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The Cardinal

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The Cardinal

By: Alison Weir
Narrated by: Nick Biadon
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About this listen

Step into the thrill and intrigue of Tudor England in the rich, compelling new novel from Sunday Times bestseller Alison Weir.

'Alison Weir makes history come alive as no one else' BARBARA ERSKINE

AN EXTRAORDINARY RISE TO POWER. A TRAGIC FALL FROM GRACE.

It begins with young Tom Wolsey, the bright and brilliant son of a Suffolk tradesman, sent to study at Oxford at just eleven years old.

It ends with a disgraced cardinal, cast from the King's side and estranged from the woman he loves.

The years in between tell the story of a scholar and a lover, a father and a priest. From the court of Henry VIII, Tom builds a powerful empire of church and state. At home in London, away from prying eyes, he finds joy in a secret second life.

But when King Henry, his cherished friend, demands the ultimate sacrifice, what will Wolsey choose?

Alison Weir's riveting new Tudor novel reveals the two lives of Cardinal Wolsey, a tale of power, passion and ambition.

©2025 Alison Weir (P)2025 Headline Publishing Group Limited Biographical Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Renaissance

Critic Reviews

Wolsey leaps from the page in all his brilliance, complexity and humanity . . . Nobody brings historical characters to life like Alison Weir (Tracy Borman, author of Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I)
Illuminating, emotional, fascinating you right there with Wolsey until the end (Kate Williams)
Through Weir's evocative prose we are taken into Wolsey's world, with his inevitable fall as heartbreaking as his rise was exhilarating (Elizabeth Norton)
In this pacy narrative, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey becomes more than just a historical figure - his personality and the twists and turns of his rise and fall leap from every page (Nicola Tallis)
Vibrant and informative . . . The Cardinal at last turns the spotlight on the great figure lurking behind the Cromwell of Wolf Hall (Sarah Gristwood)

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Sad devotion!

Very enjoyable and I loved the narrator very easy listening! Story of sacrifice and devotion maybe Ms Boleyn deserved what she got in the end when you realise how narcissistic and determined she was to ruin a person.

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