Howl's Moving Castle cover art

Howl's Moving Castle

 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.

Howl's Moving Castle

By: Diana Wynne Jones
Narrated by: John Sessions
Try Premium Plus free

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

Buy Now for £7.99

Buy Now for £7.99

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

‘One of the greatest ever writers for children’ – Garth Nix

‘A true original’ – Katherine Rundell

‘Truly magical … Guaranteed to leave you gasping’ The Bookseller

‘She is the best writer of magical fantasy for children’ Evening Standard

Deciding she has nothing more to lose, Sophie makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above her town, Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl, whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls…

There Sophie meets Michael, Howl’s apprentice, and Calcifer the fire demon, with whom she agrees a pact. Her entanglements with Calcifer, Howl and Michael and her quest to break her curse come alive with Diana Wynne Jones’s unique combination of magic, humour and imagination.

©1986 Diana Wynne Jones (P)1986 Harper Collins Publishers Limited Fantasy Fiction Growing Up Growing Up & Facts of Life Humorous Fiction Literature & Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Comedy Magic Users Funny Wizardry Witchcraft

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Priory of the Orange Tree cover art
The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas cover art
That Mitchell and Webb Sound: The Complete Series 1-5 cover art
New Spring cover art
The Colour of Magic cover art
The Colour of Magic cover art
Evie's Ghost cover art
The Time Twister cover art
Doomsday Book cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
I purchased Howl as I love the movie from Studio Ghibli.
It's very similar for most of the way but with so much more detail. I must say I like the book more.
I'm looking forward to starting part 2.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have been trying to obtain a audio copy of this book for a couple of years so was very happy to find it on Audible.

Diana Wynne Jones never ceases to please amaze entrance with her story weaving of magicians‘, mystery & magical mayhem.

The only disappointment for us was that this is an abridged version of Howl's Moving Castle so it was over far too quickly.

Fantastical Fantasy World

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent story, excellent narration. Try "castle in the sky" too, that's another gem for long journeys.

Awesome

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A wonderful if somewhat slightly absurd story, made more captivating by the narrator. I'd be interested in the unabridged version if it was available but I worry another narrator would not do it justice, so I might just have to get the physical book. I also loved the short music interludes between chapters.

Fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was my favorite book as a child, and I must have read it 50 times. This is a good adaptation, but I do wish people who aren't Welsh wouldn't attempt Welsh accents! it's a lovely accent, but very, very hard to mimic well. In all other respects, John Sessions does a marvellous job.

Almost brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
big fan of the original book and the studio gibli film. would have preferred the full unabridged version but this wasn't bad. narrator great. listened at 80% for best speed.

fun

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s a great story and suitable for all ages but it’s a shame it’s the abridged version.

Shame it’s abridged

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

Where does Howl's Moving Castle rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

My children love this audiobook, both the story and performance it is one of their favourite bedtime stories

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sophie, who starts off as a mouse of a girl to become a cool heroine

Have you listened to any of John Sessions’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Great children's fiction

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Howl's Moving Castle is by far one of my favourite books, that's why for me the fact it is abridged was very noticeable. I have read the book about 5 times and know it well, as well as having a few favourite lines. Some of which were missing.

As for the performance, I think John Sessions was pretty good. I felt he had the right voice as the narrator. As for the characters, I wasn't too sure. It was ok, but when you read the book or of you have watched the Studio Ghibli adaptation, you have certain expectations. Overall, however, I think it was well done.

As this is my favourite book, I am pretty certain I will be listening to this again. It's nice to listen instead of read when your a bit tired or travelling (as reading when travelling makes me feel ill). The book, I would rate as 5/5 and this adaptation I would rate as 4/5.

Sad that it's abridged ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was a very well thought through book and i listened to it when i sleep. it could have had a few more longer chapters but the narattor was good.
Over all it was incredible

INCREDIBLE

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