Ella Enchanted cover art

Ella Enchanted

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Ella Enchanted

By: Gail Carson Levine
Narrated by: Eden Riegel
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

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

 "That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift. When I cried inconsolably through my first hour of life, my tears were her inspiration. Shaking her head sympathetically at Mother, the fairy touched my nose. 'My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying, child.' I stopped."

So begins this richly entertaining story of Ella of Frell, who wants nothing more than to be free of Lucinda's gift and feel that she belongs to herself. For how can she truly belong to herself if she knows that at any time, anyone can order her to hop on one foot, cut off her hand, or betray her kingdom, and she'll have to obey?

Against a bold tapestry of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters and fairy godmothers, Ella's spirited account of her quest to break the curse is a funny, poignant and enchanting tale about an unforgettable heroine who is determined to be herself.

Ella Enchanted is a 1998 Newbery Medal Honor Book and a major motion picture.

©1998 Gail Carson Levine (P)1998 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, An Imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group Adaptations Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths Geography & Cultures Growing Up & Facts of Life Humorous Fiction Literature & Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Funny

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Fairest cover art
Ogre Enchanted cover art
Fourth Wing cover art
The Assassin's Blade cover art
Demon in the Wood cover art
Island of the Blue Dolphins cover art
The Silmarillion cover art
Bryony and Roses cover art
Keeper of the Lost Cities cover art
Disenchanted cover art
The Colour of Magic cover art
The Boy Who Made the World Disappear cover art
Among Others cover art
The Time Traveler's Wife cover art
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz Bundle (Annotated) cover art
House of Salt and Sorrows cover art

Critic reviews

Newbery Honor Book, 1998

"Eden Riegel's high, childlike voice is the consummate match for this first-person narrative. Her sweet-voiced Ella, under the dominion of a vulgar stepmother and duplicitous stepsisters, reveals the gift of obedience (from fairy Lucinda) to be a scourge that only someone of Ella's sensitivity and intelligence would have the means to outwit. Riegel's smooth delivery of the exotic languages of the elves, gnomes, giants, and ogres enhances the fantasy element while occasional interludes of music add to the medieval air of the story. A lively and satisfying reading of the 1998 Newbery Honor Book." (AudioFile magazine)

"A winning combination of memorable characters and an alluring fantasy realm." (Publishers Weekly) "A high-spirited, comic first novel." (The New York Times Book Review)

All stars
Most relevant  
My 8 year old devoured this in 5 days she absolutely loved it. 5 stars.

Bliss

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
its my favourite story, no matter how often I hear it or read it I never get bored

I love this book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I'm glad I read other reviews before listening to it as I feel I would have been disappointed had I gone in with no idea what to expect. The narrator sounds very young, like a child, which is problematic when voicing a story with romance and marriage themes. it would have been great had they gotten Anne Hathaway to narrate!

Personally, as I had seen the film adaptation first and it's one of my favourite go to feel good films, I do prefer the storyline, but I did enjoy this too, it was nice to have see Ella and Chars romance built up over time, and have a lot more backstory around how Ella's father got remarried, finishing school, and a bit more about Lucinda.

worth a listen if you like fairy tales and a good happily ever after story, I'm glad I bought it!

I enjoyed it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved listening to this book, as everyone says it is wildly different to the movie! Full of details and just a wonderful story. Only small gripe is I feel the music is too loud against the speech and sometimes goes on too long but that’s just my opinion!

Lovely storytelling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read this for the first time in my teens and enjoyed just as much this time as an adult. It is wittily charming and a fantastic retelling of a classic story.

One of my favourite childhood stories.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved how she was so head strong but was completely cursed by… well you need to find out

Love it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Nothing really was bad and the narration is so expressive ella enchanted is a very good listen!

The story is very very good and the narration is good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I loved this story when I was younger and still get it out as an adult to read when I am feeling particularly ill or stressed and need a bit of light fun. I was pleased to see it on audible but wish I had not. The narrator ruined it for me. She sounds about 8 years old, which is rather off putting for a story which includes courting & marriage. The other characters’ voices are just as shrill and even more grating. Ella’s supposed to be quite proficient at languages and the book contains quite a few made up words & sentences. The narrator reads them dreadfully. Read the book; don’t let this horrible version ruin a very charming twist on the classic Cinderella story.

Ruined by horrible narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.