The Anchoress
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Narrated by:
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Mary Jane Wells
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Steve West
About this listen
England, 1255. What could drive a girl on the cusp of womanhood to lock herself away from the world forever?
Sarah is just 17 when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a cell that measures only seven by nine paces, at the side of the village church. Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth as well as pressure to marry the local lord's son, she decides to renounce the world - with all its dangers, desires, and temptations - and commit herself to a life of prayer.
But it soon becomes clear that the thick, unforgiving walls of Sarah's cell cannot protect her as well as she had thought. With the outside world clamoring to get in and the intensity of her isolation driving her toward drastic actions, even madness, her body and soul are still in grave danger. When she starts hearing the voice of the previous anchoress whispering to her from the walls, Sarah finds herself questioning what she thought she knew about the anchor-hold and about the village itself.
With the lyricism of Nicola Griffith's Hild and the vivid historical setting of Hannah Kent's Burial Rites, Robyn Cadwallader's powerful debut novel tells an absorbing story of faith, desire, shame, fear, and the very human need for connection and touch. Compelling, evocative, and haunting, The Anchoress is both quietly heartbreaking and thrillingly unpredictable.
©2015 Robyn Cadwallader (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Story
Whistling Tor is a place of secrets: a mysterious, wooded hill housing the crumbling fortress belonging to Anluan - a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the region in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people, and the woods themselves hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom. Then the young scribe Caitrin appears in Anluan's garden, admiring the rare plant known as heart's blood. Retained to sort through entangled family documents, Caitrin brings about unexpected changes.
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Very engrossing
- By Amazon Customer on 01-22-19
By: Juliet Marillier
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Desired
- The Untold Story of Samson and Delilah
- By: Ginger Garrett
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gallagher
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Three women loved him. Two betrayed him. One fulfilled his destiny. Desired tells the story of the legendary strongman through the eyes of the three most important women in his life. The fiercely loving Jewish mother who nags him toward greatness … and rebellion. The impoverished Philistine girl, Amara, who becomes Samson’s bride. And the emotionally damaged seductress—the legendary Delilah—who becomes the instrument of his destruction and the key to his tragic triumph.
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really cool perspective on this story
- By Lisa on 02-11-13
By: Ginger Garrett
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The Spire
- By: William Golding
- Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire on his cathedral. His mason anxiously advises against it, for the old cathedral was built without foundations. Nevertheless, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, until the stone pillars shriek and the ground beneath it swims. Its shadow falls ever darker on the world below, and on Dean Jocelin in particular.From the author of Lord of the Flies, The Spire is a dark and powerful portrait of one man's will, and the folly that he creates.
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Power through for a deep exam. of a man's psyche
- By Leena on 11-15-14
By: William Golding
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Bloodleaf
- By: Crystal Smith
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her.
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Not Understanding All the Praise
- By GPChlorine on 08-23-19
By: Crystal Smith
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Cruel Beauty
- By: Rosamund Hodge
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom - all because of a reckless bargain her father struck. And since birth, she has been training to kill him. Betrayed by her family yet bound to obey, Nyx rails against her fate. Still, on her 17th birthday, she abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, disarm him, and break the 900-year-old curse he put on her people. But Ignifex is not what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle - a shifting maze of magical rooms - enthralls her.
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Seemed promising; ultimately hollow
- By barefoot rabbit on 04-03-14
By: Rosamund Hodge
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Miranda and Caliban
- By: Jacqueline Carey
- Narrated by: Gemma Dawson, Alex Wyndham
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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A lovely girl grows up in isolation where her father, a powerful magus, has spirited them to in order to keep them safe. We all know the tale of Prospero's quest for revenge, but what of Miranda? Or Caliban, the so-called savage Prospero chained to his will? In this incredible retelling of the fantastical tale, Jacqueline Carey shows listeners the other side of the coin - the dutiful and tenderhearted Miranda, who loves her father but is terribly lonely. And Caliban, the strange and feral boy Prospero has bewitched to serve him.
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Beautiful, charming, slightly scary story
- By DabOfDarkness on 09-16-17
By: Jacqueline Carey
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The Book of Kells
- By: R. A. MacAvoy
- Narrated by: Alan Robertson
- Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A contemporary man, John Thornburn (a meek, non-violent and unpredictable artist) and woman, Derval (his tough, confrontational, strong and warrior-like lover) time travel to ancient Ireland to avenge a Viking attack. Packed with fascinating details of historical time and place in Irish history and delicately balanced on the border between realism and fantasy, the story centers around one of the most famous and beautiful illuminated manuscripts in history, the legendary but entirely real Book of Kells.
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The Book of Irish Fantasy
- By S. Wells on 12-10-12
By: R. A. MacAvoy
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The Passion of Artemisia
- By: Susan Vreeland
- Narrated by: Gigi Bermingham
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Set against the glorious backdrops of Rome, Florence, and Genoa, and Naples, peopled with historical characters and filled with the details of the life of a 17th-century painter, The Passion of Artemisia is the story of Gentileschi's struggle to find love, forgiveness, and wholeness through her art.
