Preview
  • A Swarming of Bees

  • Fridgyth the Herb-Wife, Book 1
  • By: Theresa Tomlinson
  • Narrated by: Danielle Cohen
  • Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (94 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

A Swarming of Bees

By: Theresa Tomlinson
Narrated by: Danielle Cohen
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

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

Publisher's summary

"A herb-wife on a mule may go where warriors cannot - she may see what warriors cannot see and hear what warriors cannot hear!”

The Monastery at Whitby is ruled over by the powerful and independent Abbess Hild. But when she needs someone to confide in, she turns to the honest warmth of her friend Fridgyth, the half-pagan herb-wife.

A divisive and life-altering decision taken at the Great Synod is swiftly overshadowed as the monastery is ravaged by a deadly plague. As she tends the sick, Fridgyth starts to suspect that not all the deaths are natural. Despite Hild's stern warnings "not to meddle" she sets out to investigate.

Can Fridgyth's wisdom and intuition unmask the murderer and unravel the dark politics surrounding the deaths and clandestine arrival of two young scholars?

©2012 Theresa Tomlinson (P)2020 Tantor
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about A Swarming of Bees

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    61
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    64
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    56
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

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

Enjoyable story

I enjoyed this performance very much. I think hearing it made the more enjoyable for me as it was easier to follow the characters as the names of some were so similar. Hearing the dialogue in different voices enable me to keep the male and female characters straight. The story had many layers to it and took time to get to the mystery but that did not detract from my desire to get back to listening.

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
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent storytelling

Loved history presented so beautifully, bringing to life historical figures and events. The narrator is wonderfully captivating.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

The herb wife the way of life in the beginning of Christianity and Scotland

I like the story I love the narrator very calming to hear her voice-fun to imagine what life must’ve been like then

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

.subtle ..captivating intrigue

This book was as innocent look of life in a much harsher time.The nuances of simplicity was almost poetic..A bit slow building the characters but that was the richness of the story.I truly knew each character..their strength and weakness....I love when reading makes me laugh...cry ..and break out in a true grin..

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

The Great Synod, from pagan eyes

A view into life in the Dark Ages, read with a lilting accent so evocative of the time and place. Fridgyth is the herbwife at the Monastery of Whitby, though she herself honors Freya in the privacy of her home and garden, and serves as a healer to the Monastery and nearby community. The Great Synod of 644 brings an enormous decision, whether the Christians of the region should go on with the practices of Iona or follow the practices of Rome -- while at the same time Fridgyth learns that the synod has also brought a young nobleman in exile. When the plague strikes (and this is historically accurate), Fridgyth's skills are strained to save as many lives as she can, but when she witnesses deaths that don't look like the plague, she suspects poison. And that the real target may be the young nobleman.

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

the voice

the sing song voice was a little hard to take. almost went to sleep,but struggle to the end.

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
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this..

Good try but so clichéd, simplistic, and hackneyed, I gave up. Extremely predictable and pedantic.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful