Listen free for 30 days
-
The Kingdoms
- Narrated by: Theo Solomon
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £14.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Bedlam Stacks
- By: Natasha Pulley
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An astonishing historical novel set in the shadowy, magical forests of South America, which draws on the captivating world of the international best seller The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. Deep in uncharted Peru, the holy town of Bedlam stands at the edge of a forest. The shrine statues move, and anyone who crosses the border dies. But somewhere inside are cinchona trees, whose bark yields quinine: the only known treatment for malaria. On the other side of the Pacific, it is 1859, and India is ravaged by the disease.
-
-
17 hours of my life I'll never get back
- By Ms. G. A. Sykes on 11-06-18
-
The Masquerading Magician
- An Accidental Alchemist Mystery
- By: Gigi Pandian
- Narrated by: Julia Motyka
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deciphering an ancient alchemy book is more difficult than Zoe Faust bargained for. She'd much rather be gardening and exploring her new hometown of Portland, Oregon - but time is running out for living gargoyle Dorian Robert-Houdin. If Zoe isn't able to unlock an unusual alchemy book's secrets soon, the French gargoyle will remain awake but trapped in stone forever.
-
-
Really enjoyed listening to this
- By Kwakkers on 10-10-21
-
The Muse
- By: Jessie Burton
- Narrated by: Cathy Tyson
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled to find her place in the city since she arrived from Trinidad five years ago, she has been offered a job as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic Marjorie Quick. Although Quick takes Odelle into her confidence and unlocks a potential she didn't know she had, she remains a mystery - no more so than when a lost masterpiece with a secret history is delivered to the gallery.
-
-
This narration is so bad, the author should sue
- By barbara on 30-01-17
-
A Narrow Door
- By: Joanne Harris
- Narrated by: Alex Kingston, Steven Pacey
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's an incendiary moment for St Oswald's school. For the first time in its history, a headmistress is in power, the gates opening to girls. Rebecca Buckfast has spilled blood to reach this position. Barely 40, she is just starting to reap the harvest of her ambition. As the new regime takes on the old guard, the ground shifts. And with it, the remains of a body are discovered.
-
-
A school for Scndal
- By Rachel Redford on 27-08-21
-
The Language of Thorns
- Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic
- By: Leigh Bardugo
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, number one New York Times best-selling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.
-
-
Lovers of the Grishaverse rejoice!
- By Tara on 13-11-19
-
The Lost Future of Pepperharrow
- By: Natasha Pulley
- Narrated by: Thomas Judd
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Thaniel Steepleton, an unexpected posting to Tokyo can’t come at a better moment. The London fog has made him ill and doctor’s orders are to get out. His brief is strange: the staff at the British Legation have been seeing ghosts, and his first task is to find out what’s going on. But staying with his closest friend, Keita Mori, in Yokohama, Thaniel starts to experience ghostly happenings himself. For reasons he won’t say, Mori is frightened. Then he vanishes.
-
-
The woman is a genius
- By Laura Bennewith on 24-03-20
-
The Bedlam Stacks
- By: Natasha Pulley
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An astonishing historical novel set in the shadowy, magical forests of South America, which draws on the captivating world of the international best seller The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. Deep in uncharted Peru, the holy town of Bedlam stands at the edge of a forest. The shrine statues move, and anyone who crosses the border dies. But somewhere inside are cinchona trees, whose bark yields quinine: the only known treatment for malaria. On the other side of the Pacific, it is 1859, and India is ravaged by the disease.
-
-
17 hours of my life I'll never get back
- By Ms. G. A. Sykes on 11-06-18
-
The Masquerading Magician
- An Accidental Alchemist Mystery
- By: Gigi Pandian
- Narrated by: Julia Motyka
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deciphering an ancient alchemy book is more difficult than Zoe Faust bargained for. She'd much rather be gardening and exploring her new hometown of Portland, Oregon - but time is running out for living gargoyle Dorian Robert-Houdin. If Zoe isn't able to unlock an unusual alchemy book's secrets soon, the French gargoyle will remain awake but trapped in stone forever.
-
-
Really enjoyed listening to this
- By Kwakkers on 10-10-21
-
The Muse
- By: Jessie Burton
- Narrated by: Cathy Tyson
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled to find her place in the city since she arrived from Trinidad five years ago, she has been offered a job as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic Marjorie Quick. Although Quick takes Odelle into her confidence and unlocks a potential she didn't know she had, she remains a mystery - no more so than when a lost masterpiece with a secret history is delivered to the gallery.
-
-
This narration is so bad, the author should sue
- By barbara on 30-01-17
-
A Narrow Door
- By: Joanne Harris
- Narrated by: Alex Kingston, Steven Pacey
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's an incendiary moment for St Oswald's school. For the first time in its history, a headmistress is in power, the gates opening to girls. Rebecca Buckfast has spilled blood to reach this position. Barely 40, she is just starting to reap the harvest of her ambition. As the new regime takes on the old guard, the ground shifts. And with it, the remains of a body are discovered.
