Listen free for 30 days
-
The Heretic's Apprentice
- The Sixteenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Series: Brother Cadfael, Book 16
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure
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 £16.39
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 Potter's Field
- The Seventeenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the Summer and Autumn of the Year of Our Lord 1143 in which the gentle monk, Brother Cadfael, is forced to leave the tranquility of his herb garden to find the whole truth behind the murder of a young women whose body was unexpectedly discovered in a newly tilled field recently acquired by the Shrewsbury Abbey in a land exchange.
-
-
good listen but not the best oration or plot.
- By N. Dyne on 20-05-18
-
Brother Cadfael
- A BBC Radio Collection of Three Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Douglas Hodge, full cast, Michael Hordern, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A onetime Crusader turned Benedictine monk, Brother Cadfael is a most unusual detective. Living a quiet life as a monastery herbalist, he spends his days ministering to his brothers using the medical skills he acquired in the Holy Lands - but his worldly knowledge and wide experience of human nature are frequently called upon when there is a murder to solve....
-
-
A pleasure to hear so much Welshness.
- By Mrs. G. Chew on 13-02-21
-
The Adventures of Brother Cadfael
- A Collection of Chronicles
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This collection of recordings about Brother Cadfael—a Benedictine monk and amateur sleuth in the 12th century—are performed here by the ideal actor. Sir Derek Jacobi, who portrayed Cadfael in several television adaptations, captivates listeners with his renderings of Monk's Hood, Saint Peter's Fair, The Heretic's Apprentice, The Potter's Field, The Summer of the Danes, and Brother Cadfael's Penance.
-
-
Very entertaining
- By Gayle Harris on 20-05-22
-
The Apothecary Rose
- By: Candace Robb
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the year of our Lord 1363. And in the cathedral city of York people are dying in mysterious circumstances. But there seems to be a common thread - the herbal remedies dispensed by Nicholas Wilton, Master Apothecary. The first victim is an anonymous pilgrim. But when a highborn nobleman dies after taking the same potion the authorities decide to act. Dispatched to York, in disguise, to unravel the mystery, Owen Archer, former Captain of Archers, apprentices himself to the Apothecary.
-
-
The first of a great series
- By Amazon Customer on 10-04-13
-
The Unquiet Bones
- By: Mel Starr
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hugh of Singleton, fourth son of a minor knight, has been educated as a clerk, usually a prelude to taking holy orders. However, feeling no certain calling despite a lively faith, he turns to the profession of surgeon, training in Paris and then hanging out his sign in Oxford. A local lord asks him to track the killer of a young woman whose bones have been found in the castle cesspit. She is identified as the impetuous missing daughter of a local blacksmith, and her young man, whom she had provoked very publicly, is in due course arrested and sentenced at the Oxford assizes.
-
-
Shardlake's Younger Brother, the surgeon
- By Mr. Stephen Gould on 20-09-20
-
The Wolves of Savernake
- Domesday, Book 1
- By: Edward Marston
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ralph Delchard, a soldier who fought at the Battle of Hastings, and Gervase Bret, a talented lawyer, have been commissioned by William the Conqueror to look into irregularities brought to light during the compilation of the Domesday Book. A man’s body is found mutilated in Savernake Forest and the residents of Bedwyn sleep uneasy at night, fearing a monster stalking the town. When Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive, they discover that the locals are harbouring dark secrets and that the real killer may be a little closer to home....
-
-
Easy listening at its best.
- By K on 23-11-21
-
The Potter's Field
- The Seventeenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the Summer and Autumn of the Year of Our Lord 1143 in which the gentle monk, Brother Cadfael, is forced to leave the tranquility of his herb garden to find the whole truth behind the murder of a young women whose body was unexpectedly discovered in a newly tilled field recently acquired by the Shrewsbury Abbey in a land exchange.
-
-
good listen but not the best oration or plot.
- By N. Dyne on 20-05-18
-
Brother Cadfael
- A BBC Radio Collection of Three Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Douglas Hodge, full cast, Michael Hordern, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A onetime Crusader turned Benedictine monk, Brother Cadfael is a most unusual detective. Living a quiet life as a monastery herbalist, he spends his days ministering to his brothers using the medical skills he acquired in the Holy Lands - but his worldly knowledge and wide experience of human nature are frequently called upon when there is a murder to solve....
-
-
A pleasure to hear so much Welshness.
- By Mrs. G. Chew on 13-02-21
-
The Adventures of Brother Cadfael
- A Collection of Chronicles
- By: Ellis Peters
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This collection of recordings about Brother Cadfael—a Benedictine monk and amateur sleuth in the 12th century—are performed here by the ideal actor. Sir Derek Jacobi, who portrayed Cadfael in several television adaptations, captivates listeners with his renderings of Monk's Hood, Saint Peter's Fair, The Heretic's Apprentice, The Potter's Field, The Summer of the Danes, and Brother Cadfael's Penance.
-
-
Very entertaining
- By Gayle Harris on 20-05-22
-
The Apothecary Rose
- By: Candace Robb
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the year of our Lord 1363. And in the cathedral city of York people are dying in mysterious circumstances. But there seems to be a common thread - the herbal remedies dispensed by Nicholas Wilton, Master Apothecary. The first victim is an anonymous pilgrim. But when a highborn nobleman dies after taking the same potion the authorities decide to act. Dispatched to York, in disguise, to unravel the mystery, Owen Archer, former Captain of Archers, apprentices himself to the Apothecary.
-
-
The first of a great series
- By Amazon Customer on 10-04-13
-
The Unquiet Bones
- By: Mel Starr
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hugh of Singleton, fourth son of a minor knight, has been educated as a clerk, usually a prelude to taking holy orders. However, feeling no certain calling despite a lively faith, he turns to the profession of surgeon, training in Paris and then hanging out his sign in Oxford. A local lord asks him to track the killer of a young woman whose bones have been found in the castle cesspit. She is identified as the impetuous missing daughter of a local blacksmith, and her young man, whom she had provoked very publicly, is in due course arrested and sentenced at the Oxford assizes.
-
-
Shardlake's Younger Brother, the surgeon
- By Mr. Stephen Gould on 20-09-20
-
The Wolves of Savernake
- Domesday, Book 1
- By: Edward Marston
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ralph Delchard, a soldier who fought at the Battle of Hastings, and Gervase Bret, a talented lawyer, have been commissioned by William the Conqueror to look into irregularities brought to light during the compilation of the Domesday Book. A man’s body is found mutilated in Savernake Forest and the residents of Bedwyn sleep uneasy at night, fearing a monster stalking the town. When Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret arrive, they discover that the locals are harbouring dark secrets and that the real killer may be a little closer to home....
-
-
Easy listening at its best.
- By K on 23-11-21
-
A Conspiracy of Violence
- Adventures of Thomas Chaloner, Book 1
- By: Susanna Gregory
- Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
harles II is well established at White Hall Palace, his mistress at hand in rooms over the Holbein bridge, the heads of some of the regicides on public display. London seethes with new energy, freed from the strictures of the protectorate, but many of its inhabitants have lost their livelihoods. One is Thomas Chaloner, a reluctant spy for the feared secretary of state, John Thurloe, and now returned from Holland in desperate need of employment.
-
-
Welcome Thomas Chaloner
- By Kindle Customer on 06-05-21
-
A Plague on Both Your Houses
- The First Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew
- By: Susanna Gregory
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Matthew Bartholomew, unorthodox but effective physician to Michaelhouse college in medieval Cambridge, is as worried as anyone about the pestilence that is ravaging Europe and seems to be approaching England. But he is distracted by the sudden and inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse - a death the University authorities do not want investigated.
-
-
Just brilliant
- By Heidi Harper on 27-08-18
-
Eleanor the Queen
- By: Norah Lofts
- Narrated by: Nicolette McKenzie
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eleanor…young, high-spirited, supremely intelligent, heiress to the vast Duchy of Aquitaine – at a time when a woman’s value was measured in terms of wealth. Her vivid leadership inspired and dazzled those about her. And yet, born to rule, she was continually repressed and threatened by the men who overshadowed her life. This is the story of a brilliant, medieval figure – of a princess who led her own knights to the Crusades, who was bride to two kings and mother of Richard the Lionheart.
-
The King's Justice
- A Stanton and Barling Mystery, Book 1
- By: E. M. Powell
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
England, 1176. Aelred Barling, esteemed clerk to the justices of King Henry II, is dispatched from the royal court with his young assistant, Hugo Stanton, to investigate a brutal murder in a village outside York. The case appears straightforward. A suspect is under lock and key in the local prison, and the angry villagers are demanding swift justice. But when more bodies are discovered, certainty turns to doubt - and amid the chaos it becomes clear that nobody is above suspicion.
-
-
Great murder mystery
- By KAH on 04-10-18
-
The Pimlico Murder
- By: Mike Hollow
- Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Armistice Day 1940. The Blitz Detective John Jago finds himself despatched to Pimlico to investigate a suspicious death. A young man, Terry Watson, has been found in an Anderson shelter, battered about the head, and with two white poppies in his pocket. As the investigation delves into Watson's background, Jago and his assistant DC Craddock find themselves knee-deep in Pimlico's shady underworld and connections with Oswald Mosley's BUF party. It will take all their skills to uncover the truth behind the pacifist's brutal death.
