Audiobooks Like Bring Up The Bodies

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Simon Vance narrates Hilary Mantel's Man Booker winner with the measured authority the Tudor court requires — his voice gives Cromwell's cold efficiency a legible interior life, and the 15-hour runtime allows the political orchestration of Anne Boleyn's fall to unfold with the deliberateness of real history. Nine picks share a similar length and two feature Vance's narration, with the list leaning toward literary historical fiction where the moral complexity of power is the real subject.

10 audiobooks for fans of Bring Up The Bodies

  1. 1
    The Miniaturist cover

    The Miniaturist

    The Miniaturist • Book 1

    by Jessie Burton, Unknown Author

    Narrated by Davina Porter

    ★ 3.63 ABR Score (155.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.62 Goodreads (153.6K) ★ 4.07 Audible (1.7K)
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    An eighteen-year-old bride receives a mysterious dollhouse replica of her new Amsterdam home, with miniatures that seem to predict the future. Atmospheric 17th-century mystery steeped in religious oppression and family secrets.

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  2. 2
    A Place of Greater Safety cover

    A Place of Greater Safety

    by Hilary Mantel

    Narrated by Jonathan Keeble

    ★ 3.96 ABR Score (12.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (12.2K) ★ 4.36 Audible (315)
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    Keeble's narration honors every sentence of Mantel's ambitious prose: a towering portrait of three men whose revolutionary ideals spiral into terror and ruin.

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  3. 3
    The Distant Hours cover

    The Distant Hours

    by Kate Morton, Unknown Author

    Narrated by Louise Brealey

    ★ 3.94 ABR Score (85.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.89 Goodreads (85.3K) ★ 4.38 Audible (87)
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    A misdirected letter leads Edie to crumbling Milderhurst Castle and the elderly Blythe sisters guarding fifty-year-old secrets. Louise Brealey weaves between past and present timelines, capturing both Gothic atmosphere and family mystery.

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  4. 4
    The Face of Battle cover

    The Face of Battle

    Six of Crows series

    by John Keegan

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    ★ 4.03 ABR Score (9.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.12 Goodreads (8.7K) ★ 4.37 Audible (788)
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    Simon Vance's measured, authoritative narration transforms Keegan's battlefield analysis into gripping immersion—you'll hear the chaos and humanity beneath the history.

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  5. 5
    The Stockholm Octavo cover

    The Stockholm Octavo

    by Karen Engelmann

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    ★ 3.52 ABR Score (4.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.44 Goodreads (4.0K) ★ 3.83 Audible (69)
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    A fortune-teller's card reading promises love and connection to a contented Stockholm bachelor in 1791. Simon Vance navigates the intricate plot where tarot cards intersect with political intrigue and personal transformation.

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  6. 6
    The Things We Cannot Say cover

    The Things We Cannot Say

    by Kelly Rimmer

    Narrated by Ann Marie Gideon, Nancy Peterson

    ★ 4.86 ABR Score (319.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.54 Goodreads (284.0K) ★ 4.76 Audible (35.9K)
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    A modern woman discovers her Polish grandmother's wartime secrets while struggling with her own family crisis involving her autistic son. The dual timeline structure works beautifully in audio format, connecting past trauma to present-day healing through intimate family bonds.

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  7. 7
    The Frozen River cover

    The Frozen River

    by Ariel Lawhon

    Narrated by Jane Oppenheimer, Ariel Lawhon

    ★ 4.71 ABR Score (610.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.38 Goodreads (594.0K) ★ 4.7 Audible (16.2K)
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    Maine, 1789: midwife Martha Ballard investigates a body frozen in the Kennebec River, using her detailed diary of births, deaths, and town secrets. Jane Oppenheimer's narration captures the cold grip of frontier justice.

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  8. 8
    Homegoing cover

    Homegoing

    by Yaa Gyasi

    Narrated by Dominic Hoffman

    ★ 4.70 ABR Score (421.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.47 Goodreads (410.6K) ★ 4.67 Audible (10.9K)
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    Gyasi traces three centuries from Ghana to America through two family lines, with Dominic Hoffman's narration honoring each generation's distinct voice and struggle.

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  9. 9
    A Land Remembered cover

    A Land Remembered

    by Patrick D. Smith

    Narrated by George Guidall

    ★ 4.69 ABR Score (20.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.48 Goodreads (14.8K) ★ 4.79 Audible (5.4K)
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    Three generations of the MacIvey family transform from dirt-poor Florida crackers into real estate tycoons, starting in 1858 with Tobias MacIvey's arrival in the harsh frontier.

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  10. 10
    The Alice Network cover

    The Alice Network

    by Kate Quinn

    Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

    ★ 4.67 ABR Score (694.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.32 Goodreads (642.8K) ★ 4.63 Audible (51.3K)
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    Two timelines connect female spies: Eve infiltrating German-occupied France in WWI, and Charlie searching for her missing cousin in 1947's aftermath.

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Bring Up The Bodies Best Historical Fiction Audiobooks Most Popular Historical Fiction

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →