The Corner that Held Them cover art

The Corner that Held Them

Penguin Modern Classics

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
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.

The Corner that Held Them

By: Sylvia Townsend Warner
Narrated by: Emma Gregory
Try for £0.00

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

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
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.
Cancel

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The nuns who enter a medieval Norfolk convent are told to renounce the world, but the world still finds ways to trouble them, whether it is through fire, floods, pestilence, a collapsing spire, jealous rivalries, a priest with a secret or a plague of caterpillars. As we follow their daily lives over three centuries, this masterpiece of historical fiction recreates a world run by women.

©1948 Sylvia Townsend Warner (P)2021 Penguin Audio
Classics Fiction Literary Fiction Medieval
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Vet's Daughter cover art
Knight's Acre cover art
David Copperfield cover art
A Vision of Light cover art
The Great Fortune cover art
Hotel du Lac cover art
The Golden Notebook cover art
Their Eyes Were Watching God cover art
The Christmas Stories cover art
A Wayside Tavern cover art
Wuthering Heights cover art
Brother Cadfael cover art
Lorna Doone cover art
Shirley cover art
Gothic Tales cover art
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde cover art

Critic reviews

"One of the great British novels of the 20th century: a narrative of extraordinary reach, power and beauty." (Sarah Waters)

"As an act of imagined history this novel has few rivals. Also, as it happens, a work of high, frequent comedy." (George Steiner, The Times Literary Supplement)

"Spellbinding.... One starts rereading as soon as one has reached the last page." (Sunday Times)

What listeners say about The Corner that Held Them

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 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
    4 out of 5 stars

Extraordinary

What an intense experience. At the beginning I was dubious and at times even a little bored. The story is hard to follow at times because characters ebb and flow and because the time frame is so long. But relinquishing that compulsion to keep track of everyone, and carried along by the masterful creation of an entire and unfamiliar world into which one is gradually drawn in, I became completely absorbed.

Emma Gregory’s narration is mesmerising. She has a beautiful voice but her performance is also witty, elegant, controlled.

Will be thinking about this one for a long time.

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

A classic brilliantly narrated

This book deserves to be more widely known. It's witty, subtle, moving and lyrical, with sharply observed characters, excellent period detail and a deep sense of place and time.

Emma Gregory's narration was equally wonderful: engaging and fluid, matching the rhythm of the book extremely well.

Probably the best experience I've had with an audio book.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful