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The Burning Chambers

The Joubert Family Chronicles (Book 1)

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What to expect

The Sunday Times No. 1 Bestseller

‘Mosse is a master storyteller’ – Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe

Bringing sixteenth-century France vividly to life, Kate Mosse’s historical epic The Burning Chambers is a gripping story of love, betrayal, war and conspiracy. It is the first volume in the sweeping, spellbinding series, The Joubert Family Chronicles.

Carcassonne, 1562. Nineteen-year-old Catholic Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father’s bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIVE.

But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon, changes her destiny forever. For Piet has a dangerous mission of his own, and he will need Minou’s help if he is to get out of La Cité alive . . .

A thrilling adventure and a heartbreaking love story, The Burning Chambers is the first novel in Kate Mosse's enthralling, meticulously researched historical series. It is followed by The City of Tears.

'A tour de force' – The Observer

'Gripping, complex and intensely atmospheric' – The Mail on Sunday

Praise for The Joubert Family Chronicles:

'Historical fiction to devour' – Anthony Horowitz, bestselling author of Close to Death, on The Burning Chambers

'An utterly absorbing epic' – Lucy Foley, bestselling author of The Paris Apartment, on The City of Tears

'Meticulously researched and stunningly written' – Santa Montefiore, bestselling author of Wait for Me, on The Ghost Ship

Critics Review

Mosse's fans will relish this tale of secrets, love and treachery
The Times
Another of Mosse's immersive dramas, which takes you to the heart of the past
Grazia
Mosse does what good popular historical novelists do best - make the past enticingly otherworldly, while also claiming it as our own
Independent
Mosse's narrative lyricism, beautifully drawn female characters and deft journey from the past to the present day are a cut above
Scotland on Sunday
A powerful storyteller with an abundant imagination
Daily Telegraph
Rich with historical detail, as you'd expect from Mosse, but it's Minou, the fiery heroine, who makes this a must-read
Good Housekeeping
An irresistible read
Prima
Impressively bold and ambitious, it features betrayals, broken friendship, family secrets and the horrors of fanaticism. Fans will love it
Daily Mail
A tour de force
Observer
For a thumpingly immersive historical listen, Kate Mosse’s The City of Tears (Mantle Audio) — the second of her Burning Chambers trilogy, though you don’t have to have read or listened to the first to enjoy this — more than fits the bill. If, like me, your knowledge of 16th-century royal and political life and religious wars is somewhat limited, narration really helps; there’s something clear and precise about having the details of the conflict between the Huguenots and Catholics go straight into my listening brain. But aside from this, Mosse is practised at creating vivid scenes — in this case, a court wedding that is overtaken by the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, with profound consequences for her protagonists. Actor Hattie Morahan, who has read novels by Tracy Chevalier and Stacey Halls, does a superb job, ably capturing the shifts between large-scale action and its impact on individual lives.
Alex Clark, Financial Times

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 4.5
Author Kate Mosse
Narrator Hattie Morahan
Series The Joubert Family Chronicles
Duration 17 hours and 12 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781509882571
Format Audiobook
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Genre Generational sagas, Historical adventure fiction, Historical fiction, Narrative theme: Sense of place
Collections The xigxag Ten
Availability GB, IE
Rating
5.0 (2 reviews)
Narration
4.5 (2 reviews)

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