
The Crown
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
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $17.47
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Nicola Barber
-
By:
-
Nancy Bilyeau
About this listen
In this debut historical thriller, an aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father’s life and preserve all she holds dear.
When novitiate nun Joanna Stafford learns her rebel cousin is condemned by King Henry VIII to be burned at the stake, she makes the decision to break the sacred rule of enclosure and flee her Dominican order in Dartford to stand at her cousin’s side.
Arrested for interfering with king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, Sir Richard Stafford, is sent to the Tower of London. Joanna’s father is brutally tortured by Stephen Gardiner, the Bishop of Winchester, who leads the Catholic faction bent on saving England’s monasteries from destruction. In order to save her father, Joanna must submit to Gardiner’s will and become a pawn in the struggle between religious extremes. Gardiner forces Joanna to return to Dartford Priory with a mission: find the long-hidden crown worn by Saxon King Athelstan in AD 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain. Gardiner believes the crown itself to possess a mystical power that will halt the Reformation.
Uncovering only dark betrayals and murder at Dartford, Joanna flees with Brother Edmund, a troubled young friar, and with time running out, their hunt for the crown leads them through royal castles, to Stonehenge, and finally to the tomb of the mysterious King Athelstan under Malmesbury Abbey. There Joanna learns the true secret of the crown - a secret tracing all the way back to Golgotha and the relics of the Passion - and must finally determine who to trust and how far she is willing to go to protect a way of life that she passionately loves.
©2012 Nancy Bilyeau (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Stolen Crown
- By: Carol McGrath
- Narrated by: Charlotte Strevens
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Princess Matilda is eighteen years old, tragedy strikes the royal family, and she becomes the only child of the king of England - the de facto heir to the throne. As her dying father persuades the barons to pledge allegiance to her, Matilda returns to England - but the lords and clergy do not like an independent woman. And Matilda is nothing if not headstrong. When the old king dies, the country is plunged into instant chaos. So begins a fierce battle between cousins that will go down in history as a time called 'The Anarchy'.
-
-
Enjoyed the book overall
- By cstif on 10-28-23
By: Carol McGrath
-
The King's Pleasure
- A Novel of Henry VIII
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 23 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times bestselling author of the Six Tudor Queens series explores the private side of the legendary king Henry VIII and his dramatic and violent reign in this extraordinary historical novel. Young Henry began his rule as a magnificent and chivalrous Renaissance prince who embodied every virtue. He had all the qualities to make a triumph of his rule, yet we remember only the violence. Henry famously broke with the Pope, founding the Church of England and launching a religious revolution that divided his kingdom. He beheaded two of his wives and cast aside two others.
-
-
Love this author
- By Amanda on 06-17-23
By: Alison Weir
-
The Wars of the Roses
- The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 15th century saw the longest and bloodiest series of civil wars in British history. The crown of England changed hands five times as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. Now, celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains in history were thrown together in these turbulent times.
-
-
No Need for a Score Card
- By Troy on 01-16-15
By: Dan Jones
-
When Christ and His Saints Slept
- Plantagenets, Book 1
- By: Sharon Kay Penman
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 36 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In When Christ and His Saints Slept, the first of a trilogy that will tell the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, master storyteller and historian Sharon Kay Penman illuminates one of the less known but fascinating periods of English history. It begins with the death of King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror and father of Maude, his only living legitimate offspring.
-
-
Please release Pt 2!
- By BVerité on 06-08-19
-
Wolf Hall
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 24 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII's court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king's favor and ascend to the heights of political powerEngland in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn.
-
-
Divorced, beheaded, died...
- By Tim on 09-30-11
By: Hilary Mantel
-
The Rose and the Thistle
- By: Laura Frantz
- Narrated by: Amy Scanlon
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley's father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known.
-
-
Ended Abruptly
- By Nature Mama on 04-13-23
By: Laura Frantz
-
The Stolen Crown
- By: Carol McGrath
- Narrated by: Charlotte Strevens
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Princess Matilda is eighteen years old, tragedy strikes the royal family, and she becomes the only child of the king of England - the de facto heir to the throne. As her dying father persuades the barons to pledge allegiance to her, Matilda returns to England - but the lords and clergy do not like an independent woman. And Matilda is nothing if not headstrong. When the old king dies, the country is plunged into instant chaos. So begins a fierce battle between cousins that will go down in history as a time called 'The Anarchy'.
