Listen free for 30 days
-
Affinity
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: LGBTQ+, Literature & Fiction
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £19.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Night Watch
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Book of the Year, 2007.
Shortlisted for Audible's Listen of the Year, 2006.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, 2006.
Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, 2006.
Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941...
-
-
Atmospheric and gripping
- By Karen on 26-03-06
-
The Paying Guests
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances had been picturing her lodgers in purely mercenary terms - as something like two great waddling shillings. But this, she thought, was what it really meant to have paying guests: this odd, unintimate proximity, this rather peeled-back moment, where the only thing between herself and a naked Mrs Barber was a few feet of kitchen and a thin scullery door. An image sprang into her head: that round flesh, crimsoning in the heat.
-
-
There but for the grace of go I
- By MS REBECCA WARREN on 23-09-14
-
Fingersmith
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 23 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London 1862: Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves - fingersmiths - under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her 'family'. But from the moment she draws breath, Sue's fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away.
-
-
Brilliant!
- By joanna on 02-10-14
-
Tipping the Velvet
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 19 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'Piercing the shadows of the naked stage was a single shaft of rosy limelight, and in the centre of this was a girl: the most marvellous girl - I knew it at once! - that I had ever seen.' A saucy, sensuous and multi-layered historical romance, Tipping the Velvet follows the glittering career of Nan King - oyster girl turned music-hall star turned rent boy turned East End 'tom'.
-
-
good, but spoiled by an insensitive choice
- By OliviaM on 19-05-20
-
The Little Stranger
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a dusty postwar summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life?
-
-
Not overly ghostly
- By Tracey on 07-07-09
-
Jack Maggs
- By: Peter Carey
- Narrated by: Steve Shanahan
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1837. Jack Maggs, raised and deported as a criminal, has returned from Australia in secret and at great risk. What does he want after all these years, and why is he so interested in the comings and goings at a plush townhouse in Great Queen Street? And why is Jack himself an object of such interest to Tobias Oates, celebrated author, amateur hypnotist and fellow burglar - in this case of people’s minds, of their histories and inner phantoms?
-
-
Good, if mispronounced. A sparkling novel.
- By QP1 on 16-10-20
-
The Night Watch
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards, Book of the Year, 2007.
Shortlisted for Audible's Listen of the Year, 2006.
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, 2006.
Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, 2006.
Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941...
-
-
Atmospheric and gripping
- By Karen on 26-03-06
-
The Paying Guests
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances had been picturing her lodgers in purely mercenary terms - as something like two great waddling shillings. But this, she thought, was what it really meant to have paying guests: this odd, unintimate proximity, this rather peeled-back moment, where the only thing between herself and a naked Mrs Barber was a few feet of kitchen and a thin scullery door. An image sprang into her head: that round flesh, crimsoning in the heat.
-
-
There but for the grace of go I
- By MS REBECCA WARREN on 23-09-14
-
Fingersmith
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 23 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London 1862: Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves - fingersmiths - under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her 'family'. But from the moment she draws breath, Sue's fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away.
-
-
Brilliant!
- By joanna on 02-10-14
-
Tipping the Velvet
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 19 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
'Piercing the shadows of the naked stage was a single shaft of rosy limelight, and in the centre of this was a girl: the most marvellous girl - I knew it at once! - that I had ever seen.' A saucy, sensuous and multi-layered historical romance, Tipping the Velvet follows the glittering career of Nan King - oyster girl turned music-hall star turned rent boy turned East End 'tom'.
-
-
good, but spoiled by an insensitive choice
- By OliviaM on 19-05-20
-
The Little Stranger
- By: Sarah Waters
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a dusty postwar summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life?
-
-
Not overly ghostly
- By Tracey on 07-07-09
-
Jack Maggs
- By: Peter Carey
- Narrated by: Steve Shanahan
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1837. Jack Maggs, raised and deported as a criminal, has returned from Australia in secret and at great risk. What does he want after all these years, and why is he so interested in the comings and goings at a plush townhouse in Great Queen Street? And why is Jack himself an object of such interest to Tobias Oates, celebrated author, amateur hypnotist and fellow burglar - in this case of people’s minds, of their histories and inner phantoms?
-
-
Good, if mispronounced. A sparkling novel.
- By QP1 on 16-10-20
-
Crimson and Bone
- By: Marina Fiorato
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1853. Annie Stride has nothing left to live for - she is a penniless prostitute, newly evicted from her home and pregnant. On the night she plans to cast herself from Waterloo Bridge into the icy waters of the Thames, her life is saved by Francis Maybrick Gill, a talented pre-Raphaelite painter - and her world is changed forever. Francis takes Annie as his artist's muse, elevating her from fallen woman to society's darling. With her otherworldly beauty now the toast of London, her dark past is left far behind.
