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The Curator

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The Curator

By: Owen King
Narrated by: Marin Ireland
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About this listen

From Sunday Times bestselling author Owen King comes a Dickensian fantasy of illusion and charm where cats are revered as religious figures, thieves are noble, scholars are revolutionaries, and conjurers the most wonderful criminals.

At first glance, the world has not changed: the trams on the boulevards, the grand hotels, the cafes abuzz with conversation. The street kids still play on the two great bridges that divide the city, and the smart set still venture down to the Morgue Ship for an evening's entertainment.

Yet it only takes a spark to ignite a revolution.

For young Dora, a maid at the university, the moment brings liberation. She finds herself walking out with one of the student radicals, Robert, free to investigate what her brother Ambrose may have seen at the Institute for Psykical Research before he died.

But it is another establishment that Dora is given to look after, The Museum of the Worker. This strange, forgotten edifice is occupied by waxwork tableaux of miners, nurses, shopkeepers and other disturbingly lifelike figures.

As the revolution and counter-revolution outside unleash forces of love, betrayal, magic and terrifying darkness, Dora's search for the truth behind a mystery that she has long concealed will unravel a monstrous conspiracy and bring her to the very edge of worlds.

In The Curator, Owen King has created an extraordinary time and place - historical, fantastical, yet compellingly real, and a heroine who is courageous, curious and utterly memorable.

©2023 Owen King (P)2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Fiction Fantasy Cats Museum

Critic Reviews

"Owen King's The Curator is a rich read. Language, characters, and a fascinating world combine to create an intensely satisfying experience." (Charlaine Harris, no. 1 New York Times bestselling author of An Easy Death, and the Sookie Stackhouse series)

"Half fairy tale and half historical account of a revolution that never was, Owen King's The Curator is full of sly humor, sensuality, and strangeness." (Holly Black, no. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Book of Night)

"The Curator feels a little like Owen King somehow brought a curiosity cabinet to life. There are terrors here, but also marvels and delights, and a set of the most interesting characters I've met in some time. Put The Curator on the same shelf as other classics of the uncanny and uncategorisable, like Susanna Clarke's Piranesi and Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast. I loved it." (Kelly Link)

What listeners say about The Curator

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Truely awful

I expected this to be a bit bizarre and weird - in a good way - but it was terrible. Had some good parts but overall it just goes nowhere really. I just didn’t get it?? Maybe I need to read it again but don’t know that I could get through it again. Disappointing.

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a rambling tale

stories within the story, I spent all the hours lost in the tale and enjoyed it all

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Not worth it

I was hardly able to follow along. Scratch that, I wasn’t able to follow along. I ended up just using it as noise as I walked. I bought it, I’m going to finish it. Whatever that means. If someone asked me to outline what happened in the book I’d be able to tell them very little.

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