
The Cup
The Moroccan Empire, Book 1
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Darla Middlebrook
-
By:
-
Melissa Addey
About this listen
The city of Kairouan in Tunisia, 1020. Hela has powers too strong for a child - both to feel the pain of those around her and to heal them. But when she is given a mysterious cup by a slave woman, its powers overtake her life, forcing her into a vow she cannot hope to keep.
Trapped by her vow, Hela loses one chance after another to love and be loved. Meanwhile, in her household, a child is growing into a woman who will become famous throughout the Muslim world. So begins a quartet of historical novels set in Morocco as the Almoravid Dynasty sweeps across Northern Africa and Spain, creating a Muslim Empire that endured for generations.
©2018 Melissa Addey (P)2021 Melissa AddeyListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Consorts
- Forbidden City, Book 1
- By: Melissa Addey
- Narrated by: Caroline McLaughlin
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
China, 1700s. Lady Qing has spent the past seven years languishing inside the high red walls of the Forbidden City. Classed as an honored lady, a lowly ranked concubine, Qing is neglected by the emperor, passed over for more ambitious women. But when a new concubine, Lady Ying, arrives, Qing’s world is turned upside down.
-
-
Ver interesting yet enjoyable
- By Judi M. on 07-16-23
By: Melissa Addey
-
From the Ashes
- The Colosseum, Book 1
- By: Melissa Addey
- Narrated by: Melanie Presson
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The emperor has plans for gladiatorial games on a scale no one has ever seen before. But the games don’t just happen. They must be made. And Marcus, the man in charge of creating them, has just lost everything he held dear when Pompeii disappeared under the searing wrath of Vesuvius. Now it will fall to Althea, the slave woman who serves as his scribe, to ensure the Colosseum is inaugurated on time - and that Marcus makes his way out of the darkness that calls to him.
-
-
Narrator is juvenile
- By Sherry on 02-15-22
By: Melissa Addey
-
Threads of Silk
- By: Amanda Roberts
- Narrated by: Leanne Yau
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in the middle of nowhere, Yaqian, a little embroidery girl from Hunan Province, finds her way to the imperial court, a place of intrigue, desire, and treachery. From the bed of an Emperor, the heart of a Prince, and the right side of an Empress, Yaqian weaves her way through the most turbulent decades of China's history and witnesses the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
-
-
Absolutely wonderful story !
- By Margaret on 09-14-17
By: Amanda Roberts
-
The Spirit of the Dragon
- By: William Andrews
- Narrated by: Janet Song, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the urging of a Los Angeles detective, international rights lawyer Anna Carlson assists in a murder investigation. It’s a personal request from Suk-bo Yi, a ninety-nine-year-old woman questioned in a mysterious death at a Koreatown nursing home. A stranger to Anna, Suk-bo has a tale to tell. For reasons of her own, she’s chosen Anna - only Anna - to hear it...
-
-
As Good As Daughters of the Dragon
- By Laurie on 06-14-20
By: William Andrews
-
The Girl with the Golden Scissors
- A Novel
- By: Julia Drosten, Deborah Langton - translator
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Christmas 1889. A baby is born in the early hours at Vienna General Hospital, only to be abandoned by her unwed mother and entrusted to a foundling home and its loving caretaker. Fanny Schindler grows from a precocious girl into a strong-willed young woman. Undeterred by the rules of her station, she’s determined to rise above her humble origins and pursue her dreams at all costs, becoming an apprentice to one of the most glamorous fashion houses in Austria-Hungary.
-
-
One of the best books I’ve listened to all year
- By paula wright on 08-11-20
By: Julia Drosten, and others
-
The Moon in the Palace
- The Empress of Bright Moon, Book 1
- By: Weina Dai Randel
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is no easy path for a woman aspiring to power. A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the emperor's attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. But young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the emperor a gift he can never forget.
-
-
One of the most annoying narrations
- By Foodiewife on 01-28-17
By: Weina Dai Randel
-
The Consorts
- Forbidden City, Book 1
- By: Melissa Addey
- Narrated by: Caroline McLaughlin
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
China, 1700s. Lady Qing has spent the past seven years languishing inside the high red walls of the Forbidden City. Classed as an honored lady, a lowly ranked concubine, Qing is neglected by the emperor, passed over for more ambitious women. But when a new concubine, Lady Ying, arrives, Qing’s world is turned upside down.
-
-
Ver interesting yet enjoyable
- By Judi M. on 07-16-23
By: Melissa Addey
-
From the Ashes
- The Colosseum, Book 1
- By: Melissa Addey
- Narrated by: Melanie Presson
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The emperor has plans for gladiatorial games on a scale no one has ever seen before. But the games don’t just happen. They must be made. And Marcus, the man in charge of creating them, has just lost everything he held dear when Pompeii disappeared under the searing wrath of Vesuvius. Now it will fall to Althea, the slave woman who serves as his scribe, to ensure the Colosseum is inaugurated on time - and that Marcus makes his way out of the darkness that calls to him.
-
-
Narrator is juvenile
- By Sherry on 02-15-22
By: Melissa Addey
-
Threads of Silk
- By: Amanda Roberts
- Narrated by: Leanne Yau
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in the middle of nowhere, Yaqian, a little embroidery girl from Hunan Province, finds her way to the imperial court, a place of intrigue, desire, and treachery. From the bed of an Emperor, the heart of a Prince, and the right side of an Empress, Yaqian weaves her way through the most turbulent decades of China's history and witnesses the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
-
-
Absolutely wonderful story !
- By Margaret on 09-14-17
By: Amanda Roberts
-
The Spirit of the Dragon
- By: William Andrews
- Narrated by: Janet Song, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the urging of a Los Angeles detective, international rights lawyer Anna Carlson assists in a murder investigation. It’s a personal request from Suk-bo Yi, a ninety-nine-year-old woman questioned in a mysterious death at a Koreatown nursing home. A stranger to Anna, Suk-bo has a tale to tell. For reasons of her own, she’s chosen Anna - only Anna - to hear it...
-
-
As Good As Daughters of the Dragon
- By Laurie on 06-14-20
By: William Andrews
-
The Girl with the Golden Scissors
- A Novel
- By: Julia Drosten, Deborah Langton - translator
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Christmas 1889. A baby is born in the early hours at Vienna General Hospital, only to be abandoned by her unwed mother and entrusted to a foundling home and its loving caretaker. Fanny Schindler grows from a precocious girl into a strong-willed young woman. Undeterred by the rules of her station, she’s determined to rise above her humble origins and pursue her dreams at all costs, becoming an apprentice to one of the most glamorous fashion houses in Austria-Hungary.
-
-
One of the best books I’ve listened to all year
- By paula wright on 08-11-20
By: Julia Drosten, and others
-
The Moon in the Palace
- The Empress of Bright Moon, Book 1
- By: Weina Dai Randel
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is no easy path for a woman aspiring to power. A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the emperor's attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. But young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the emperor a gift he can never forget.
-
-
One of the most annoying narrations
- By Foodiewife on 01-28-17
By: Weina Dai Randel
-
The Fortune Keeper
- An Enchanting Historical Novel of Renaissance Italy
- By: Deborah Swift
- Narrated by: Diana Croft
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this dangerous occupation, fearing it will lead her into trouble. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret.
-
-
Perfect historical fiction thriller great read
- By Michal on 01-23-25
By: Deborah Swift
-
Immodest
- A Novel
- By: L.S. Einat
- Narrated by: Jessie Lou Darrow
- Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perla, a young Jewish woman, was raised in an extreme ultra-orthodox society. When she turns 18, and her parents have a hard time finding a match for her, she is thrown into the arms of a cold, violent man who makes her life unbearable. A forbidden, chance encounter with a man, and the feelings that ensue, make her begin to question everything she has ever known - and even consider that, maybe, she does not have to choose this life that has been thrust upon her. But she knows that once she makes a drastic decision, there will be no way back into the arms of the Jewish community.
-
-
Disappointing
- By ceeceekay on 11-26-22
By: L.S. Einat
-
A Voice in the Wind
- The Mark of the Lion, Book 1
- By: Francine Rivers
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 21 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This heart-stirring tale of a young slave girl, torn between her love for a handsome aristocrat and her faith in God, transcends genres with its awe-inspiring power and emotional intensity.
-
-
Christian Fiction That Doesn't Back Down
- By Allicia on 06-05-11
By: Francine Rivers
-
Silk Road
- By: Colin Falconer
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Holy Land, 1260. Josseran Sarrazini is chosen to escort the Pope's emissary on an embassy to the all-conquering Mongol horde in an effort to save all Christendom from destruction. But although he serves as a Templar warrior, Josseran is not all that he appears to be. Now they have to spend nine months in each other's company on the most dangerous and most inhospitable journey on the earth - across the legendary deserts of Persia, through the horrific black hurricanes of the Taklimakan, along the entire spider's web of the Silk Road to Khubilai Khan's legendary capital at Xanadu.
-
-
Could be better
- By Gary on 02-11-20
By: Colin Falconer
-
The Huguenot Chronicles, Books 1 - 3
- Merchants of Virtue, Voyage of Malice, Land of Hope
- By: Paul C.R. Monk
- Narrated by: David Pickering
- Length: 21 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A family torn apart. A king with an iron fist. Will their faith be strong enough to survive persecution and reunite? Jeanne is the wife of a wealthy merchant, but now she risks losing everything. Louis XIV's soldiers will stop at nothing to forcibly convert the country's Protestants to the "true" faith. The men ransack Jeanne's belongings and threaten her children. If Jeanne and Jacob can't find a way to evade the soldiers' clutches, their family will face a fate far worse than poverty and imprisonment. They may never see each other again....
-
-
Interesting, what struggles
- By Margaret on 05-21-19
By: Paul C.R. Monk
-
The Red Tent
- By: Anita Diamant
- Narrated by: Carol Bilger
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Passionate, earthy, deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable contribution to modern fiction: a vibrant new perspective of female life in the age that shaped present day civilization and values.
If you like The Red Tent, try The Harlot by the Side of the Road, a recounting of some of the most startling and explicit writings from The Old Testament.
-
-
The key word is 'fiction'
- By R. S. Herron on 03-03-09
By: Anita Diamant
-
The Brigandshaw Chronicles Box Set
- Books 1 to 3
- By: Peter Rimmer
- Narrated by: Alex Bhat
- Length: 49 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first three books in Peter Rimmer's epic Brigandshaw Chronicles, the massive series that will have you gripped for months! In 1887, British ships continue to arrive at the bustling, growing port of Cape Town in South Africa. On board, one of them is a young man, Sebastian Brigandshaw, exiled from England by his abusive father.
-
-
Engaging & fascinating tale!
- By JohnK on 01-31-24
By: Peter Rimmer
-
The Lake Pavilion
- By: Ann Bennett
- Narrated by: Rebecca Sharp
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
India 1935: Amelia Collins, a missionary’s daughter left destitute by the death of her parents, leaves their home in the Himalayan foothills to find work in Darjeeling. There she meets District Officer Reginald Holden, a powerful older man who spirits her away from poverty and prejudice to start a new life as his wife in Ganpur. Amelia soon forms a bond with Reginald’s young son, Arthur, and resumes missionary work in the villages around Ganpur. There, she discovers a pavilion on a lake where the wives of maharajahs once bathed, now abandoned and cloaked in mystery.
-
-
Great narration great story:
- By Huma H. on 06-25-23
By: Ann Bennett
-
Dragon Springs Road
- A Novel
- By: Janie Chang
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jialing is only seven years old in 1908, when she is abandoned in the courtyard of a once-lavish estate near Shanghai. Jialing is zazhong - Eurasian - and faces a lifetime of contempt from both Chinese and Europeans. Without her mother's protection, she can survive only if the estate's new owners, the Yang family, agree to take her in.
-
-
Story as narration is on point!
- By Anonymous User on 06-21-20
By: Janie Chang
-
The Mystery of Julia Episcopa
- The Vatican Chronicles, Volume 1
- By: John I. Rigoli, Diane Cummings
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In ancient Rome, a woman flees for her life. Hidden beneath her blue cloak are secrets men will kill for - forgeries that prove the newly self-appointed bishops are pretenders who will stop at nothing to shape this new religion to their own ends. Two thousand years later, classical archaeologists Valentina Vella and Erika Simone stumble across an ancient parchment buried deep in the Vatican archives. To reveal Julia's legacy will put them in the crosshairs of a venomous Vatican battle for power and supremacy; to stay silent would make them complicit in an ancient heresy.
-
-
You won't want to stop listening
- By Tiasdolls on 07-09-18
By: John I. Rigoli, and others
-
The Blood of Flowers
- By: Anita Amirrezvani
- Narrated by: Shohreh Aghdashloo
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 17th-century Persia, a 14-year-old woman believes she will be married within the year. When her beloved father dies, she and her mother find themselves alone and without a dowry. With nowhere else to go, they are forced to sell the brilliant turquoise rug the young woman has woven to pay for their journey to Isfahan, where they will work as servants for her uncle, a rich rug designer in the court of the legendary Shah Abbas the Great.
-
-
Top 5 on my lifelong list
- By Cheryl on 09-14-07
-
The Lady of the Loch
- By: Elena Collins
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron, Emma Powell
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the castle she works in is sacked by the army of Prince Edward of England, kitchen maid Agnes Fitzgerald manages to escape north of Inverness to throw herself at the mercy of the Lord and Lady at Ravenscraig Castle. Although safe for now, the people of Scotland are fighting hard for their independence, and the threat of the English hangs heavy over the land. But when Agnes spies Cam Buchanan swimming in the loch, her mind turns away from war and towards love. Agnes even dares to dream of a happy future, until she learns that Cam must go and fight alongside Robert de Brus.
-
-
Acting was lovely
- By Wendy L. Bourgault on 01-03-24
By: Elena Collins
What listeners say about The Cup
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 10-15-22
very good
Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Janalyn
- 10-11-21
A truly great book!
Heal helps her daddy sell his slaves, because she can see things others cannot and her insight helps her daddy get the best price. One day while helping her daddy at the sleep auction Haula is given a red wooden cup from a mangled slave who looked to be on her last leg. Little does Bella know her life will never be the same again… and she blames this cup for everything. While still young she falls in love with a man who dies and she blames her self and makes it all that she will forever serve his family until they are happy again, but that seems hard to come bye. She blames herself for everything the crippling of a slave boy the massacre of her whole villageEtc but is Is Hella and her red cup to blame? This book is so good! Every now and then you run across a book and you’re like why did I not hear about this before and this is the book I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. Melissa Daddy has a talent for making you feel as if you know what it was like to be back then it’s bedtime and that place. She is the best at describing the scene so well you feel like you were there. I love her historical fiction books and cannot get enough. I wish she had more on Audible. I highly recommend this book to those who love historical fiction at its best, because this is truly at its best!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Deedra
- 09-13-21
The Cup
I found this book to be better than I expected.Hella,a healer,atones her whole life for a debt that she feels she owes a family.Darla Middlebrook was a very good narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rosemary Hughes
- 02-01-22
A different view on Eastern Culture & lifestyle
We seem to have a glut of western/English romance stories. So to read of a very different tale in a region which is often steeped in mystery and cultural differences, gives this armchair voyeur, a glimpse at a world
very different to my own.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Falmouth
- 05-22-22
Historic book from Morocco about a gifted healer
This book is set in Morocco, about 1000 years ago. Hela's father is a slave trader and she has powers, even as a child, to help her father get the best price for the slaves he is selling. Her mother is an herbalist healer, and Hela learns quickly from her mother and becomes an even better healer. An old slave woman gives Hela an old, carved, wooden cup at the opening of the book. Hela and her cup become legendary, but Hela inadvertently may have killed someone. She decides to atone for the death and spends years in service to another family.
This is a fascinating story. The author is skilled at writing from 1000 years hence. I listened to the audio book and the narrator is excellent. She has an exotic voice and does character voices well. The author provided me with a copy of the audio book. This is my honest review.
I recommend this book for mature audiences because of some of the subject matter.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Roger Fauble
- 10-04-21
Tightly woven & well-written
The Cup (The Moorish Empire #1), my first read from author Melissa Addey. Reminiscent of Kate Mosse's historical fiction. Extremely well-written, the characters, even the minor ones, are well developed. I’m a character reader, I get into the characters. Who and what they are. Why do they do the things they do. The things that make the reader get invested in the characters and thereby the story. I’ll be reading more from this author, I look forward to her next book, now I just have to get A String of Silver Beads (The Moorish Empire #2). “I received a free Audible copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. Darla Middlebrook's narration fits the book perfectly! (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!