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Disappointing
- By Kay on 05-21-03
By: Susan Vreeland
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Tess of the Road
- By: Rachel Hartman
- Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons can be whomever they choose. Tess is none of these things. Tess is...different. She speaks out of turn, has wild ideas, and can't seem to keep out of trouble. Then Tess goes too far. Tess's family decide the only path for her is a nunnery. But on the day she is to join the nuns, Tess chooses a different path for herself. She cuts her hair, pulls on her boots, and sets out on a journey. She's not running away, she's running towards something.
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Beautiful and Boring, Both.
- By Ryan on 04-05-19
By: Rachel Hartman
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Wintersong
- By: S. Jae-Jones
- Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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All her life, 19-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful, mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family's inn, her dreams of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set aside in favor of more practical concerns. But when her sister Kathe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue her sister and return her to the world above.
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Muddled
- By Ingrid on 03-13-17
By: S. Jae-Jones
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Undertaker's Moon
- By: Ronald Kelly
- Narrated by: J. Rodney Turner
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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The rural town of Old Hickory. Tennessee was a quiet, picturesque community...until the O'Sheas came to town. Becoming the new proprietors of the town's only funeral parlor, with the help of their charming patriarch, Square McManus, the Irish family was wholeheartedly accepted by the local town folk. The thing began to happen. Strange things...horrible, unspeakable things...in the dead of night. The sighting of wolfish beasts congregating around an open grave in the town cemetery.
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good story but
- By simon lucas on 02-19-20
By: Ronald Kelly
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Daughter of the Forest
- Sevenwaters, Book 1
- By: Juliet Marillier
- Narrated by: Terry Donnelly
- Length: 26 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives and they are determined that she know only contentment. But Sorcha's joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell which only Sorcha can lift - by staying silent.
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Compelling story--but only at 1.5x
- By barefoot rabbit on 09-09-13
By: Juliet Marillier
What listeners say about The Anchoress
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Here-and-faraway
- 07-01-15
Entertaining
What did you love best about The Anchoress?
It held my interest and was easy to listen to. It helped make the time fly by when I was reorganizing and cleaning my kitchen.
What other book might you compare The Anchoress to and why?
It reminded me a bit of Pillars of the Earth and The Chalice because some of the conflicts and character types were the same.
What about Mary Jane Wells and Steve West ’s performance did you like?
They were both engaging.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I finished it in two days, which is a good sign.
Any additional comments?
I thought this book would show Sarah's entire life as an anchoress. Instead the story roughly spans a year. Many things happen in the town that Sarah lives in during that year so while some of the story focuses on Sarah adapting to her new life, a good deal of it also focuses on what is going on in the village.
The story ends in a decent spot, but I couldn't help but wonder if it will have a sequel. Some of the story lines felt unfinished. Then again, it could be the author's way of showing that "life goes on" and "the story never ends".
I enjoyed listening to this book. It didn't move me, but it did entertain me. The characters were likable and Sarah's life is definitely unique. Even though Sarah stays in one place for the story, the book doesn't grow stale.
I would like to read more by the author.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Samara Weiss
- 08-09-19
Respectful and recognizable
Though in some ways the story is a bit predictable in the way it teases and reveals the protagonist's traumas, and although the metaphors are sometimes obvious, the book still paints a painfully recognizable picture of a person who wants to withdraw from the pain of the world and render herself untouchable with the punishments she's chosen for herself. What's most interesting is the respectful depiction of the beliefs of centuries-ago Christians; their faith in amulets and prayer, their medical convictions, their beliefs in the order of the world, and their struggles with God are all treated respectfully, with no winking at the audience or improbably contemporary opinions inserted into character's mouths. The characters live in a deeply sexist world, and accept it as everyone accepts the world they're taught, but the book itself is not sexist. Its portrait of women struggling to live by the impossibly difficult rules laid out for them, and learning when the rules must bend, is touching, and the protagonist's faith and growing love were very moving. There are conflicts, and evil things do happen, but ultimately this book gives a feeling of serenity and peace.
Steve West is good, but Mary Jane Wells' performance (the majority of the book) is a marvel of sensitivity, intelligence, and nuance. I think with a different reader, I would have enjoyed this book and moved on; because of Wells, I've listened repeatedly, and turn to this book when I'm sad.
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- Scentart
- 10-12-24
Why are women subjugated?
It never changes. while there were some decent men individually, the book illustrates how downtrodden bealways been. The ending was abit deus ex machina, nevertheless, the book was delightful, tragic, and immersive.
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- Sheera
- 08-28-17
Interesting topic, but boring story.
I felt like there was no real plot. Just a boring lady locked in her cell.
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