Brand New Ancients cover art

Brand New Ancients

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
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.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Brand New Ancients

By: Kae Tempest
Narrated by: Kae Tempest
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £5.99

Buy Now for £5.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

Kate Tempest is one of the most exciting and innovative performers to have emerged in spoken-word poetry in many years; her dramatic poem Brand New Ancients won the prestigious Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry. Tempest’s wholly unique blend of street poetry, rap and storytelling – combined with the spellbinding delivery of an open-air revivalist – has won her legions of followers all over the UK. Her remarkable stage presence is wholly audible in this poem, a spoken story written to be told with live music.

Brand New Ancients is the tale of two families and their intertwining lives, set against the background of the city and braided with classical myth. Here, Tempest shows how the old myths still live on in our everyday acts of violence, bravery, sacrifice and love – and that our lives make tales no less dramatic and powerful than those of the old gods.

 Death, Grief & Loss Love Poetry Themes & Styles Innovation Mythology

Listeners also enjoyed...

 On Connection cover art
The Bricks That Built the Houses cover art
NightJack cover art
Paper Aeroplane cover art
Protest cover art
Return of the Morrigan cover art
Bright Stars cover art
The Confession of Peadar Gibbons cover art
One for My Baby cover art
Once Were Warriors cover art
Gypsy Boy cover art
The Ghost Factory cover art
Fearless cover art

Critic reviews

breathe[s] new life into old classic forms . . . a long poem about us and the gods that's all high-kicking verve and long-range understanding. I loved its vision, powerful and merciful. (Ali Smith, Books of the Year)
All stars
Most relevant
Or in the car (without wine).
You'll have a mighty fine time.
My review rhymes.

Listen to this with some wine.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Blown away by this. Fantastic work by Kate Tempest. Settle down to listen to this is one session, you won't regret it.

Wow, just...wow!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This a fantastic book of modern life,first time listening to Kate Tempest,and she moved me and is making me think,what life really is.

Truly powerful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved the words. Not so keen on the delivery which seemed to be aimed at a stage audience. Somewhat overdramatic, I felt. Will read the book instead.

Impressive work

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

What did you like most about Brand New Ancients?

Spoken word for this generation
Listen to this and her album !

What does Kate Tempest bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Told as it was meant to be told

Current yet timeless

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