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The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City
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Description
Bloomsbury presents The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City by Susanna Clarke, read by Richard Armitage, featuring an afterword written and read by Susanna Clarke.
From the internationally bestselling and prize-winning author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an enchanting and haunting illustrated short story full of medieval magic
1110 A.D. The fairy host sweeps across the North of England and the city of Durham is under siege. Wearily the Bishop of Durham, Ranulf Flambard, prepares to surrender – something which proves far more difficult than he could have imagined.
His quest will lead him through a landscape of unco-operative rivers and enchanted forests to a New Castle on the banks of the River Tyne – where, with any luck, he will be received by a court of deceptive, would-be fairy queens, shape-shifting stags and a beautiful teenage Raven King.
A long-lost chapter in the lore of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City is an enchanting and enchanted adventure into the magic of medieval England.
Praise for Susanna Clarke:
'Spellbinding' Dua Lipa
'A miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling' Madeline Miller
'Clarke writes with an intelligence and beauty that seems at times miraculous' Katherine Rundell
Product details
| Published | 22 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Audiobook |
| Duration | 0 hours and 58 minutes |
| ISBN | 9781037207662 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Publishing |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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This winding medieval fairy tale showcases the author's trademark flare for the whimsical and uncanny . . . In lovely, lilting prose, Clarke renders a fascinating cast of humans and fairies alike. Sawdon's striking illustrations add to the charm, evoking a medieval illuminated manuscript. The author's fans will eat this up.
Publishers Weekly
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A charming . . . story with special resonance for Clarke's devoted fans.
Kirkus Reviews
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Clarke's imagination is prodigious, her pacing is masterly and she knows how to employ dry humor in the service of majesty.
The New York Times on THE WOOD AT MIDWINTER
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[Piranesi] flooded me, as the tides flood the halls, with a scouring grief, leaving gleaming gifts in its wake . . . rich, wondrous, full of aching joy and sweet sorrow.
The New York Times Book Review on PIRANESI
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Piranesi astonished me. It is a miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling, at once a gripping mystery, an adventure through a brilliant new fantasy world, and a deep meditation on the human condition: feeling lost, and being found. I already want to be back in its haunting and beautiful halls!
Madeline Miller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE SONG OF ACHILLES and CIRCE
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A fiercely funny, beautiful writer, Clarke attacks her subject with the wit and craft of a Dickens or Austen, effortlessly mixing historical figures and events in with her magical ones. And that magic: nobody writes about magic the way Clarke does . . . She writes about magic as if she's actually worked it.
Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine on JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL
























