Conclave cover art

Conclave

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Conclave

By: Robert Harris
Narrated by: Roy Mcmillan
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

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

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

***Now a Bafta and Oscar winning major motion picture starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini***

What happens behind the closed doors of the Roman Catholic Conclave? The mysterious rituals surrounding the congregation of cardinal electors responsible for electing a new pope is brilliantly researched by Robert Harris, bringing an age old tradition to life. Set against the swirling of religious theory comes an explosive political drama that will have you on the edge of your seat.

The Pope is dead.

Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, 118 cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals.

Over the next 72 hours, one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth.

'Unputdownable' Guardian
'Gripping' Sunday Times

©2016 Robert Harris (P)2016 Random House Audiobooks

 Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Espionage Exciting Scary Pope

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Cara Massimina cover art
Hyperion cover art
The Woman in White cover art
And Then There Were Nuns cover art
The Third Secret cover art
Ratking cover art
The Templar Legacy cover art
Speaks the Nightbird cover art
Last Gasp cover art
The Einstein Prophecy cover art
The Shifting Fog [also published under the alternate title The House at Riverton] cover art
The Man of Legends cover art

Critic reviews

Thriller of the year . . . with a plot so serpentine and sinuous that I could not bear to put it down. (Geoffrey Wansell)
‘I have been waiting for most of my life for Robert Harris to write a novel that is not gripping, insightful and entertaining. I am waiting still. His latest, Conclave, is superb. (Ben Macintyre)
A real page-turner, with a great twist in the final pages. (Libby Purves)
Finishing this splendid and intelligent story, as with all great fiction, brings an acute sense of loss. (Richard Susskind)
Robert Harris is incapable of writing a substandard novel. (Alan Johnson)
Each Robert Harris thriller is different but of exemplary consistency. (Ian Rankin)
I am about to use a word I have never knowingly used in any review of any book ever. During my 25-odd years of writing about books I have done my best to avoid cliches, slipshod summaries, oracular pronouncements and indeed anything else that might appear emblazoned on a book jacket. Nonetheless, there is only one possible word to describe Robert Harris’s new novel, and it is this: unputdownable (Ian Sansom)
A master of producing thrillers of ever-tightening suspense, full of insider analysis of political power and the treatment of momentous events . . . gripping . . . more than a crime novel, it is also a psychological and political thriller . . . Conclave is a triumphant addition to Harris’ acclaimed output (David Grylls)
All stars
Most relevant  
Another compelling page turner from Robert Harris. I wanted my commute to be longer so I didn't have to stop listening.

Another hit from a great storyteller

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Its all about selecting a pope but its a melting pot of secrets and plots to secure power and conceal the truth.

I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this boo

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good story. Loads of detail but never really had a climax.

Well narrated by Roy as always.

Great book. Well detailed story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s been a while since I listened to a Thomas Harris novel, and I must say the quality of his writing has not diminished in any way. From the very start I found this glimpse into the very private and protected world of the Vatican City completely gripping.

The Pope has died, and it is the cardinals of the church who must elect a successor from their ranks. Cardinal Lomeli, dean of the College of Cardinals, is tasked with organising and overseeing the election process, but this task proves even more difficult than he first feared, as he finds himself having to deal with intrigue, sabotage and the ambitions of gathered hopefuls. During this time, he uncovers things about some of his colleagues which force him to act contrary to established traditions and, at times, even question his own service to the church.

And just when you think you’ve worked out the ending, you haven’t….

Narration by Roy McMillan is clear and engaging throughout, with just the right amount of vocal inflection to distinguish the various characters without turning the whole thing into a radio play.

Excellent stuff.

A good, old-fashioned page turner...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
not a subject that I thought I would be interested in but it is a thrilling story well told in a believable way. excellent performance.

excellent and gripping. well researched, authentic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The book has fantastic detail on the Conclave process and hierachy of the Catholic church however I thought the story line was a little weak

Enjoyable Read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
First class read of a well crafted story. Thought provoking and would appear to be well researched.

An excellent twist in the tale

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As so many people have said, this subject is not one I would normally be interested in, but I'm so glad I bought it. A fascinating look at the papal voting process wrapped up in an engrossing drama.
I shall be seeking out further books by Robert Harris, his writing style is extraordinarily good.

Very good indeed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Powerful organisations attract the power-hungry. A very plausible fiction of how things could go badly wrong. Entertaining, never boring, intelligent. A good listen

Absolute power corrupts absolutely

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
One of the most enjoyable books I have ever heard. Gutted that it had to end! Tony G

Wonderful listen👂🏻👂🏻

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