-
-
A school for Scndal
- By Rachel Redford on 27-08-21
-
The Language of Thorns
- Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic
- By: Leigh Bardugo
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inspired by myth, fairy tale, and folklore, number one New York Times best-selling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.
-
-
Lovers of the Grishaverse rejoice!
- By Tara on 13-11-19
-
The Lost Future of Pepperharrow
- By: Natasha Pulley
- Narrated by: Thomas Judd
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Thaniel Steepleton, an unexpected posting to Tokyo can’t come at a better moment. The London fog has made him ill and doctor’s orders are to get out. His brief is strange: the staff at the British Legation have been seeing ghosts, and his first task is to find out what’s going on. But staying with his closest friend, Keita Mori, in Yokohama, Thaniel starts to experience ghostly happenings himself. For reasons he won’t say, Mori is frightened. Then he vanishes.
-
-
The woman is a genius
- By Laura Bennewith on 24-03-20
-
Amongst Our Weapons
- The Brand New Rivers of London Novel
- By: Ben Aaronovitch
- Narrated by: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The London Silver Vaults - for well over a century, the largest collection of silver for sale in the world. It has more locks than the Bank of England and more cameras than a celebrity punch-up. Not somewhere you can murder someone and vanish without a trace - only that's what happened. The disappearing act, the reports of a blinding flash of light and memory loss amongst the witnesses all make this a case for Detective Constable Peter Grant and the Special Assessment Unit.
-
-
Well worth waiting for
- By Debra K on 08-04-22
-
The Mask of Mirrors
- Rook and Rose, Book One
- By: M. A. Carrick
- Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
- Length: 23 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renata Virdaux is a con artist who has come to the sparkling city of Nadezra - the city of dreams - with one goal: to trick her way into a noble house and secure her fortune and her sister's future. But as she's drawn into the aristocratic world of House Traementis, she realises her masquerade is just one of many surrounding her. And as corrupted magic begins to weave its way through Nadezra, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled - with Ren at their heart.
-
-
Great characters and outstanding world-building
- By Antennenwels on 18-07-21
-
Osiris
- The Osiris Project
- By: E.J. Swift
- Narrated by: Daniel Weyman, Susannah Harker
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adelaide Rechnov. Wealthy socialite and granddaughter of the Architect, she spends her time in pointless luxury, rebelling against her family in a series of jaded social extravagances and scandals until her twin brother disappears in mysterious circumstances. Vikram Bai. He lives in the Western Quarter, home to the poor descendants of storm refugees and effectively quarantined from the wealthy elite. Can Adelaide and Vikram bridge the divide at the heart of Osiris before conspiracies bring them to the edge of disaster?
-
-
A riveting story set in an absorbing world
- By Jonathan on 23-06-15
-
The Haunting Season
- The instant Sunday Times bestseller and the perfect companion for winter nights
- By: Bridget Collins, Natasha Pulley, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, and others
- Narrated by: Gemma Whelan, Juliet Stevenson, Rory Kinnear, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winter, with its unsettling blend of the cosy and the sinister, has long been a popular time for gathering by the bright flame of a candle, or the warm crackling of a fire, and swapping stories of ghosts and strange happenings. Now eight best-selling, award-winning authors, master storytellers of the sinister and the macabre bring this time-honoured tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding collection of new and original haunted tales.
-
-
The Boring Season
- By Kirry on 29-11-21
-
Widow's Welcome
- By: D. K. Fields
- Narrated by: Helen Vine
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There's power in stories and this is a story of power. Dead bodies aren't unusual in the alleyways of Fenest. Muggings, brawls gone bad, debts collected - Detective Cora Gorderheim has seen it all. Until she finds a Wayward man with his mouth sewn shut. As Cora pieces together the dead man's story, she's drawn into the most dangerous story in the Union of Realms: the election. All she wants is to catch the killer, but nothing is that simple in an election year.
-
Just One Damned Thing After Another
- The Chronicles of St Mary's, Book 1
- By: Jodi Taylor
- Narrated by: Zara Ramm
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Madeleine Maxwell is recruited by the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research, she discovers the historians there don't just study the past - they revisit it. But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And she soon discovers it's not just History she's fighting....
-
-
Oh Dear
- By Charlotte Hobbs on 30-03-19
-
The Invisible Library
- The Invisible Library, Book 1
- By: Genevieve Cogman
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission - to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book. Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested - the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene's new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own.
-
-
New Narration makes all the difference!
