Download New Releases Full Audiobooks in Classics, British Literature

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Title: Mrs. Dalloway

Author: Virginia Woolf

Narrator: Phyllida Law

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-05-11

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 50 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The events of the story occupy a single June day in post-World War I Central London, as wealthy and fashionable society hostess Clarissa Dalloway is preparing for a party she is to give that evening. Through her thoughts and memories, the voices of others who have touched on her life and will attend her party, Virginia Woolf shows her genius as a writer who is both accessible and popular.

Members Reviews:

Captivating Narration.

This is my first time going through this novel, so I don't feel ready to comment on its content (I must let it sink in first). However, this narration was perfect. It's not easy to find such a heartfelt dramatization.

I definitely recommend it.

Still Applies to Today

What made the experience of listening to Mrs. Dalloway the most enjoyable?

Phyllida Law was a fantastic narrator for Mrs. Dalloway. Her reading of it made the novel flow perfectly and she helped me understand more of the novel because of her expert reading.

What did you like best about this story?

Mrs. Dalloway could still be applied today. The characters are so relatable and their problems are common. This novel tells a beautiful tale of life as we all know it and the trials we go through.

Which character as performed by Phyllida Law was your favorite?

My favorite character as performed by Phyllida Law was Clarissa Dalloway. Clarissa seems at first to be a simple character but due to the reading by Phyllida Law we are able to see much more of the complications in Clarissa's life.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Growing into Society

Enjoyable surprise

One day, and what a day! All seems serene, but there is a wealth of passion and event. You do need to be skilled in reading/listening between the lines, and if not, this will be an excellent exercise. I expected to have to draw on my patience to listen to this book, but instead found that I was always impatient to get back to it. Phylida Law knows exactly how to narrate this amazing book.

Phyllida Law--Awesome reader

Would you listen to Mrs. Dalloway again? Why?

Woolf's book is more prose poetry than prose and deserves to be read/ listened to multiple times. This recording with Phyllida Law is incredible. She reads with a lovely cadence and brings the book to life.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Septimus touched me the most.

What does Phyllida Law bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

The poetry of the work Law brings that to life with her reading. Never a dull moment.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. I had tried to read it a few times before but just couldn't get into it. However, Law's reading brings the poetry to life and helped me understand the work better. My appreciation for Woolf has grown immensely.

A bore then a snore...

While I really wanted to love it, about half way through, I start using it as a sleep aid..... It worked.

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Title: A Tale of Two Cities

Author: Charles Dickens

Narrator: Simon Prebble

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-23-11

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 209 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities is a sprawling tale of London and revolutionary Paris with a complex plot portraying the results of terror and treason, love and supreme sacrifice.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.opening line of A Tale of Two Cities

It was the time of the French Revolution, a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was met by a lust for vengeance, and rarely was a distinction made between the innocent and the guilty. Against this tumultuous historical backdrop, Dickens dramatic story of adventure and courage unfolds.

Unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille, Dr. Alexandre Manette is reunited with his daughter, the gentle Lucie Manette, and safely transported from France to England. It would seem that they could now take up the threads of their lives in peace. As fate would have it, however, the two are summoned to the Old Bailey to testify against a young Frenchman, Charles Darnay, falsely accused of treason. Strangely enough, Darnay bears an uncanny resemblance to another man in the courtroom: Sydney Carton, a dissolute barrister. It is a coincidence that saves Darnay from certain doom more than once, as the two mens fates become intertwined with that of the Revolution.

And there is Madame Defarge, a female revolutionary who has an implacable grudge against the aristocratic Evrémonde dynasty and who knits as she watches the beheadings.

The storming of the Bastille, the death carts with their doomed human cargo, the swift drop of the blade of La Guillotinethis is the French Revolution that Charles Dickens vividly captures. Brilliantly plotted, the novel is rich in drama, romance, and heroics that culminate in a daring prison escape in the shadow of the guillotine.

