Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

$0.00 for first 30 days

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.
Witch Wood cover art

Witch Wood

By: John Buchan
Narrated by: Antony Ferguson
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £21.99

Buy Now for £21.99

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 Power-House cover art
The Lion and the Cross cover art
The Poor Clare cover art
The Good Wife cover art
The Prophet cover art
The Prophet's Wife cover art
Weird Women cover art
Salute to Adventurers cover art
Hannay: His 5 Adventures cover art
The Courts of the Morning cover art
Prester John cover art
Nicholas Nickleby cover art
The Unfortunate Fursey cover art
Taliesin cover art
Sir Gibbie cover art
Far from the Madding Crowd & The Return of the Native cover art

Summary

Considered a masterpiece by critics, John Buchan’s Witch Wood combines the author’s interests in landscape, Calvinism, and the fate of Scotland after the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

In seventeenth-century Scotland, religious struggles run rampant. Here, Young David Sempill, a moderate Presbyterian minister, pleas with his sect to have compassion for the remnants of King Montrose’s defeated army, who are being harried and slaughtered by religious extremists. But as pre-Christian nature worship and its accompanying black magicks seep forth from Melanudrigill Wood, Sempill himself disappears.

Originally published in 1927.

Public Domain (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: Romance

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Transform your day

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Listen everywhere

Listen everywhere

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Carry your entire Library

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Listen and learn

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Reach your reading goals

Reach your reading goals

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Find your niche

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for £0.00 £7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

What listeners say about Witch Wood

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

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

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

A brilliant story

This story is really well read, though the Scots dialect is a bit difficult, but you get the gist of it. The reader is clear and brings out the drama wonderfully. Well done!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

History & Faith

I confess that I only knew the writings of John Buchan from the 39 Steps I have listened to this and one other . He was a writer with great variation this book based on true events combines History of the highlands and the influence of the reformation especially Calvin on the lives of the Scottish people. The accent and language are often difficult and a knowledge of scripture would be helpful the fact that the bible was the language of ordinary folk gives insight into the times. Sometimes a difficult listen but persevere the rich tapestry you listen by an excellent writer is worth the effort.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Let down by narrator with no knowledge of Scots

Most of the extensive dialogue in this book takes place in Scots. Unfortunately, the narrator has no background with this language and mispronounces most of its words. I was left wondering why you'd commission someone with no experience of Scots to read this, and why none of the many errors he makes were caught in the editing process.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!