The Spire

By: William Golding

Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch

Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire on his cathedral. His mason anxiously advises against it, for the old cathedral was built without foundations. Nevertheless, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, until the stone pillars shriek and the ground beneath it swims. Its shadow falls ever darker on the world below, and on Dean Jocelin in particular.

From the author of Lord of the Flies, The Spire is a dark and powerful portrait of one man's will, and the folly that he creates.

©1964 William Golding (P)2014 Faber & Faber

Twisty and dark

Twisty and dark story with a building sense of doom. Wonderfully read by Benedict Cumberbatch, who employs a wide range of voices and creates the dean's character brilliantly.

Horrifying study of ghastly man

This is a magnificent, immersive story of cathedrals, ego, and bloodless treachery. Brought to life by brilliant reading by Benedict Cumberbatch, this was both beautiful in its prose and architectural worship, and disarmingly terrifying in its interior viewpoint within a deeply horrible man, descending into madness and darkness. Just brilliant!

worth reading

I liked the story, probably will come back to it.
The performance was great (not a surprise).

The Spire Inspires

Captivating story. The writing was exquisite-- practically poetry. Cumberbatch used his talents of creating accents to the fullest. Fabulous book!

Excellent book

The book is great but the performance is even better. Cumberbach outdoes himself. If he was reading the ABCs aloud he would be worth listening to.