Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

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 Homesman cover art

The Homesman

By: Glendon Swarthout
Narrated by: Candace Thaxton
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 £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

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...

Daughter of Twin Oaks cover art
An Untamed Land cover art
These Is My Words cover art
The Color of Lightning cover art
Opal cover art
Moving Day cover art
The Bandit & Others cover art
Mind Waves cover art
Ruritanian Rogues: Volumes 1-3 cover art
That Bright Land cover art
Bittersweet cover art
The Big Rock Candy Mountain cover art
A Town Like Alice cover art
News of the World cover art
The Time Traveler's Wife cover art
Wildflower Hill cover art

Summary

In pioneer Nebraska, a woman leads where no man will go.

Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Tommy Lee Jones, The Homesman is a devastating story of early pioneers in 1850s American West. It celebrates the ones we hear nothing of: the brave women whose hearts and minds were broken by a life of bitter hardship. A "homesman" must be found to escort a handful of them back East to a sanitarium. When none of the county’s men steps up, the job falls to Mary Bee Cuddy - ex-teacher, spinster, indomitable and resourceful. Brave as she is, Mary Bee knows she cannot succeed alone. The only companion she can find is the low-life claim jumper George Briggs. Thus begins a trek east, against the tide of colonization, against hardship, Indian attacks, ice storms, and loneliness - a timeless classic told in a series of tough, fast-paced adventures.

In an unprecedented sweep, Glendon Swarthout’s novel won both the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award and the Western Heritage Wrangler Award. A new afterword by the author’s son Miles Swarthout tells of his parents Glendon and Kathryn’s discovery of and research into the lives of the oft-forgotten frontier women who make The Homesman as moving and believable as it is unforgettable.

©2014 Glendon Swarthout (P)2013 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about The Homesman

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 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

The Reality of Winning the West

This version of the story is better than the movie. The narratation is clear and draws you in to the tale. It makes more sense than the film but is also more hardhitting. It isn't surprising that some critics refer to this as the first feminist western - but it might be better to refer to it as the first nihilist Western. Happy Ending Territory this ain't.

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

Much better than the film

Where does The Homesman rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best novels I have purchased this year. The story is unusual and full of fascinating historical detail about a time and place I was utterly unaware of.

What did you like best about this story?

The premise that in the appalling conditions in which the first settlers in the West endured sent many of them literally mad

Have you listened to any of Candace Thaxton’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No, but I certainly will watch out for her as I thought she was quite execllent

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

There is a film of this book, and I reckon the tag line should be " not as good as the book"

Any additional comments?

Having seen the film and thoroughly enjoyed it I was interested to listen to the book. Having said that what I was delighted to find was that the book itself was a hundred times better than the film, and filled in all the details which I felt were week in the film.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Captivating Homesman

lLoved it ! Completely transported me to the vast frontier with all its challenges excellent

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!