The Plague Charmer cover art

The Plague Charmer

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

The Plague Charmer

By: Karen Maitland
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
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

The Plague Charmer, by Karen Maitland, author of the much-loved Company of Liars - her first novel of the plague - will chill and delight fans of Kate Mosse and C. J. Sansom in equal measure.

Riddle me this: I have a price, but it cannot be paid in gold or silver.

Porlock Weir, Exmoor, 1361. Thirteen years after the Great Pestilence, plague strikes England for the second time. Sara, a packhorse man's wife, remembers the horror all too well and fears for the safety of her children. Only a dark-haired stranger offers help but at a price that no one will pay.

Fear gives way to hysteria in the village, and when the sickness spreads to her family, Sara finds herself locked away by neighbours she has trusted for years. And as her husband - and then others - begin to die, the cost no longer seems so unthinkable.

The price that I ask from one willing to pay...a human life.

©2016 Karen Maitland (P)2016 Headline Digital Historical Fiction Fiction Marriage Scary

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Company of Liars cover art
Sinful Folk cover art
The Seeker cover art
The Path of Thorns cover art
The Viking's Bride cover art
The Ashes of London cover art
The Wolves of Savernake cover art
Legacy cover art
Speaks the Nightbird cover art
The Waringham Chronicles, Volume 1: The Runaway cover art
The Spirit Ring cover art
A Plague on Both Your Houses cover art
A Conspiracy of Violence cover art
The King's Justice cover art
All the Murmuring Bones cover art
The Fifth Knight cover art

Critic reviews

"A compelling blend of historical grit and supernatural twists." ( Daily Mail)
All stars
Most relevant  
Great tale & I enjoyed the story. An interesting account & insight into life at the time.

A good read !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Once you have read one you will want to read everything she writes it’s marvellous

Love these books

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really enjoyed this book I love all Karen Maitland’s books even they wouldn’t be my usual choice. I loved Will the dwarf made me smile. Well worth a read I haven’t got many more of her books to read now sadly

The plague charmer

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What a pleasant surprise this book was and fantastic narration,who needs tv. One of my favourite all time books. Highly recommended.

WOW!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
wonderfully atmospheric story, really depicts life in the middle ages. Jonathan keeble absolutely superb.

avid dog walker and audio listener

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A long story to listen to, but great story telling.
Excellent performance by narrator. Kept me listening.

Excellent story but long

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
not as good as A Company of Liars which I read first and then sought out her other work such as this one. Still wonderfully enchanting and visual though. I love the fishing village atmosphere she creates in this book and the narrator is brilliant. I endeavour to read more of her work next

Not as good as A Company of Liars but still great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
medieval life described so tantalisingly and wonderfully enchanting. gritty. no faffing silly love stories

great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As with all of Karen’s books this is a audible feast! Set in Porlock Weir Somerset in the Middle Ages the story follows a village cursed by a visit from the sea and the return of the deadly plague.

What did you enjoy most about this book?
Everything! Actually in this one, everything was spot on, the characters, the twists, the setting, the narration (Jonathon Keeble his usual excellent self!), you love the protagonists and hate the antagonists just as you should with no grey areas. I was immersed in this village from the the very first chapter, willing them through the story and feeling their sorrows and triumphs.

Which characters did you like the most?
Will and Sara for certain. Will was the unlikely hero throughout and you couldn’t help but root for him. Sara was a beautifully written character throughout. I loved young Walter as well, and felt he possibly didn’t get enough page space - Although Lady Parvier was also very good.

The worst antagonist?
It would be too obvious to say Jannavier, (have no idea if I’m spelling these correctly as I have simply listened to the book not read it) but I particularly loathed Brother Praco, Father Cuthbert and Sir Harry.

Would you recommenced this to others?
Absolutely! It’s historical fiction but with Maitland’s signature ‘supernatural’ twist, which completely works. If I’m honest it’s my favourite book of hers so far!

A Masterpiece of medieval witchcraft

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well worth a listen, great performance, great story, another classic tale from Karen Maitland

Another great story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews