Mischief Acts cover art

Mischief Acts

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Mischief Acts

By: Zoe Gilbert
Narrated by: James Goode, Jilly Bond, Kit Griffiths, Sean Barrett, Sharon Eckman
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
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.
Cancel

About this listen

 Bloomsbury presents Mischief Acts by Zoe Gilbert, read by Jilly Bond, Sean Barrett, James Goode, Kit Griffiths and Sharon Eckman.

A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
_______________

'A work of extraordinary ambition, brilliantly realised’ OBSERVER
'A mesmerising journey down the byways of English folklore' MAIL ON SUNDAY
'Verbally dextrous, inventive, and hugely entertaining’ THE TIMES
_______________

Herne the hunter, mischief-maker, spirit of the forest, leader of the wild hunt, hurtles through the centuries pursued by his creator.

A shapeshifter, Herne dons many guises as he slips and ripples through time – at candlelit Twelfth Night revels, at the spectacular burning of the Crystal Palace, at an acid-laced Sixties party. Wherever he goes, transgression, debauch and enchantment always follow in his wake.

But as the forest is increasingly encroached upon by urban sprawl and gentrification, and the world slides into crisis, Herne must find a way to survive – or exact his revenge.
_______________

With its intoxicating, chameleonic voice and boundless imagination, Mischief Acts is British folklore as you’ve never read it before: dangerous, sexy, troubling, daring, savage, an exhilarating race through time and space, weaving together the ancient and the contemporary.

‘A dark-dazzling archive of enchantments, pursuit, and desire’ ELEY WILLIAMS

'This is the most adventurous, stylistically magnificent thing I’ve read for years. Nobody does fantasy like Zoe Gilbert' NATASHA PULLEY

'Mischief Acts is brimming with magic ... The story of Herne, like the forest itself, transforms, entangles and enchants' LUCY WOOD

'A dazzling new take on an ancient myth, reminding us of the wildness within. I adored it' KERRY ANDREW

'Superb. A work of shimmering allure' IRENOSEN OKOJIE©2022 Zoe Gilbert (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Magical Realism Magic

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Botanical Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland cover art
Keeper of Enchanted Rooms cover art
Wonders of the Invisible World cover art
The Year of Ancient Ghosts cover art
All the Murmuring Bones cover art
The Fool's Girl cover art
The Fascination cover art
Sword Stone Table cover art
The Colour of Hope cover art
The Watchers cover art
Rose Daughter cover art
Threadneedle cover art
Momenticon cover art
Burly Tales cover art
Silver in the Wood & Drowned Country cover art
The Wheelwright's Daughter cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
This was so good and I am so glad I read and listened to the audiobook together, the performances were outstanding and definitely enhanced the stories - highly recommended

Outstanding narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fantastic book with interwoven and fantastically narrated stories.
It is a strange, if not, beautiful tale of human vs nature.
Personally I felt part 1 is where this book shines, part 2 and 3 are equally well told but due to the stories being distinct rather than 1 overarching narrative, one can’t help but judge chapters and I felt some of the later chapters were not as strong.
Also, if English is not your first language, this will be a very difficult book but worthwhile reading.
Overall I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of folklore, poetry, or who appreciates English literature but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to everybody.

British folklore at its finest

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A fascinating book that shifts between different styles with each chapter. It is quite unlike anything I have read previously and I enjoyed it immensely. The different narrators kept things fresh and the quality of writing is top drawer stuff.

A unique experience.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Interesting, intelligent tale telling. Beautifully narrated by a talented ensemble.
Myth made modern.
Thank you.

Loved this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Incredible story-telling, narrated impeccably. I’m going right back to the beginning to listen again.

Extraordinary

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was an excellent collection of stories inspired by the myth of Herne

Especially appreciated the chants that interspersed each story

A wonderful collection of stories

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I do love mythical storytelling and the string of recurrencies over time (as in Rutherfurd's historical novels). The narrators all do wonderful work, too.

Myths through time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
One of the challenges in addressing British mythology is that it has become swallowed up in cliches and commecialism. This book takes a single character and follows his evolution over time. Zoe Gilbert shows us the dark origins of folk mythology, how it became fantasy and how dark spectres of death evolve into diminutive mischief makers and beyond. Though not overtly stated, this book successfully gives us a history lesson in folk lore and fairy through compelling narratives. The narration is also great. Sean Barrett deserves special mention for his gravelly tones!

An answer to the question where do fairies come from?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Didn't know what to expect but I did enjoy this unusual series of tales about Herne, in the many and varied guises and disguises over the centuries. Beautifully narrated by all though I wasn't all that keen on the folk song sections, but that's just me.

SERIOUSLY UNUSUAL

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Zoe Gilbert has written a gloriously imaginative novel, mixing folklore, history and song
in a series of disparate stories featuring the Lord of Misrule and Mischief, Herne the Hunter. It is a thoroughly engaging read,1 but this is one occasion where I would also really recommend the audio book. Each story is read by a different narrator from a superb cast. The songs and rhymes are delivered with great panache. Above all, these tales really lend themselves to a rich, thoroughly engaging, listening experience. I would give it 6 stars in all areas of I could. If you are new to audio books you could give this one a try. I don't think you will regret it.

A Sublime Listening Experience

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews