of humanity through the cathedral from conception onward. Great choice of narrators as well.
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- John H. Spitzer
- 12-30-21
Artful weaving!
I thoroughly enjoyed the intertwining of the characters stories. The sharing of the story between the church, the Jews, etc. became more and more infixing with each passing chapter. The insight into the brutality of the times makes one shudder.
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- Lucinda Scala Quinn
- 05-19-21
Excellent, sweeping yet taught
Thought this was great - long and rich, with a diverse cast of characters; practical motives and a believable plot that brought out an intense empathy you rarely feel for the cast of a typical historical novel. Couldn’t recommend more.
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- DFK
- 04-02-24
Excellent historical fiction
I’m not a religious person, and not Christian, either, but I have visited many cathedrals (and large churches that are not cathedrals) in Europe (and some not in Europe) and am often totally awed by the beauty of the architecture, the detail, the massiveness. I know that many of these took centuries to build, that it took many laborers, and much money that might have been, at the time, better spent to help the poor, the sick, the orphaned and widowed. And yet, those buildings that still stand are there for all of us to enjoy, often these days as concert halls with great acoustics more than as places of prayer. Given that appreciation of such structures, I was totally engrossed in this book, which immerses us in the time when these architectural gems were constructed. Hopkins brings us a cast of characters, well-developed, giving a picture of the variety of types of people without whom such a building could not have been built, as well as the people who are affected by all that surrounds it. The story also includes the intrigue and competition of religious functionaries and nobility, and tells of the involvement of Jewish residents of the medieval city. I highly compliment Hopkins on his treatment of the Jewish characters, their authenticity, and his careful research about their world. I am quite knowledgeable of Judaism and Jewish history, and most times I cringe when people attempt to include such characters and background. Hopkins clearly did his research, and included some details that most people would never have known (and probably few people would appreciate as I did). The narration was also superb (though a few times Williams mispronounced a Hebrew word - in this too, though, he was better than most narrators when they deal with words they are not familiar with). I heartily recommend this book.
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- jerice50
- 09-02-22
Thoroughly engrossing
My son recommended this to me, as he knows of my passion for all things medieval.
Thank you, thank you, dear son!
I saw every scene, came to know every character, and learned so much.
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- leongork
- 06-30-21
Interesting description of life in the Middle Ages
Tracing the fortunes of a family from its humble beginnings as shepherds to its rise to wealth and power, we meet a variety of characters, Bishops, Lords and ladies and learn about their sufferings and successes. A wonderful collection of stories of the Middle Ages.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Sasha the book eater
- 03-14-22
Engrossing, illuminating, moving
Construction of a cathedral in medieval Germany: sounds dry to you? Not at all. This panoramic historical novel is peopled with such nuanced characters, and paints such suspenseful events, that you don't even realize you're getting a detailed history lesson. I was moved to tears by the wistful, hopeful, sarcastic, bereaved and striving characters, whose highly individualized narrative voices made them so real from childhood to old age. Calculating church officials, greedy merchants, shepherd boys are brought to life.
The utter corruption of the Catholic Church is the big takeaway: Rome as a hotbed of crime, competition and ambition; European bishops taxing their subjects to death as they each vie to build the most glorious cathedral; the shameful exploitation and victimization of 'heretics' and especially the Jews; the gullible nature of the public in any town. A rising tradesman class and decadent nobles struggle to dominate lands and resources, alternating bloody armed clashes and bureaucratic chicanery.
It's quite a story. The narration is flawless and evocative.
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2 people found this helpful
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- olliepop
- 04-21-24
Great presentation of developing history
I enjoyed the interaction of characters that built development of society through the 12th century. Reviews the most likely roles that the church and aristocratic strain of society played their roles to create early Europe.
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- Catherine
- 12-04-23
A yawner
I’m disappointed this is more about personalities than about architecture and actual history. Usually I adore historical fiction but 3 hours I have to bail.
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- D. Fetch
- 09-13-23
Misleading title
This book was not for me. The story has little to do with the building and life of a cathedral. There were too many characters, not enough plot. I sloughed through it hoping it would come together. In the end, I didn’t care about any of the characters. If came off as a social history of the classes in medieval Europe.
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