Critic Reviews:

Beginning and ending with some of English literatures most famous lines, Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities thrives on tension and conflict, all set against a bloody backdrop of the French RevolutionThrough the senses, Dickens transports us deeper and deeper into another era with each turn of the page. Smell the acidity of red wine as it spills on the streets and ominously stains the faces, hands, and feet of peasants who lap it up in desperation; feel the competing emotions of heartache and hope as one of Lucies suitors stands trial; hear the cries of the raging mob and the clangs of their weapons as they storm the Bastille; see the glint of the guillotine as it falls swiftly to its victim below. The novels sense of urgency and intimacy will draw you in and propel you through one of the most tumultuous times in history. (Oprahs Book Club)

Members Reviews:

Horrible Recording!

I bought this on sale. The audio is horrible! Every time the narrator begins to speak, the first second/syllable is cut off. I would not buy THIS version. Look for another...

Best of Listens, Worst of Listens

What did you love best about A Tale of Two Cities?

I love that it gave a clear view of the French Revolution and an understanding of the celebration for the people's storming of the Bastille. Dickens opening page that it was the best of times and the worst of times, gives a clear picture to the two opposing sides of this bloody history, when the good side descends into the worst of human behaviour.

It opens with the very best lines, that sum up each point along the continuum of human history.

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Title: 1984 (Dramatized)

Author: George Orwell

Narrator: David Niven, The NBC University Theater

Format: Original Recording

Length: 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-08-11

Publisher: ABN

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 339 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

War Is Peace! Freedom Is Slavery! Ignorance Is Strength! Big Brother is watching and listening. Yep, were talking propaganda, the fabrication of truth, the outlawing of dissent, the distortion of reality, endless war and of course, thought crime. No were not talking about the goings on on 2011, were talking about the 1949 NBC University Theaters adaptation of George Orwells 1984. This production originally aired on August 27, 1949, but is available today for your listening enjoyment. This is the very first adaptation of 1984 and it stars David Niven!

Members Reviews:

Worth the buy, but get the unabridged book.

If you've never read the book this is a good taste of what's to come. The story really gets you thinking and it's well worth the buy. I'd still settle for the book though.

Love it

Very well done. I liked the drama that goes along with it. It was like listening to classic radio theater. Great story as well. I will be getting the full audio book soon.

Oh so true

How did Orwell see so well where we are going as a country. The Thought Police are here

interesting format

the book was way better, longer and more in-depth, but this is a nice companion to it

This is a heavily cut radio version of the book

If you are looking for the full book 1984 look elsewhere. This is a version that was recorded for radio and as such is literally 1/11th of the run time and content. Very good if you want to get a quick summary for a book review without reading the real thing, kind of spoilertasitc if you meant to read the full one like I did.

To its credit, the performance is quite good,and the fact that it was, as far as I can tell, the original audio as you would have heard from your radio at the time, is exactly the right atmosphere for the book. Its just too bad it's such a shortened version.

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Title: The Power and the Glory

Author: Graham Greene

Narrator: Bernard Mayes

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 02-04-11

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 232 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Graham Greene explores corruption and atonement in this penetrating novel set in 1930s Mexico during the era of Communist religious persecutions. As revolutionaries determine to stamp out the evils of the church through violence, the last Roman Catholic priest is on the lam, hunted by a police lieutenant. Despite his own sense of worthlessnesshe is a heavy drinker and has fathered an illegitimate childhe is determined to continue to function as a priest until captured. He is contrasted with Padre Jose, a priest who has accepted marriage and embodies humiliation.

A Christian parable pitting God and religion against 20th-century materialism, The Power and the Glory is considered by many, including the author himself, to be Greenes best work.

Critic Reviews:

As brilliantly written as it is magnificently conceived. (

Chicago Sun)

Members Reviews:

Hard to hear

What didnt you like about Bernard Mayess performance?

I found this performance difficult to hear. I could not enjoy the story while straining to hear the words.

I like listening to audiobooks in the car, which is admittedly a poor acoustical environment. However, I can hear all the other audiobooks i have purchased. If you are listening to in a quiet place it might be fine, but for my purposes it was not functional.

Lousy recording quality of bad narration

What disappointed you about The Power and the Glory?

It was difficult to listen past the distortion of the recording and the awful voice of the narrator. Sounds like it was recorded in the 50's with a cheap microphone. Turning down all the bass and mid tones and turning up the high eq made it a little more bearable. Need to stop trusting audible and always preview the recording first....

What did you like best about this story?

The book itself is amazing have read it any times

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Bernard Mayes?

Anyone with a more human sounding voice. Mr. Mayes sounds like a dying frog.

Examination of Evil

This is one of Greene's novels that examines evil.

A "whiskey" priest repeatedly escapes a lieutenant who is part of the regime suppressing Catholicism in Mexico. The priest questions his own worth, and towards the end comes to terms with God as he faces his execution.

I've seen many movies based on novels by Graham Greene, but this is the first I've read.

Based on the presidency of Plutarco Elías Calles. Calles' regime was known for its represive anti-Catholic phase.

Quality of the audio book was horrible. I listened at 1.5x speed, which seemed to help.

at last!

I've been waiting years for this to come to Audible and wondered if it would succeed as an audiobook - it does.

The product description calls this novel a Christian parable-- and it is, but don???t expect a cute or motivational story, with a Joseph Girzone Christ-figure hero and a happily ever after (although there is an implied hope for faith enduring at the hands of materialism). The ???power and glory??? allusion is meant ironically . The novel describes people trapped in a country who ???were not hard hearted; they were watching the rare spectacle of something worse off than themselves??? in the whiskey priest hiding more rat-like than conventionally heroicly in the countryside. The characters' and their dialogue are more about internal struggle than the political struggle surrounding them.

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Title: King Solomon's Mines

Author: Henry Rider Haggard

Narrator: Simon Prebble

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-13-11

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 735 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

One of the best-selling novels of the 19th century, King Solomon's Mines has inspired dozens of adventure stories, including Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan books and the Indiana Jones movies. Vivid and enormously action-packed, Henry Rider Haggard's tale of danger and discovery continues to shock and thrill, as it has since it was first presented to the public and heralded as "the most amazing book ever written."

The story begins when renowned safari hunter Allan Quatermain agrees to help Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good search for King Solomon's legendary cache of diamonds. Eager to find out what is true, what is myth, and what is really buried in the darkness of the mines, the tireless adventurers delve into the Sahara's treacherous Veil of Sand, where they stumble upon a mysterious lost tribe of African warriors. Finding themselves in deadly peril from that country's cruel king and the evil sorceress who conspires behind his throne, the explorers escape, but what they seek could be the most savage trap of all---the forbidden, impenetrable, and spectacular King Solomon's Mines.

Members Reviews:

From a different culture

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Written decades before more familiar stories it carries the intrigue of originality. Particularly it's not "Indiana Jones with a twist" or "Treasure Island... with a twist". It was wild and odd but not trying to outdo itself in the third act.

As a warning (or caveat emptor) Native Africans are depicted with some obvious cultural insensitivity. Some of the bias comes from the characters (the story is told by first person by a hard-bitten white man who can speak several African dialects) and some come from the author's era in history. There are some awkward moments for my ears, but nothing I felt was sensationally exploitative... monsters are monsters regardless of culture.

What other book might you compare King Solomon's Mines to and why?

Classic adventure stories from Jules Verne or Robert Louis Stevenson

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator is clear, interesting, and a pro.

I suspect the director was asleep... some sections of dialog were heavily characterized (using different voices/styles) and others were not. I could tell during some chapters who was speaking by the tone of voice, but it was not consistent.

Purchase the Kindle book for free

Would you consider the audio edition of King Solomon's Mines to be better than the print version?

Heads up! This book is $.99 with the purchase of the Kindle book which is free.

Heads Up #6!

Why pay $3.95 for this Audiobook when the Kindle edition is $0.00 and after you "purchase" that book the Audible Audiobook is $0.99. Obviously this is not a review but I didn't know where else to post.

A classic adventure

King Solomon's Mines should not be taken overly seriously in the modern day; many of its plot points have become cliche or out of touch with a 21st or 20th century reader. Nevertheless, its sense of adventure remains, and it is still fascinating to imagine oneself in the shoes of Quartermain as he undergoes his quest. There are few works I would take over this one for light listening.

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Title: Lost Horizon

Author: James Hilton

Narrator: Michael de Morgan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-20-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 374 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of this magical and well-loved classic. Following a plane crash, Conway, a British consul; his deputy; a missionary; and an American financier find themselves in the enigmatic snow-capped mountains of uncharted Tibet. Here they discover a seemingly perfect hidden community where they are welcomed with gracious hospitality. Intrigued by its mystery, the travelers set about discovering the secret hidden at the shimmering heart of Shangri-La.

Members Reviews:

Love this story, performance not so much

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This seems to have been recorded when audiobooks were geared toward "reading for the blind"...before audiobooks became more mainstream. I think as audiobooks became more mainstream, standards became higher and narrators are now asked to act/perform, and producers and/or directors are involved to audit quality. This narrator has a fantastic and fitting voice but doesn't seem to act out the story. There are awkward pauses, the characters don't really come to life, and there is background noise. This is one of my all time favorite stories so I still enjoyed it. If I were not already in love with it, however, I don't believe this audiobook would have captured my attention enough and I'd have dismissed it. I would love to hear a re-record of Lost Horizon.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

In a heartbeat.

Any additional comments?

Please re-record this book.

Bland reader combined with bland story

The reader for this short bland story was so boring that it was a chore to finish this book. It was hard to hear changes in the narrative voice and the main character's voice. No attempt to quicken the narrative during time of high drama or slow it down during inflective periods. It was all Ben Stiller monotone for most of the narrative. Some of the other characters in the book were given different voices, but the High class English accent destroyed the few Asian voices this reader had tried. I won't recommend this if you listen on drives to/from work since that monotone could put some to sleep.

Shangri-La

Exquisite little story. Can't say as much for the narrator. He was rather irritating most of the time, but it wasn't ba enough to keep me from finishing the book.

Meh

Made out to be such a great read, but it failed to deliver. It seemed like the plot was good foreplay, but the direction it quickly took never came through. It left this reader very unsatisfied. The reading performance didn't compensate.

This timeless classic does not work on Audio Book!

Any additional comments?

I fell in love with this book when I was a kid and have read it several times in my life. In many ways it shaped my own concepts of spiritual beliefs, of living in a calm settled tranquility. I always took away a more profound belief in the existence of Shangri-La, and in many ways the book always seem to transfix me with a mystical power. This audio book did not do this. The reader was very literal in the way he approached and read this timeless classic. The characters become somewhat cynical, lifeless and cold. All the elements of mystery where gone or missing. There was no sense of beauty of this extraordinary place and time. Yes time was suspended, but it was in the long drawn out reading of the reader.

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Title: Gulliver's Travels: A Signature Performance by David Hyde Pierce

Author: Jonathan Swift

Narrator: David Hyde Pierce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-14-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1788 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce is famous for playing the lovably self-important Dr. Niles Crane in the hit TV series Frasier. Now, he brings the same wit and charming arrogance to his Signature Classics performance of Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels.

More than just a mock travel book and fabulous adventure, Gullivers Travels is a character study and social satire that skewers politics, science, religion, philosophy, and pretentiousness with a bite and resonance that remains as fresh today as the day it was published. Maybe thats why it hasnt been out of print in nearly 300 years.

Set sail with David Hyde Pierce for a smart, fun, new Gullivers Travels experience thats unlike any other. And stay tuned for more one-of-a-kind performances from actors Leelee Sobiesky, Casey Affleck, Tim Curry, and more, only from Audible Signature Classics.

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Editorial Reviews:

Gullivers encounters with fantastic peoples and creatures - from the small-statured Lilliputians to the stargazing Liputians - reach to the far corners of the world. As narrator, David Hyde Pierce wonderfully captures the wit and irony of this much-loved classic. Despite Gullivers detailed, and sometimes cumbersome, descriptions of strange lands and their inhabitants, Pierce doesnt miss a beat. His melodic voice wraps perfectly around Swifts eighteenth-century language. His pronunciations of the imaginative languages are delightful, especially the neighing expressions of the Houyhnhnms, a utopian society of horses. Pierces consistently matter-of-fact tone fits Swifts own. His reading highlights the authors humor and sarcasm, pulling the listener into this fantastic journey.