- By Stephen Lynch on 10-06-21
-
The Night Raven
- Crow Investigations, Book 1
- By: Sarah Painter
- Narrated by: Kate Rawson
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lydia has always known she has no power, especially next to her infamous and more-than-slightly dodgy family. Which is why she carved her own life as a private investigator far away from London. When a professional snafu forces her home, the head of the family calls in a favour, and Lydia finds herself investigating the disappearance of her cousin, Maddie.
-
-
Enjoyable listen
- By Kittie Abbott on 16-06-20
-
The Mercies
- By: Kiran Millwood Hargrave
- Narrated by: Jessie Buckley
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1617. The sea around the remote Norwegian island of Vardø is thrown into a vicious storm. A young woman, Maren, watches as the men of the island, out fishing, perish in an instant. Eighteen months later, a sinister figure arrives. Absalom Cornet has been summoned to bring the women of the island to heel. With him travels his young wife, Ursa. In her new home, and in Maren, Ursa encounters something she has never seen before: independent women. But where Ursa finds happiness, even love, Absalom sees only a place flooded with a terrible evil, one he must root out at all costs....
-
-
Transported back 400 years to Vardo
- By Michelle on 04-04-20
-
Second Hand Curses
- By: Drew Hayes
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello, Marc Vietor, Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When your fairy godmother threatens to enslave you with a curse - when a malevolent piper solves your rat problem but steals your children - when you seek revenge on the prince who turned you into a frog - who can you turn to in your hour of need? The band of scoundrels known far and wide as the Bastard Champions - the swashbuckling trio who travel a world of legend, seeking adventure and righting wrongs - as long as there's enough gold to be earned.
-
-
Great fun!
- By Chris on 25-08-18
-
Chosen Ones
- By: Veronica Roth
- Narrated by: Dakota Fanning
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fifteen years ago, five ordinary teenagers were singled out by a prophecy to take down an impossibly powerful entity wreaking havoc across North America. He was known as the Dark One, and his weapon of choice - catastrophic events known as Drains - leveled cities and claimed thousands of lives. Chosen Ones, as the teens were known, gave everything they had to defeat him. After the Dark One fell, the world went back to normal...for everyone but them. Of the five, Sloane has had the hardest time adjusting.
-
-
Awful
- By Dee on 29-10-20
-
The Scarlet Albatross: A Story of Airships and Panamindorah
- Refugees, Book 1
- By: Abigail Hilton
- Narrated by: Lauren Harris, Rish Outfield
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anaroo is an airship slave, destined to spend her days running on a treadmill, winding the great springs of the Scarlet Albatross. When a storm threatens to sink the ship, Anaroo and her fellow slaves seize the opportunity to escape. Now, at last, she can go home. However, the airship nearly sank for a reason - violent unrest among the island kingdoms below. The world is changing, and the surviving inhabitants of the Scarlet Albatross will need to cooperate to survive.
-
-
Terrific Tale,
- By Jo on 01-05-20
Summary
Bloomsbury presents The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley, read by Theo Solomon.
Come home, if you remember.
The postcard has been held at the sorting office for 91 years, waiting to be delivered to Joe Tournier. On the front is a lighthouse - Eilean Mor, in the Outer Hebrides.
Joe has never left England, never even left London. He is a British slave, one of thousands throughout the French Empire. He has a job, a wife, a baby daughter.
But he also has flashes of a life he cannot remember and of a world that never existed - a world where English is spoken in England and not French.
And now he has a postcard of a lighthouse built just six months ago, that was first written nearly 100 years ago, by a stranger who seems to know him very well.
Joe’s journey to unravel the truth will take him from French-occupied London to a remote Scottish island and back through time itself as he battles for his life - and for a very different future.
Critic reviews
"I loved the vivid and intricate alternate universes of The Kingdoms, and the flawed and complicated people who inhabit them." (Katherine Addison)
"At once fiercely original, joyous and horrifying, The Kingdoms is an awe-inspiring feat of imagination and passion which had me in tears by the end." (Catriona Ward)
"The Kingdoms is an intricate and complex but ultimately very satisfying read, blending time slip and historical fiction with the pace of a thriller and the sweetness of a love story. A unique book." (Sinead Crowley)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Kingdoms
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jackie
- 05-06-21
I really wanted to like this book but ...
I have loved all Natasha Pulley’s books to date and it’s possible, with a different narrator, I would love this book too. However, I’ve got to chapter 21 and I am so distracted by Theo Solomon’s delivery, that I’m not sure I’m going to carry on. I think I’ll buy a hard copy instead.
Update: increasing the speed to 1.2x helps - well it does me anyway.
Update 2: I'm sorry to say that with less than 3 hours to go, I have given up and returned the book. I never felt anything for any of the characters and was totally confused by the plot. I think that, with a different narrator, I would try again but for some reason this narrator just grated on me.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Glasgow
- 25-10-21
Insulting Scottish impersonations
I can't listen to any more of this awful narration.
The narrator's impersonation of the Scottish accent is so dreadful, it's bordering on racist.
Setting a book where a black Englishman visits Scotland is tricky. Given this narrator seems never to have even visited Scotland, perhaps Scottish narrators could have been employed to voice the Scottish parts?
This audiobook might be OK for listeners in England or America, but I very much doubt anyone else in Scotland could listen to this insulting cacophony.
This isn't an anti-English rant; I'm English myself but live in Scotland.
It was clearly produced in England by English people who think it's OK to parody accents... the narrator can't even pronounce some Scottish place names!
This rendition has made my blood boil.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kazzakirk
- 17-07-21
Clever writing as ever from Natasha Pulley
Clever writing as ever from Natasha Pulley. I’m a bit of a dozer and found I had to keep going back a couple of chapters and then decided to go right back to the beginning and start again as I kept losing the gist, with dates, places etc changing from chapter to chapter. Very complex piece of writing and once again a clever & great story by Natasha Pulley.
Narration was excellent- Theo Solomon has a lovely velvety voice and great phrasing which suits Natasha’s style of writing. Excellent
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Drajl
- 14-07-21
Brilliant historical fiction
No spoilers!
Story: fascinating, and brilliant. There's not a lot I can say without spoilers for the story, but suffice it to say that I finished this in a few days - I couldn't put it down! I was even excitedly waiting to listen in my lunch breaks at work!
Performance: Ok, I have to admit, there were some points where the performance of this got to me a bit... The narrator was plainly being reminded to slow down at the start of some chapters - or trying to keep himself slow. It means he sometimes gets annoyingly nasal - but once he gets into his natural cadence and the speed improves, it's markedly better. Those slow bits are infrequent, so stick with it! I like the different voices of characters. Still 5*!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mrs T
- 25-06-21
Overcomplicated
Found this story hard to follow with all the changes in dates and geography. Thought it was too long and the plot was extremely convoluted. I felt it kept going round in circles. I finished listening to it out of sheer determination, but didn't really enjoy it
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M Hauge
- 20-10-21
Mot sure about this one
I have had all 4 books by Natasha Pulley as audio books, and the first 3 I really enjoyed. I think this one was too complicated in audio format. At least for me, as I usually do other stuff at the same time as I listen.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JS
- 08-12-21
Don't start here
If you haven't read any Natasha Pulley yet don't start with this book! I read her other two novels and her writing, the story and the narration are far better than that of this book. If I'd started with this book I may never have listened to her other novels. If you've listened to the other novels and like me thought you'd give this one a go, I can only say get the hard copy and read it for yourself!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ms. C Bond
- 11-11-21
Sadly disappointing
I love Natasha Pulley's other books. I'm already on my third time round of the Watchmaker duo of books and was eagerly waiting for this latest offering to arrive in audiobook format.
The beginning and the ending few chapters are great, just what I expect of her, but the loooooong middle was, sadly, decidedly meh.
Neither the characters nor the story were engaging, it just seemed to drone on in a soup of wishy washy durge back and forth.
In her other works, if the beautiful machinations of the plot are taking a breath, then the character development and exposition, or the character interactions are picking up the baton and making you fall in love with them. But this work was really lacking both in form and content between those few chapters mentioned.
It also wasn't helped by the editing and, at times, the performance: there was rarely pause or much other definition between chapters, so it was largely like one large run-on chapter. This was a tad confusing at times as chapters skip between time periods and iterations of characters therein.
Hoping this was just a one-off lull, I'm staying optimistic for her next publication.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Eva O'Donnell
- 21-07-21
Couldn't finish it.
I very quickly found I didn't know or care what was going on.
I chose this book because I am interested in the Napoleonic wars and naval warfare but it was a mistake.
The dialogue throughout is anachronistic, even when the twofold timeframe is taken into account.
The central character (I can't even remember his name) is a complete void. His lack of a past doesn't explain his lack of personality. He has no defining characteristic whatsoever apart from his strange circumstances. He's annoyingly passive, always 'wondering' and never bloody 'doing.' The author seems to have mistakingly formed the impression that this is compelling stuff.
The narration is excruciating. He was obviously told to speak slowly but the effect is that he sounds put-upon and peevish. When he tries to
imitate a woman he uses a strained, feeble voice, like a child pretending to be an old lady. There's a longish section narrated by a female character (don't know who, don't care) and that's when I gave up.
A badly constructed story inhabited by forgettable characters, poorly read.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K. Bridges
- 13-06-21
A beautiful story
I love Natasha Pulley’s novels and this is no exception. The writing is gorgeous and the characters are just wonderful. Another one, please.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lyndel
- 06-08-21
Audio Distortions
Audio slowed and dreadfully distorted. Downloaded and removed many times but unable to correct speed to sound normal.