-
-
Brilliant
- By Adanaya on 15-07-21
-
Carol
- By: Patricia Highsmith
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Therese is just an ordinary sales assistant working in a New York department store when an alluring woman in her 30s walks up to her counter. Standing there, Therese is wholly unprepared for the first shock of love. She is an awkward 19-year-old with a job she hates and a boyfriend she doesn't love; Carol is a sophisticated, bored suburban housewife in the throes of a divorce and a custody battle for her only daughter. As Therese becomes irresistibly drawn into Carol's world, she soon realises how much they both stand to lose....
-
-
Sublime!!!
- By rouge on 04-04-15
-
The Leviathan
- By: Rosie Andrews
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Norfolk, 1643. With civil war tearing England apart, reluctant soldier Thomas Treadwater is summoned home by his sister, who accuses a new servant of improper conduct with their widowed father. By the time Thomas returns home, his father is insensible, felled by a stroke, and their new servant is in prison, facing charges of witchcraft.
-
-
Immersive and beautifully crafted!
- By Cathy on 04-02-22
-
The Essex Serpent
- By: Sarah Perry
- Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne's controlling husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness. Along with her son Francis - a curious, obsessive boy - she leaves town for Essex, in the hope that fresh air and open space will provide refuge.
-
-
Essex Serpent
- By Amazon Customer on 26-05-22
-
Beautiful Lies
- By: Clare Clark
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1887, and an unsettled London is preparing for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. For Maribel Campbell Lowe, the beautiful, bohemian wife of a maverick politician, it is the year she plans to make her own mark on the world. But her husband's outspoken views inspire enmity as well as admiration - and the wife of a member of parliament should not be hiding the kind of secrets Maribel has buried in her past. When a notorious newspaper editor begins to take an uncommon interest in her, Maribel fears he will destroy not only her husband's career but both of their reputations.
-
Learning to Swim
- By: Clare Chambers
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Abigail Jex never expected to see any of the Radleys again. They were extraordinary, captivating creatures transplanted from a bohemian corner of North London to outer suburbia, and the young Abigail found herself drawn into their magic circle: the eccentric Frances, her new best friend; Frances' mother, the liberated, headstrong Lexi; and of course the brilliant, beautiful Rad. Abigail thought she'd banished the ghost of her life with them and the catastrophe that ended it, but 13 years later a chance encounter forces her to acknowledge that the spell is far from broken.
-
-
Wonderful coming of age novel
- By Molly on 19-01-22
-
Notes on a Scandal
- By: Zoe Heller
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Sheba Hart joins St George's as the new pottery teacher, lonely Barbara Covett senses that she has found a kindred spirit. But Barbara is not the only one drawn to Sheba. Before long Sheba is involved in an illicit affair with a pupil, and Barbara is powerless to stop Sheba from pursuing her foolhardy course of action. But when the liaison is found out and Sheba's marriage falls apart, Barbara is loyally standing by, ready to provide succour.
-
-
Brilliant narrator
- By Frances Locke on 27-01-18
-
The Thirteenth Tale
- By: Diane Setterfield
- Narrated by: Jenny Agutter
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Thirteenth Tale is a compelling and emotional mystery, in the timeless vein of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, about family secrets and the magic of books and storytelling.
-
-
Atmospheric and gripping
- By Kirstine on 24-05-12
-
The Dance Tree
- By: Kiran Millwood Hargrave
- Narrated by: Ruta Gedmintas
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Strasbourg, 1518. In the midst of a blisteringly hot summer, a lone woman begins to dance in the city square. She dances for days without pause or rest, and as she is joined by hundreds of others, the authorities declare an emergency. Musicians will be brought in to play the Devil out of these women. Just beyond the city’s limits, Lisbet lives with her mother-in-law and husband, tending the bees that are their livelihood. And then, as the dancing plague gathers momentum, Lisbet’s sister-in-law returns from seven years’ penance in the mountains for a crime no one will name.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Lusi Elliot on 07-07-22
-
The Shape of Darkness
- By: Laura Purcell
- Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A struggling silhouette artist in Victorian Bath seeks out a renowned child spirit medium in order to speak to the dead - and to try to identify their killers - in this beguiling new tale from Laura Purcell.
-
-
Creepy and twisty
- By The Curator on 30-01-21
-
Cold Hollow
- By: Emilie J. Howard
- Narrated by: J. Scott Bennett
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Barner family relocates to Cold Hollow, a quaint town nestled in a Vermont mountain range. They find it to be quite charming, and the inhabitants endearing, except for a few residents. Odd laws are enforced, confrontations begin, and insanity reigns as a madman sits upon his imaginary throne, trying to keep the threads of his dream from unraveling. Will Sophia and Angus Barner be able to protect their children from the malevolence that lurks within the small township?