Critic Reviews:

"Despite Gullivers detailed, and sometimes cumbersome, descriptions of strange lands and their inhabitants, Pierce doesnt miss a beat. His melodic voice wraps perfectly around Swifts eighteenth-century language. His pronunciations of the imaginative languages are delightful, especially the neighing expressions of the Houyhnhnms, a utopian society of horses. In a book in which the authors voice comes through on every page, Pierces consistently matter-of-fact tone fits Swifts own. His reading highlights the authors humor and sarcasm, pulling the listener into this fantastic journey." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Loved every minute

Gulliver's Travels has been a classic but somewhat overlooked read for many years, perhaps because of its supposed complexity. Still, it is an incredbly imaginative series of voyages and adventures to strange and wonderful places (a matter of opinion of course), and the superb writing and imagination on display in this Swift Classic can not be denied.

Jonathan Swift's masterful descriptions of distant island lands, their inhabitants, strange customs, and Gulliver's perceptions and treatment in each place is extaordinary. Yet, not to be ignored are the underlying political and moral aspects which are woven throughtout the text, and in some cases, existant in today's politics and, surprisingly, our society. In many ways futuristic, Jonathan Swift proves a master of imagination and human behavior.

Equally outstanding; and handled deftly, is Mr. Pierce's interpretive reading of the text. Performed with an English accent, and with undeniable superlative vocal skill, Mr.

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Title: A Christmas Carol: A Signature Performance by Tim Curry

Author: Charles Dickens

Narrator: Tim Curry

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7958 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, masterfully narrated by Tim Curry, was available for a limited time last year, and now it's back. This one-of-a-kind performance puts a unique spin on a treasured classic, and served as the inspiration for the exciting new line of Audible Signature Classics, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with Elijah Wood, and Heart of Darkness with Kenneth Branagh. Tim Curry performs this timeless holiday story in a deliciously dark tone, returning it to its Dickensian roots with a vivid imagining of Victorian London and just the right touch of outrageous fun.

A Christmas Carol has constantly been in print since its original publication in 1849, and has been adapted for stage, television, film, and opera. It has often been credited with returning the jovial and festive atmosphere to the holiday season in Britain and North America, following the somber period that emerged during the Industrial Revolution.

The story opens on a bleak and cold Christmas Eve as Ebenezer Scrooge is closing up his office for the day. As the story progresses and Christmas morning approaches, Scrooge encounters the unforgettable characters that make this story a classic: Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and, of course, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

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An Audible for Dogs Pick: Make your dog's day. Cesar Millan shares how audiobooks can make dogs happier and calmer.

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Editorial Reviews:

Renowned actor Tim Currys voice is warm, deep, and arch to the point of campiness. Curry is an actors actor. His voice is so distinctive as to be unmistakable. Fans of this Dickens classic will enjoy hearing Curry manifest the coterie of pithy characters that inhabit this novel, ranging from small boy to old man to dire ghost. Currys knowing tone suits this fable well. His dramatic but nuanced performance highlights the emotions of loss, fear, hope, and joy that inform this text. Curry takes delight in the macabre aspects of this gothic tale. His irreverent take on this famous novel heightens the drama even for listeners who know the story inside and out.

Members Reviews:

Wonderful!!!

I'll admit I was a bit skeptical about whether or not I would enjoy such an oft-told literary classic (and I have heard disappointing versions before), but Tim Curry's fantastic narration grabbed me right from the first minute and didn't let go until the end! The emotions of the characters and Dickens' humorous wit really come through in his compelling rendition. I didn't pause it once from start to finish. I laughed, I cried (well, just a little!), and I enjoyed it completely. Recommended!!!

Great reading!

Tim Curry is one of the last people I would have thought of in connection with "A Christmas Carol": my image of him is more the snivelling villain type, a kind of Uriah Heep. To my surprise, he does a bang-up job. The narration is clear and well-paced, and the characters are all given distinctive voices. Curry's reading of Scrooge himself is one of the best I've heard; and his Marley wheezes and gasps like a real ghost.

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Title: Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh

Author: Joseph Conrad

Narrator: Kenneth Branagh

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-23-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 3891 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Prose that demands to be read aloud requires a special kind of narrator. For the Audible Signature Classics edition of Joseph Conrads atmospheric masterpiece, Heart of Darkness, we called upon four-time Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh.

Branaghs performance is riveting because he reads as though hes telling a ghost story by a campfire, capturing the storys sense of claustrophobia, while hinting at the storyteller Marlows own creeping madness. Heart of Darkness follows Captain Marlow into the colonial Congo where he searches for a mysterious ivory trader, Kurtz, and discovers an evil that will haunt him forever.

