Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Bookseller's Tale

  • Oxford Medieval Mysteries, Book 1
  • By: Ann Swinfen
  • Narrated by: Philip Battley
  • Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (158 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Bookseller's Tale cover art

The Bookseller's Tale

By: Ann Swinfen
Narrated by: Philip Battley
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.99

Buy Now for £13.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Wolves of Savernake cover art
Cathedral of Bones cover art
The Secret World of Christoval Alvarez cover art
The Unquiet Bones cover art
The King's Justice cover art
A Plague on Both Your Houses cover art
To Ruin a Queen cover art
An Honourable Thief cover art
A Conspiracy of Violence cover art
The Seeker cover art
Time and Again cover art
The Ashes of London cover art
Wine of Violence cover art
Hyperion cover art
The Wayward Apprentice cover art
Knight's Acre cover art

Summary

Oxford, Spring 1353. When young bookseller Nicholas Elyot discovers the body of student William Farringdon floating in the river Cherwell, it looks like a drowning. Soon, however, Nicholas finds evidence of murder. Who could have wanted to kill this promising student? As Nicholas and his scholar friend Jordain try to unravel what lies behind William's death, they learn that he was innocently caught up in a criminal plot. When their investigations begin to involve town, university, and abbey, Nicholas takes a risky gamble - and puts his family in terrible danger.

©2016 Ann Swinfen (P)2017 Ann Swinfen

What listeners say about The Bookseller's Tale

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    90
  • 4 Stars
    48
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    85
  • 4 Stars
    38
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    75
  • 4 Stars
    47
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A lovely tale set in a wonderful place

Oxford is one of my favourite places on the planet. History is a passion. Literature is a calling. Having all three beautifully woven together in a delightful murder mystery is a delight. A lovely listen and I am now looking forward to the rest of the series with relish. If you too love Oxford and or history you will find this exquisitely researched book a delight.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A vivid depiction of the past, with a mystery thrown in

Much fascinating details about life shortly after the Black Death, most of it accurate based on my reading, with an occasional mildly jarring anachronism. The bookseller is likeable & mostly sensible, except when he needs to be stupid to create the necessary plot crisis.

I look forward to seeing how this series develops.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • K
  • 02-08-17

Simple but satisfying.

This was one of those gentle stories that will never challenge you. I do not think less of it for that. Sometimes you don't want great literature; writing that will wrack you with angst and leave you wringing your hands at the the state of the human race. Sometimes you just want to be told a story that will take you on a brief escape somewhere else and lull you back into your real life with as small a jolt as possible. This is one of the latter.

The main character is quaint and endearing. His family situation leaves scope for both a small level of independence and yet he remains bound by responsibility and so the reader won't be wondering if he'll sail off into the horizon at any point. The setting and time frame makes the plot interesting and fairly original - most author's go for historically more documented times. I suppose this means that the author is less likely to be caught out of with the odd historical inaccuracy.

Generally, a relaxing and engaging tale that may have been a bit more lively will a less monotonous narrator.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Booksellers Tale

Excellent tale. Interesting and informative about the times following the plague in England in the 1300s. The next book, The Novices Tale is better yet. Hope there will be more in the series.

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
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Tedious

Having listened to numerous books read by David Thorpe, I have been very disappointed with this because of the monotonous tone of the narrator. I couldn't get into the rhythm of the story as a result and struggled to get through it, hoping it would improve. sadly, I won't listen to the rest of the series because of the narrator.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

medieval crime drama

Oxford medieval crime enjoyed very much good story keep me listing looking for to hearing another

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

What would have made The Bookseller's Tale better?

The performance is so wooden it could make even a very engaging and tightly written mystery boring.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The monotone of the narrator killed this book for me.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

thoroughly enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the narrator and the characters. Nice details and descriptions without being too wordy.

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
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A really enjoyable mystery

The daily lives of University scholars, tradesmen and families in the years following the Black Death and the greed of one man.

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
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Lightweight

Although giving a fair impression of medieval life after The Death, the plot itself was fairly simplistic and quite easily unravelled. An unchallenging experience.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful