Publisher Description
The international bestseller! A masterful gothic thriller set against the turbulence of medieval Italy.
The Name of the Rose
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. But his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths that take place in seven days and nights of apocalyptic terror.
Brother William turns detective, and a uniquely deft one at that. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon--all sharpened to a glistening edge by his wry humor and ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where "the most interesting things happen at night."
As Brother William goes about unraveling the mystery of what happens at the abbey by day and by night, listeners step into a brilliant re-creation of the fourteenth century, with its dark superstitions and wild prejudices, its hidden passions and sordid intrigues. Virtuoso storyteller Umberto Eco conjures up a gloriously rich portrait of this world with such grace, ease, wit and love that you will become utterly intoxicated with the place and time, in The Name of the Rose.
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“Sean Barrett adopts a reminiscent air as Adso…Barrett deftly handles the Latin phrases (no translation provided) and the long passages of church history and politics that are woven into the interviews and inquiries of Brother William. The general tone is reflective of the quiet monastery setting; however, Barrett finds opportunity for artfully varying the pace and attitude. Chapter introductions and the preface are narrated simply and clearly by Nicholas Rowe and Neville Jason, respectively.
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AudioFile Magazine
About Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco (1932–2016) was an Italian novelist, literary critic, philosopher, semiotician, and university professor. He is best known internationally for his novel The Name of the Rose, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary theory. He later wrote other novels, including Foucault’s Pendulum, The Island of the Day Before, and The Prague Cemetery. He also wrote academic texts, children’s books, and essays. He was the founder of the department of media studies at the University of the Republic of San Marino, president of the graduate school for the study of the humanities at the University of Bologna, member of the Accademia dei Lincei, and an honorary fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford. He was A co-honoree of the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement in 2005.
About the Narrators
Sean Barrett has won over twenty Earphones Awards and two prestigious Audie Awards for his audiobook narrations. He started acting professionally at the age of twelve and has since appeared on television and in film in Minder, Brush Strokes, War and Peace, Sons and Lovers, and Return to Oz. His stage credits include performing in the West End with Noël Coward in his Suite in Three Keys. He has worked extensively on BBC Radio and has also narrated several television series, including People’s Century and Crash.
Nicholas Rowe is a Scottish actor most recognized for his
appearance as Sherlock Holmes in the film Young
Sherlock Holmes. His theater credits include The Madness of George III, Nation, Victory, Whipping It Up, and See How They Run, and he has appeared in several other films
including Nicholas Nickleby, Lock, Stock, and
Two Smoking Barrels, and Seed of
Chucky.
Neville Jason is an award–winning narrator, as well as a television and stage actor. He has earned seven AudioFile Earphones Awards and been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He is a former member of the Old Vic Company, the English Stage Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Birmingham Repertory Company. While training at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he was awarded the diction prize by Sir John Gielgud.