Rough Magic cover art

Rough Magic

 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.

Rough Magic

By: Lara Prior-Palmer
Narrated by: Tamaryn Payne
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

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Rough Magic written by Lara Prior-Palmer, read by Tamaryn Payne.

The Mongol Derby is the world’s toughest horse race. A feat of endurance across the vast Mongolian plains once traversed by the people of Genghis Khan, competitors ride 25 horses across a distance of 1000km. Many riders don’t make it to the finish line.

In 2013 Lara Prior-Palmer – nineteen, underprepared but seeking the great unknown – decided to enter the race. Driven by her own restlessness, stubbornness, and a lifelong love of horses, she raced for seven days through extreme heat and terrifying storms, catching a few hours of sleep where she could at the homes of nomadic families. Battling bouts of illness and dehydration, exhaustion and bruising falls, she found she had nothing to lose, and tore through the field with her motley crew of horses. In one of the Derby’s most unexpected results, she became the youngest-ever champion and the first woman to win the race.

A tale of adventure, fortitude and poetry, Rough Magic is the extraordinary story of one young woman’s encounter with oblivion, and herself.

©2019 Lara Prior-Palmer (P)2019 Penguin Audio Equestrian Sports Horse Racing Sports Animal Sports Racing Adventure

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Farmer's Wife cover art
Land Healer cover art
The Ride of Her Life cover art
Sacred Spaces cover art
Grabbing Mane cover art
A Voice for the Horse cover art
Sinning Across Spain cover art
Horse People cover art
Prince of Ponies cover art
Blind Beauty cover art
Pony Tails cover art
Wild by Nature cover art
The Lost Pony of Riverdale cover art
Through Sand & Snow cover art
Jupiter's Travels cover art
The Pants of Perspective cover art

Critic reviews

"[Prior-Palmer's] gorgeous, sensual depiction of this race is a literary marvel; it feels like you are riding alongside her across the desolate steppes; her verbal acuity makes vivid the most elusive of landscapes; her triumph becomes ours." (Nylon)

All stars
Most relevant  
Wow... what an adventure!! Definitely inspiring and one for my kids when they are older!

Lara’s writing style does jump around a bit, weaving in her back-story and revealing glimpses of the future, but it works well. I would have liked more detail on the riding/Mongolia/people and more observations/commentary by other people about her, but the story skips along at a good pace and keeps you wanting more.

My only criticism is that family & friends needed more rounding out. Recollections came over a bit one sided, which left me hoping no bridges were burned in an effort to tell her story.

Overall, a fascinating and remarkable effort by someone so young!!

Well ridden & well written, Lara... keep adventuring and writing. I look forward to more!!

What a ride!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
it's not what you expect for a 'race story' more whimsical and thoughtful than fast and furious.
loved it

Brilliant Listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Interesting storyline about the Mongol Derby horse race. Enjoyed the detail and the humour. Would recommend.

Great story, well read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I met Lara at a book festival in 2019. She was utterly eccentric, warm and wonderful. I bought her book then. I have just been following the progress of the 2022 Mongol Derby and thought I would revisit Rough Magic in audiobook form. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Great little adventure

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Knowing the ending from the start but still full of suspense and excitement. Fantastic story despite already being told that she won the race.

Entranced by the language. Beautifully told.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed the internal and external journey that Ms Prior-Palmer takes the listener on. She uses poetic descriptions and vivid vocabulary to take one across the plains of Mongolia in her gruelling but fascinating horse race. The reading was lively and a pleasure to listen to.

I only gave it four stars as there was some swearing which detracted from an otherwise excellent book.

Loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thankyou Lara for documenting your story
Beautifully narrated too , it felt like I was there with you on the Steppe enduring every obstacle in your way , love your sense of humour and pure honesty
Your racehorse guts are formidable and as the course gates open so does your mind Looking forward to reading more of your work oneday !!

Captivating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved this, the honesty, bravery and self awareness of Lara. Brilliantly told and a lovely narration.

Heartfelt & honest, as well as light & observant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Read as part of our book club.
Not my usual reading fodder.
Found it quite the slog albeit quite rushed near the end! Didn’t find her all that likeable or relatable.
As much as she wins (not so spoiler alert) nothing much happens!
I expect if you are into horses then it’s the book for you.

Meh

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I live for and work with horses so I thought great, at last a Horsey book.....but it just lacked something, I found it quite boring and could have easily switched it off but I thought I would give it a chance incase it started to get more gripping......it didn't.

it was just missing something

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