With this landmark work, Conrad is credited with bringing the novel into the twentieth century; we think Branagh brings it into the twenty-first.

Stay tuned for more one-of-a-kind performances from actors David Hyde Pierce, Leelee Sobieski, Tim Curry, and more, only from Audible Signature Classics.

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Editorial Reviews:

"The horror! The horror!" In this brooding and justly celebrated novella of 1902, seaman Charles Marlow is cruising quietly down the Thames at dusk with some friends. As night begins to fall, he tells them of his harrowing journey down an African river in search of the unscrupulous and near-legendary ivory trader named Kurtz, a quest deep into inky spiritual and symbolic darkness. Acclaimed Irish actor/director Kenneth Branagh impersonates Marlow in this recording. Admirably, while fully playing the drama, he never goes overboard. He plays the tale for the great yarn that it is. But had he taken more cognizance of its trajectory and subtleties, he would have made the listening experience far richer than he has.

Critic Reviews:

"Acclaimed Irish actor/director Kenneth Branagh impersonates Marlow in this recording. Admirably, while fully playing the drama, he never goes overboard. He plays the tale for the great yarn that it is." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Conrad's Brilliant & Wild Novella

The novella is literature's most compellingly roaming form and Conrad absolutely owns it with Heart of Darkness. I first read Conrad in high school, with throngs of other pimply kids. I liked it sure, but didn't understand all of the conflciting currents of this brilliant story. I was re-introduced to Heart of Darkness when I recognized it in Francis Ford Coppola brilliant Apocalypse Now. During the last few years I've been on a huge Conrad kick, listening or reading to Lord Jim, Victory, The Secret Agent, Nostromo, etc.

The man is simply amazing. It is incredible to think that he could write better in his 3rd language (English) than most writers could ever hope to write in their first. In this way, he shares a lot with Nabokov.

Anyway, this is one of those few works I constantly return to for its humanity and for its inspiriation. Kenneth Branagh's reading of HoD is amazing in both its depth and nuance.

From Civilization into Darkness

The enigmatic narrator Marlowe tells his dark story of madness and despair from the deck of a ship anchored in the Thames in the harbor of London, the then world's center of commerce and civilization. It ends in the heart of madness and despair, the Congo river deep in Africa. In this short novel, which has been called one of the most important works in modern literature, Marlow's voice is that of Kenneth Branagh, one of the finest of actors today.

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Title: Mrs. Dalloway

Author: Virginia Woolf

Narrator: Anne Flosnik

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-23-10

Publisher: Alpha DVD LLC

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 116 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway in post-World War I England. Clarissa visits London in the morning, getting ready to host a party that evening. The nice day reminds her of her youth and makes her wonder about her choice of husband; she married the reliable Richard Dalloway instead of the enigmatic and demanding Peter Walsh and she "had not the option" to be with Sally Seton, for whom she felt strongly. Peter reintroduces these conflicts by paying a visit that morning, having returned from India.

Clarissa's party in the evening is a slow success, attended by most of the characters we have met in the book, including people from her past.

Members Reviews:

Delightful

Ecxcellent sensitive narration. A delightful and very sad view on being human, surviving society... It deserves its place in literature.

Lovely Narration

The story is as brilliant as expected. As for the narration it was a lovely surprise, especially as you can hear the differences between the different roles witheut it feeling overly dramatised.

Read too fast for my liking

I had to order the other version and pay for this book twice because the writing is too incredible to be read at this pace. And it's not that I don't like Anne Flosnik. She did a great job on Little Bee.

Great story, terrible narration.

Would you try another book written by Virgnia Woolf or narrated by Anne Flosnik?

I would read another book by Woolf, but I'll steer clear of books narrated by Anne Flosnik, she reads as though she has absolutely no idea what is going on- it's very distracting and makes concentrating on the story near impossible.

What did you like best about this story?

The character of Peter Walsh.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Anne Flosnik?

Literally anyone.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

The whole experience was very disappointing.

Any additional comments?

A total waste of money, I bought this hoping it would make life easier. Unfortunately all it has done it annoy me and made me think twice about audio books. I think I'll stick to reading from now on.