The Corner That Held Them cover art

The Corner That Held Them

Penguin Modern Classics

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Corner That Held Them

By: Sylvia Townsend Warner
Narrated by: Emma Gregory
Try Premium Plus free

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

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The nuns who enter a medieval Norfolk convent are told to renounce the world, but the world still finds ways to trouble them, whether it is through fire, floods, pestilence, a collapsing spire, jealous rivalries, a priest with a secret or a plague of caterpillars. As we follow their daily lives over three centuries, this masterpiece of historical fiction re-creates a world run by women.

'One of the great British novels of the twentieth century: a narrative of extraordinary reach, power and beauty' Sarah Waters

'As an act of imagined history this novel has few rivals. Also, as it happens, a work of high, frequent comedy' George Steiner, The Times Literary Supplement

'Spellbinding . . . One starts rereading as soon as one has reached the last page' Sunday Times

'Magnificent' Philip Hensher, Daily Telegraph

© Sylvia Townsend Warner 1948 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

 Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Medieval Middle Ages

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Lolly Willowes cover art
The Vet's Daughter cover art
Knight's Acre cover art
David Copperfield cover art
A Vision of Light cover art
The Great Fortune cover art
Hotel du Lac cover art
The Golden Notebook cover art
Their Eyes Were Watching God cover art
The Christmas Stories cover art
A Wayside Tavern cover art
Wuthering Heights cover art
Brother Cadfael cover art
Lorna Doone cover art
Shirley cover art
Gothic Tales cover art

Critic reviews

A classic, whose resonance deepens inside the reader in proportion to its austere, luminous discretion. Also, as it happens, a work of high, frequent comedy. As an act of imagined history this novel has few rivals
A spellbinding piece of historical fiction-spare, luminous. . . . One starts rereading as soon as one has reached the last page
A magnificent recreation of the life of a medieval convent
All stars
Most relevant
This book deserves to be more widely known. It's witty, subtle, moving and lyrical, with sharply observed characters, excellent period detail and a deep sense of place and time.

Emma Gregory's narration was equally wonderful: engaging and fluid, matching the rhythm of the book extremely well.

Probably the best experience I've had with an audio book.

A classic brilliantly narrated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What an intense experience. At the beginning I was dubious and at times even a little bored. The story is hard to follow at times because characters ebb and flow and because the time frame is so long. But relinquishing that compulsion to keep track of everyone, and carried along by the masterful creation of an entire and unfamiliar world into which one is gradually drawn in, I became completely absorbed.

Emma Gregory’s narration is mesmerising. She has a beautiful voice but her performance is also witty, elegant, controlled.

Will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Extraordinary

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I thought I’d really enjoy this as it has a lot of features I usually enjoy, and I was prepared, by some reviews, for it being slow burn.

But I’ve tried 3 or 4 times now to really give it a chance, even restarting it once. And I really have no clear recognition of anyone or anything so far described. I listen, but then 20 minutes in, I realise that I’m thinking about something quite different. It’s so boring.

Narrator has a nice voice, but it’s also really soporific. I think I’ll get a credit refund. I don’t want to waste an expensive credit on background noise.

Such a struggle - very boring

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