-
-
Enjoyed the book overall
- By cstif on 10-28-23
By: Carol McGrath
-
The King's Pleasure
- A Novel of Henry VIII
- By: Alison Weir
- Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor
- Length: 23 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New York Times bestselling author of the Six Tudor Queens series explores the private side of the legendary king Henry VIII and his dramatic and violent reign in this extraordinary historical novel. Young Henry began his rule as a magnificent and chivalrous Renaissance prince who embodied every virtue. He had all the qualities to make a triumph of his rule, yet we remember only the violence. Henry famously broke with the Pope, founding the Church of England and launching a religious revolution that divided his kingdom. He beheaded two of his wives and cast aside two others.
-
-
Love this author
- By Amanda on 06-17-23
By: Alison Weir
-
The Wars of the Roses
- The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 15th century saw the longest and bloodiest series of civil wars in British history. The crown of England changed hands five times as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. Now, celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains in history were thrown together in these turbulent times.
-
-
No Need for a Score Card
- By Troy on 01-16-15
By: Dan Jones
-
When Christ and His Saints Slept
- Plantagenets, Book 1
- By: Sharon Kay Penman
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 36 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In When Christ and His Saints Slept, the first of a trilogy that will tell the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, master storyteller and historian Sharon Kay Penman illuminates one of the less known but fascinating periods of English history. It begins with the death of King Henry I, son of William the Conqueror and father of Maude, his only living legitimate offspring.
-
-
Please release Pt 2!
- By BVerité on 06-08-19
-
Wolf Hall
- By: Hilary Mantel
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 24 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII's court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king's favor and ascend to the heights of political powerEngland in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years, and marry Anne Boleyn.
-
-
Divorced, beheaded, died...
- By Tim on 09-30-11
By: Hilary Mantel
-
The Rose and the Thistle
- By: Laura Frantz
- Narrated by: Amy Scanlon
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley's father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known.
-
-
Ended Abruptly
- By Nature Mama on 04-13-23
By: Laura Frantz
-
Angels and Demons
- By: Dan Brown
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization, the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra.
-
-
A must for fans of The Da Vinci Code
- By Geoffrey on 04-14-04
By: Dan Brown
-
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- A Lisbeth Salander Novel
- By: Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
-
-
A Classic Mystery with Wonderful Characters
- By Robert on 12-22-08
By: Stieg Larsson, and others
-
11-22-63
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Craig Wasson
- Length: 30 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King - who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer - takes listeners on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.
-
-
I Owe Stephen King An Apology
- By Kelly - Write Well Academy on 04-16-12
By: Stephen King
-
The Witness
- By: Nora Roberts
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Daughter of a cold, controlling mother and an anonymous donor, studious, obedient Elizabeth Fitch finally let loose one night, drinking too much at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent to lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. Twelve years later, the woman now known as Abigail Lowery lives alone on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks.
-
-
Classic Nora - Outstanding!!!!
- By M. Davis on 04-20-12
By: Nora Roberts
-
14
- By: Peter Clines
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.
-
-
Super solid listen!!
- By Magpie on 06-24-12
By: Peter Clines
-
A Discovery of Witches
- A Novel
- By: Deborah Harkness
- Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
- Length: 23 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deborah Harkness’s sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches, has brought her into the spotlight and galvanized fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.
-
-
A feast for the mind and imagination
- By Barbara on 02-21-11
By: Deborah Harkness
-
The Crown Tower
- The Riyria Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Michael J. Sullivan
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hadrian Blackwater, a warrior with nothing to fight for, is paired with Royce Melborn, a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Hired by an old wizard, they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm’s most prized possessions. But it isn’t gold or jewels that the wizard is after, and if he can just keep them from killing each other, they just might succeed.
-
-
Delicious Icing on a Terrific Cake
- By Tango on 08-07-13
-
The Lake House
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 21 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Living on her family’s gorgeous lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, clever, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented fourteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure ...One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest son, Theo, has vanished without a trace.
-
-
Enjoyed the writing, but oy vey, this book
- By Jennifer S on 12-28-18
By: Kate Morton
-
Theft of Swords [Dramatized Adaptation]
- Riyria Revelations, Book 1
- By: Michael J. Sullivan
- Narrated by: Amanda Forstrom, Andrew Quilpa, Andy Brownstein, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is no ancient evil to defeat, no orphan destined for greatness, just two guys in the wrong place at the wrong time. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to murder the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out...and so begins this tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend. Avempartha is the second of a six book series entitled the Riyria Revelations.
-
-
Could do without the commercials throughout it
- By Amazon Customer on 01-26-22
-
The Lady of the Rivers
- By: Philippa Gregory
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jacquetta always has had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she met his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and saw her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the wheel of fortune before Joan is taken to a horrific death. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream. Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, and he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy.
-
-
Philippa back on track
- By Bonnie-Ann on 11-26-11
By: Philippa Gregory
-
The Very First Damned Thing
- An Author-Read Audio Exclusive
- By: Jodi Taylor
- Narrated by: Jodi Taylor
- Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jodi Taylor reads the long-awaited prequel in her Chronicles of St Mary’s series, as Dr Bairstow struggles to set up St Mary’s as we know it in a world still scarred by the ravages of civil war. Ever wondered how it all began? It’s two years since the final victory at the Battersea Barricades. The fighting might be finished, but for Dr Bairstow, just now setting up St Mary's, the struggle is only beginning. How will he assemble his team? From where will his funding come?
-
-
Wait for it on Kindle. Not the best on audio
- By Sheryl on 11-05-15
By: Jodi Taylor
-
Masked Ball at Broxley Manor
- A Royal Spyness Novella
- By: Rhys Bowen
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man - until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.
-
-
Fun, light prequel
- By CMMV on 01-01-15
By: Rhys Bowen
Critic reviews
What listeners say about The Crown
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- motown
- 06-07-13
Marvelous Historical Fiction
I thought this book was a bit slow at the start but was just a great read once it got going. I have read all of the Matthew Shardlake books that take place during the dissolution of the monestaries in England under Henry VIII, and this is just as good. The history is accurate and the characters interesting. Good plot. I have downloaded the second book, The Chalice.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- HODGEPODGESPV
- 01-30-13
A good debut
"In this debut historical thriller, an aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father’s life and preserve all she holds dear."
And what a great debut it is! This is not a story of Henry VIII rather set in time when Henry went against the Pope and the Catholic Church to rid himself of his second wife, Ann. Catholic houses of study, seclusion, and religious life as well as church followers are in constant danger. It is a time of bloody persecution.
How is this young nun to find a crown she knows little about...history or vision or any clues except that it should be in her nunnery?
Once I got stared, I could not stop listening as I followed her search!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Susan
- 07-28-15
Not fabulous
Just ok. Love the historical period but this story had twists and turns that diluted it. Not a huge fan but I finished it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Katy
- 01-05-13
Who knew nuns had such adventurous lives?!
Where does The Crown rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I really enjoyed this book a LOT! I'd say it's right up in my favorites for sure.
What other book might you compare The Crown to and why?
It's a little bit like the Da Vinci Code, in that someone with a seemingly mundane daily life is thrust into an exciting adventure.
What about Nicola Barber’s performance did you like?
Nicola Barber has a really lovely voice; just perfect for narration, in my opinion. She has great diction and a nice, soothing timbre, plus she does a good job of using different, easily distinguishable voices so you don't get confused about who's talking at any given point.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
There were a couple of instances where I laughed or cried and one instance in particular when I actually had to stop listening for a few minutes because I started crying, but I tend to be very emotive, so it could just be me.
Any additional comments?
I was happily surprised/interested by the historical information that was included. I know that it was heavily fictionalized but all the same, I feel as though I learned some things.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Emily Carbonetti
- 02-10-23
The Crown
Good story excellent narration. The ending was disappointing. I can imagine how it would go but I thought it was too abrupt.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Colleen
- 01-08-13
Very long, have enough time to devote
What did you love best about The Crown?
Very well written, interesting seeing the monarchy and that time period from a "bystander" perspective
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sara
- 12-18-12
Great mystery
Any additional comments?
The Crown is an entertaining mystery set during the reign of Henry the VIII of England, revolving around Sister Joanna Stafford. Although it slows down a little at times, it quickly picks up again with a satisfying, although dragging, conclusion. I'm definitely looking forward to Nancy Bilyeau's next novel.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kristin
- 02-29-12
Worth the purchase!
What made the experience of listening to The Crown the most enjoyable?
This book was very solid. I enjoy historical fiction and Nancy Bilyeau clearly knows her stuff. She spends a lot of time developing the characters, which i particularly enjoy. The story is good and the interweaving of historical characters with fictitious ones is seamless. It is a nice long book, which may sound silly; however for me if the book is good, this is only an added bonus! It can make a long day of housework or boring paperwork tolerable. I look forward another book by Nancy Bilyeau.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Terrie McCain
- 02-18-16
very good reading
Enjoyed from beginning to end. Sorry it didn't go further with Joanna Stafford life until her death.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sheila Bridges
- 07-03-15
Enjoyed very much
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
If you enjoy historical fiction (or non fiction) like I do, especially the Tudor era then you will enjoy this book. I am looking into being a nun myself, so that made the story even better.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Crown?
Her reflecting back to her time at the Court of Henry VIII
What does Nicola Barber bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
She expressed the characters well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!