Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Anchoress cover art

The Anchoress

By: Robyn Cadwallader
Narrated by: Madeleine Leslay
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $34.99

Buy Now for $34.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

England, 1255: Sarah is only 17 when she chooses to become an anchoress, a holy woman shut away in a small cell, measuring seven paces by nine, at the side of the village church.

Fleeing the grief of losing a much-loved sister in childbirth and the pressure to marry, she decides to renounce the world, with all its dangers, desires, and temptations, and to commit herself to a life of prayer and service to God.

But as she slowly begins to understand, even the thick, unforgiving walls of her cell cannot keep the outside world away, and it is soon clear that Sarah's body and soul are still in great danger....

Robyn Cadwallader's powerful debut novel tells an absorbing story of faith, desire, shame, fear and the very human need for connection and touch. With a poetic intelligence, Cadwallader explores the relationship between the mind, body and spirit in Medieval England in a story that will hold the listener in a spell until the very last second.

©2015 Robyn Cadwallader (P)2015 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic Reviews

"A detailed, sensuous and richly imagined shard of the past...emotionally engaging and vividly present." (Geraldine Brooks)
"Sarah’s story [in The Anchoress] is so beautiful, so rich, so strange, unexpected and thoughtful - also suspenseful...I loved this book." (Elizabeth Gilbert)
"Intense, atmospheric and very assured...this is one of the most eagerly anticipated novels of the year." (Caroline Baum)

What listeners say about The Anchoress

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    12
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.