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The Last Hours

Author:
Minette Walters
Read by:
Helen Keeley
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Unabridged Audiobook

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Ratings
Book
3
Narrator
2
Release Date
August 7, 2018
Duration
15 hours 29 minutes
Summary
When the Black Death enters England through the port in Dorsetshire in June 1348, no one knows what manner of sickness it is—or how it spreads and kills so quickly. The Church cites God as the cause, and fear grips the people as they come to believe that the plague is a punishment for wickedness.

But Lady Anne of Develish has her own ideas. Educated by nuns, Anne is a rarity among women, being both literate and knowledgeable. With her brutal husband absent from the manor when news of this pestilence reaches her, she looks for more sensible ways to protect her people than daily confessions of sin. She decides to bring her serfs inside the safety of the moat that surrounds her manor house, then refuses entry to anyone else, even her husband.

Lady Anne makes an enemy of her daughter and her husband’s steward by doing so, but her resolve is strengthened by the support of her leading serfs...until food stocks run low. The nerves of all are tested by continued confinement and ignorance of what is happening in the world outside. The people of Develish are alive. But for how long? And what will they discover when the time comes for them to cross the moat again?

Compelling and suspenseful, The Last Hours is a riveting tale of human ingenuity and endurance set against the worst pandemic in history. In Lady Anne of Develish—leader, savior, heretic—Walters has created her most memorable heroine to date.
Reviews
Profile Avatar Greenbird1571 Dec 2025

The story was well told and well written imagined narrative of what it may have been like to live in this time and how such a vastly impactful event like the black plague could be leveraged by survivors as a way into freedom.

Profile Avatar Carmel S. Apr 2019

Wonderful historical fiction with a riveting plot, a charming love story and rich period detail. I was familiar with this author's mystery and suspense novels, and this is another hit. NOTE: This is the first part of a two-part story and it doesn't appear that the sequel is available yet. That was a little jarring, but still a great read. Narration is excellent.

The Last Hours

The Last Hours

Author: Minette Walters
Read by: Helen Keeley
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