-
-
Another fantastic listen
- By FrancesH on 06-01-22
-
The Late Scholar
- By: Jill Paton Walsh
- Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the fellows at an Oxford college appeal to Peter Wimsey to resolve a dispute, he and Harriet are happy to oblige. The dispute between the two passionate parties is evenly balanced, that is, until several of the fellows unexpectedly die. And the causes of death bear an uncanny resemblance to the murder methods in Peter's past cases - methods that Harriet has used in her novels.…
-
-
Not as good as a DL Sayers but better than nothing
- By Claire on 15-05-14
-
Father Brown: The Complete Series 1 and 2
- 13 BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: G. K. Chesterton
- Narrated by: Andrew Sachs, full cast
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With his black hat, huge umbrella, unworldly simplicity and 'beaming but breathless geniality', Father Brown is one of fiction's best-loved amateur detectives. Short and tatty, but with the wisdom and insight to unravel the most wayward of criminal minds, he has entertained generations. In this collection of 13 full-cast dramatisations, the high priest of detection becomes involved in seven intriguing cases that will tax even his mental powers to the limit.
-
-
Great little stories
- By Anonymous User on 30-08-21
-
Regency Buck
- By: Georgette Heyer
- Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beautiful heiress Judith Taverner has her pick of London suitors. But her luck takes a turn for the worse when her hapless brother, Peregrine, becomes the target of a would-be-assassin. To Judith's great annoyance, their mysterious guardian - the handsome Earl of Worth - seems far more intent on wooing her than saving her brother, but all is not as it seems. When the truth is revealed, Judith will finally discover if the earl is after her money or her heart.
-
-
Classic Heyer!
- By JM on 04-09-21
-
Shardlake: The Complete BBC Radio Collection
- Six BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: CJ Sansom
- Narrated by: full cast, Jason Watkins, Justin Salinger, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete collected dramatisations of C. J. Sansom's historical mystery series: Set during the reign of Henry VIII, these six stunning dramas follow the adventures of hunchbacked lawyer-detective Matthew Shardlake as he navigates the dangerous world of Tudor England, solving crimes and seeking out murderers.
-
-
Shardlake
- By Lee on 20-03-22
-
Absolution by Murder
- Sister Fidelma Mysteries, Book 1
- By: Peter Tremayne
- Narrated by: Caroline Lennon
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the leading churchmen and women gather at the Synod of Whitby in AD 664 to debate the rival merits of the Celtic and Roman Churches, tempers begin to fray. Conspirators plot an assassination, while mysterious, violent death stalks the shadowy cloisters of the Abbey of St Hilda. When the Abbess Etain, a leading speaker for the Celtic Church, is found murdered, suspicion inevitably rests on the Roman faction. Attending the Synod is Fidelma, of the community of St Brigid of Kildare.
-
-
Like wading through treacle.
- By D. A. Morse on 27-09-19
-
Cathedral of Bones
- Ela of Salisbury Medieval Mysteries, Book 1
- By: J. G. Lewis
- Narrated by: Madeleine Brolly
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Salisbury, 1226. A young pregnant woman is found tangled in reeds in the river Avon, her identity a mystery. Grieving widow Ela Longespée is determined to succeed her husband as sheriff of Salisbury, and quickly takes charge of the investigation. She soon finds herself in the thick of a neighborhood scandal and a struggle to maintain her authority. With multiple suspects, can she identify the true killer?
-
-
Anachronisms aplenty.
- By Caty M on 08-05-21
-
Hide My Eyes
- By: Margery Allingham
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Hide My Eyes, Campion finds himself hunting down a serial killer. A spate of murders leaves him and his friend and colleague Inspector Luke, with only the baffling clues of a left-hand glove and a lizard-skin lettercase. However a chain of strange events leads them to an odd museum of curiosities hidden in a quiet London neighbourhood where there is more going on than meets the eye.
-
-
Ruined by appalling narration
- By Amazon Customer on 08-07-20
Summary
It is June in the Year of Our Lord 1143 when Elave, young clerk to William of Lythwood, returns from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his elderly master's body. His mission is twofold, to bury William in his home abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, and to deliver a dowry to William's adopted daughter Fortunata. But Elave, suspected of harboring views inimical to church doctrine, is held for ecclesiastical trial. And when Aldwin, the Lythwood family clerk hired in Elave's absence, is stabbed to death, Elave is incarcerated not only for heresy, but for murder. Fortunata's dowry, an intricately carved box with mysterious contents, holds the key to the mysteries that spring up around Elave and the Lythwood family. Shrewd and patient, Brother Cadfael is at his best here.
Performed by Tony Award-winning actor Derek Jacobi, this sixteenth chronicle of Brother Cadfael is sure to delight old friends and new fans.
Critic reviews
"Peters' historical mysteries are vivid standouts...an old-fashioned joust between good and evil." (Chicago Sun-Times)
What listeners say about The Heretic's Apprentice
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- David
- 07-01-16
Value
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Although the story is good and the reading of it also, but the abreviation is poor and as to value for money, it is very poor and over prices.
What was most disappointing about Ellis Peters’s story?
Badly edited
Any additional comments?
Poor value for money
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 22-10-17
great yourself
another classic.from Derek Jacobi and Ellis Peters. please Audible stock all her novels in the future
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 14-09-20
great
Jacobi does it again and transports us to a different age aided of course by the author. A pleasure to listen to
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Fiona Berry
- 04-05-20
Very gentle and entertaining
Derek Jacobi reads the book brilliantly well; the story keeps one's interest and entertains. very enjoyable..
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Val
- 17-09-19
Readers name!!!
I have been a fan of the Cadfael books of Ellis Peters and had them on disc before audiobooks began. Of course Derek Jacobi is Cadfael and Philip Madoc a good second! I presume an american company has taken over the rights of the older ones but surely they could pronounce Derek Jacobi's name correctly! It grates every time I listen to them!!!!
Could you get it corrected PLEASE!
-
Overall
- Wattie
- 14-08-18
A Great Tale
I Really did enjoy this Cadfael story and in particular the narration by Sir Derek's.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jennifer Chennell
- 02-02-18
disappionting
the unabridged books far superior. and if you enjoy a substantial read i wouldnt bother with these abridged versions especially as not that much cheaper
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mary Carnegie
- 15-05-17
Too short
I don't like abridged books, if the story is any good, and this one is. Unfortunately Derek Jacobi, brilliant actor though he is, robs Cadfael of his Welshness, which is fundamental to his identity and contributes to his attractiveness- neither Norman nor Anglo-Saxon, so somewhat above the events of his time.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Robert White
- 02-04-20
abridged leads to disappointment
I love the Cadfael books. I truly do. I love the way Peters develops the plot and characters, not to mention the period flavor. all of which is lost in an abridged version. it's like watching the trailer for a movie, but not seeing the film itself. you get a feel for it, but not the intricacies.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sarah, Longmont, Colorado
- 25-12-19
Disappointing
I've read and listened to all 15 if the previous Cadfael stories in their unabridged form, and found this abridged version very disappointing. No doubt the story line was preserved, but the book was stripped of all the richness and detail that make these books so appealing. None of the characters had life or form and the rendition by the reader was poorly differentiated. The resulting listen was dry and sterile.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- crnugent
- 24-06-21
Abridged version
Where is Peter Tull? I certainly respect Sir Jacoby, but in one page I could tell he is reading an abridged version and I can’t easily follow with my Kindle.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Douglas Whatley
- 29-03-18
Too Abridged
What disappointed you about The Heretic's Apprentice?
This version was so abridged that it lost all of the story
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Disappointed to miss so much of the book.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Joanna
- 05-09-14
Simon Prebble Preferred
This is one of my favorite Cadfael stories, but Jacobi is not my favorite reader. Simon Prebble is my hands down favorite of all the Cadfael narrators.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Karla C. Kiper
- 26-12-15
The Heretic's Apprentice
Please know that Cadfael becomes addictive! Each performance by Sir Derek Jacobi is a masterpiece. I only wish this one were longer!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lefurnari
- 03-05-15
Great as Usual
I have been an Ellis Peters Fan for many years, and a fan of Sir Derek Jacobi for much longer. Perfect combination!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 30-11-21
Avoid this
I love Ellis Peters, but this is so abridged you missed half the story. Seemed like they randomly chopped out chapters. Have to read the whole book now to find out the whole story. Very poorly done. Audible shouldn’t even offer this.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Eva L. Brown
- 28-06-21
Beware: ABRIDGED version!
What a crime to cut out so very much of her story. After listening to Patrick Tull read each word of book 1-15, this was a sharp disappointment.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Washingtonian Booklover
- 26-05-21
Having Cadfael read Cadfael: Excellent!
My first experience of the Cadfael chronicles was through the TV series with the great Derek Jacobi cast as Brother Cadfael. For Cadfael fans who love that series, the audiobooks narrated by Jacobi himself will bring his Cadfael back to life for you! I for one am happy that he did read some of the titles. When they were producing that series, Ellis Peters/Edith Pageter herself was happy with Jacobi being cast in the lead role.
My one complaint is the fact that this is an abridged version. Pity.
[Note: Some reviewers seem not to know who Jacobi is (must not follow the Shakespeare circuit) or that he was the original Cadfael, so this lovely double-gift of having him read these books may not resonate with them. But for those who love Jacobi's endearing version of this much-beloved medieval Benedictine sleuth, you will not be disappointed.]