In Xanadu Audiobook By William Dalrymple cover art

In Xanadu

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

In Xanadu

By: William Dalrymple
Narrated by: Michael Maloney
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.03

Buy for $16.03

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Here is William Dalrymple's highly praised and greatly entertaining account of his 1986 trip made while a student at Cambridge, which retraced Marco Polo's route across land from Jerusalem to Xanadu. With him, he took a phial of Holy Oil, 600 pounds and Laura until Lahore, and Louisa from there to Xanadu.©1995 CSA Word (P)1995 CSA Word Adventure Travel Asia Travel Writing & Commentary Middle east Middle ages
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro805_stickypopup
All stars
Most relevant  
The narrator makes the story— which is a perfect blend of the exotic and the real. Ive always been fascinated by the Silk Road and Dalrymple’s re-creation of Marco Polo’s journey is irresistibly interesting.

So much fun!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Wonderful story that would be nice in full. Read too fast in places. Memorable moment - riding on top of coal trucks. Just too awful to imagine and the lovely homage in the end. The reader had nice voice.

I found it was read v fast and I could not adjust

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Witty writing and energetic audio performance that matches the spirit of the young adventurous protagonist. Recommend!

Witty and well read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A better story. A less condescending attitude towards locals from this clearly arrogant British traveler. Fewer contrived moments & situations, clearly designed to give this rather boring journey some excitement.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Probably something from Ha-Joon Chang.

What aspect of Michael Maloney’s performance would you have changed?

The narrator & main character of the story is rather dorkey, eager, and annoying. The actor conveyed that perfectly, as there were many moments I thought him guilty of the faults of this book.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from In Xanadu?

None.

Any additional comments?

This is a travelogue written by a white British traveler clearly unable to to blend or integrate into the Middle-Eastern and Asian cultures he crosses. The result is a very distant and superficial look at locals. If you are looking to learn how locals would behave, or what they would say, towards a white British traveler...this would be the book for you. Just don't expect any deep or meaningful insights into these societies.

A young, immature, British lad's travelogue

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.