-
-
Creepy and engaging at the same time
- By Tony Bough on 27-01-16
-
Mist in the Mirror
- By: Susan Hill
- Narrated by: Matt Addis
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An inveterate traveller, Sir James Monmouth has spent most of his life abroad. He arrives in England on a dark and rainy night with the intention of discovering more, not only about himself but his obsession with Conrad Vane, an explorer. Warned against following his trail, Sir James experiences some extraordinary happenings - who is the mysterious, sad little boy, and the old woman behind the curtain? And why is it that only he hears the chilling scream and the desperate sobbbing?
-
-
Could have been better
- By Kindle Customer on 13-07-14
Summary
Set in and around the women's prison at Milbank in the 1870's, Affinity is an eerie and utterly compelling ghost story, a complex and intriguing literary mystery, and a poignant love story with an unexpected twist in the tale.
Following the death of her father, Margaret Prior has decided to pursue some 'good work' with the lady criminals of one of London's most notorious gaols. Surrounded by prisoners, murderers, and common thieves, Margaret feels herself drawn to one of the prison's more unlikely inmates - the imprisoned spiritualist Selina Dawes.
Sympathetic to the plight of this innocent-seeming girl, Margaret sees herself dispensing guidance and perhaps friendship on her visits, little expecting to find herself dabbling in a twilight world of seances, shadows, unruly spirits, and unseemly passions.
Critic reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about Affinity
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- iris
- 26-10-14
Slow going at first but speeds up well.
Yet another frustrated spinster is the heroine of this book until she finds a project to occupy her time by becoming a prison visitor. In the prison she comes under the spell of a prisoner called 'Dawes' and gradually she is drawn into the world of spiritism. As the story unfolds we understand that 'Aurora' had been in love with her brother's wife and had suffered a nervous breakdown from disappointed expectations. This has led her mother to treat her with various opiates. I think the historical detail is wonderful and the Victorian world recreated in a most convincing fashion. I don't know whether it is the pace of the narrator's reading which gave me the impression of a rather slow moving story through the first part of the book. It did seem to be slightly tedious at times. However the pace really picked up in the second part and the ending was marvellous. The debunking of the spiritism was very well done indeed. In spite of the slow start I would reccommend this book as it is a very enjoyable read on the whole.
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Halleraspberry
- 16-09-17
Immensely enjoyable
Wonderful writing and brilliantly acted. The narrator has a fine skill for different character voices. Sarah Waters' novels are always excellent and this is no exception.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lauren Moss
- 28-10-16
Heart - melting Twist!
Affinity is on my Masters reading list, and I decided to get the audiobook and save myself some time trying to fit the reading into my day - really worth it. MacMahon has a real knack for finding each character's voice, and really brings Waters's words to life - going to have to take some time to process that ending though!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Frankimunk
- 17-12-15
The in improbable made readable
I found that despite my misgivings of the setting, it was a worthwhile read.
Nothing explicit, very romantic, but enjoyable
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ms. K. Cowburn
- 11-09-15
So interesting and a great twist
I really enjoyed this book, although the twist wasn't that unexpected, it still made me gasp. I loved the readingn, I thought it was well done and did the story justice.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jennyflubug
- 21-09-20
Seriously bad ending. I really disappointed ☹️
After struggling all the way through this book, I have I have never been so disappointed. I have enjoyed others she wrote, and I but this was long and drawn out for a really bad end definitely thumbs down ☹️
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- nic-nak
- 05-08-22
Slow burn but held you once captured!
Found it slow and the old voices a little grating at first but glad I stuck with it. Couldn’t stop listening once engaged: locked in. 👏🏻
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nikki Pantony
- 14-01-22
Disappointing end for the romantics
Great book, good story, well written. I guess not all romantic novels can end in happily ever after so for that reason I still give it a four and not the 3 I would like to for the disappointing end for us romantics.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Peter
- 24-08-20
Tedious
Interesting plot well delivered but extremely long in the telling. If the author had cut out the irrelevant flashbacks and some of the pointless “character insights“ this would have been an excellent book
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 02-06-20
Claustrophobic Spooky Thrills
This novel is dense and full of the neurotic daydreams and fantasies of the troubled main characters.
It takes place in Autumn and Winter so best to read it when the nights are drawing in, wrapped up on the sofa!!!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 17-03-21
A bit Laborious to be honest.
The plot twist is more of a form of euthanasia to mercifully end the tedium.