Spindle's End cover art

Spindle's End

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

The evil fairy Pernicia has set a curse on Princess Briar-Rose: she is fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an endless, poisoned sleep. Katriona, a young fairy, kidnaps the princess in order to save her; she and her aunt raise the child in their small village, where no one knows her true identity. But Pernicia is looking for her, intent on revenge for a defeat 400 years old....

©2000 Robin McKinley (P)2004 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Fiction Historical Fiction Literature & Fiction Magic Royalty Fantasy
All stars
Most relevant
I will occasionally buy audiobooks of novels I have read, because this way I know I have a good chance of listening to something I will like. Robin McKinley is one of my very favourite authors, and I'd like to say this is my favourite of her books, but in all honesty I can't choose between them. Whimsical, magical, gently humoured but not without tension and threat, I love all of her novels. Spindle's End is a wonderful retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, filled in and fleshed out with history, magic and fairy godmothers galore.



Of course, some narrators have such total disregard for punctuation, characterisation and consistency in their accents that the can ruin even the best-beloved novel. This is utterly, utterly not the case here. Stephanie Daniel has a crystal-clear voice, crisp characterisation, including the animals, and a delivery that perfectly complements the novel's own dry humour.



An absolute five-star listen in every way.

Definitely not Disney

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had already read and knew I loved this book but have enjoyed having it in audio format. Robin McKinely spins this tale fabulously and evokes a detailed and magical world. I have taken 1 star off performance only because of a pronunciation issue - the name (and spelling) Catriona is, in Scotland, pronounced without the "o" - but it may be that the reader (who is otherwise perfect) is reading it how the author intended. if you have read the book yourself and are used to the Scottish pronunciation you do ease into hearing it as catri-o-na over the course of the book,just catches unaware at the start!

one of my favourite audiobooks

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