Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Christmas Present

  • A Chronicles of St. Mary's Short Story
  • By: Jodi Taylor
  • Narrated by: Zara Ramm
  • Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,637 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
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.
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.
Christmas Present cover art

Christmas Present

By: Jodi Taylor
Narrated by: Zara Ramm
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £1.99

Buy Now for £1.99

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.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Very First Damned Thing cover art
Doing Time cover art
White Silence cover art
Mutant City cover art
Wanderer cover art
The Dane Maddock Adventures cover art
Something from the Nightside cover art
Live Free or Tri cover art
Cyclops Road cover art
Columbus Day cover art
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) cover art
Off to Be the Wizard cover art
Doctor Who: Dead Air cover art
Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion cover art
Attack on Titan: The Harsh Mistress of the City, Part 1 cover art
The End of Your Life Book Club cover art

Summary

It's Christmas Eve at St Mary's. And all through the house. Nothing is stirring.... Except for Max, Peterson, and Markham, sneaking out at midnight for an assignment that is very definitely off the books.

It was ten years ago tonight that senior historians Bashford and Grey went missing in 12th century Jerusalem. So how did they end up in AD 60 Roman Colchester?

Max has a theory. Peterson has a plan. Markham has bacon sandwiches. Colchester has Boudicca and her bloodthirsty Iceni hordes.

And then there's the giant pig...the enraged, giant pig....

Jodi Taylor is and always has been a history nut. Her disinclination to get out of bed for anything after 1485 can only be overcome by massive amounts of chocolate, and sometimes, if it's raining, not even then. She wanted to write a book about time travel that was a little different and, not having a clue how difficult this would make her book to classify, went ahead and slung in elements of history, adventure, comedy, romance, tragedy, and anything else she could think of. Her advice to booksellers is to buy huge numbers of her books and just put one on every shelf.

©2014 Jodi Taylor (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about Christmas Present

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,218
  • 4 Stars
    308
  • 3 Stars
    77
  • 2 Stars
    19
  • 1 Stars
    15
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,242
  • 4 Stars
    216
  • 3 Stars
    28
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    10
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,101
  • 4 Stars
    280
  • 3 Stars
    90
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    11

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

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Time and history as a present

A great short story to add to the Chronicles of St. Mary and an explanation to what happened to pod number 4. Plus more adventure and closure of some questions.
Excellent.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

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

Great short story from a great series

Which character – as performed by Zara Ramm – was your favourite?

Max! Zara Ramm really brings her to life!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, it's short enough for one long-ish car journey.

Any additional comments?

I really like that this short story was made available to add another facet to the overall series. I always enjoy learning more about the background of characters and this was the perfect platform.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

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

Stunning idea, well written

Something no one expected, there's no clue to it in any of the full length books. I wonder if the ramifications will be included in No Time like the Past or any of the future full length books.

I have to admit it was a marvel to listen to and a perfect Christmas present for Guthrie.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

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

Simply wonderful!

Would you consider the audio edition of Christmas Present to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version of Jodi Taylor's Chronicle of St Mary's series so I can't say. However I can't imagine the print version being better as the audio is superb.

What other book might you compare Christmas Present to, and why?

Other than the rest of the series ... nothing really.

What about Zara Ramm’s performance did you like?

Everything! She is absolutely perfect in her rendering.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This is a short story so yes, I listened to it right through.

Any additional comments?

If you haven't read / listened to the Chronicles of St Mary's I really urge you to give them a go if you like clean, informative about history, and laugh out loud funny!
The books can be read as stand alone but I advise you to start at the beginning and work through in order as the story line and characters develop with each book. You'll be hooked after the first one. I was, and am eagerly awaiting the audio version of Book 5!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

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

Fantastic stand alone adventure

What did you like most about Christmas Present?

Fast paced standalone adventure. Great plot line.

What other book might you compare Christmas Present to, and why?

Any of the other chronicles of st. Marys

What about Zara Ramm’s performance did you like?

As wonderful as ever!

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh as usual. Jodi is very funny in her writing and beautifully delivered by Zara.

Any additional comments?

Onto the next in the series. Can't wait.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Greatest Story Ever Told?

Great story as expected. What I didn't expect was, as I'm lying here at midnight unable to sleep due to it being the hottest UK July night on record, to be made to feel Christmassy! Make of that what you will...

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

The series that keeps on giving.

Superb, terrific, fantastic, great, excellent, witty, funny, and just a really good rollicking series.
Usually I read stuff like "Live free or die" by John Ringo, but I jumped out of my comfort zone and listened to the first audio book in the series, "Just one damn thing after another" and have been up at night for two weeks listening to the first 5 books and 3 novella's ever since. Can't wait for book 6 and Zara Ramm is the perfect narrator for them.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

Loved it

This has to be one of my favorite additions to the main series.

Keep them coming !

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

What a marvellous gift

A massive shambles and yet they come out of it successfully, in true St. Mary's style.
A touching story, of care and friendship.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

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

enjoyed this audio book.

will look for more from the author and the narrator loved the sarcasm. pleasantly surprised

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful