Where to Listen to Audiobooks in Classics, British Literature Popular Authors

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Title: Barnaby Rudge

Author: Charles Dickens

Narrator: George Hagan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 29 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-23-09

Publisher: RNIB

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 38 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Charles Dickens (1812 - 9 June 1870) is arguably the greatest novelist England ever produced.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

Members Reviews:

The Riots Of '80

Where does Barnaby Rudge rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Since I have been listening to mostly classics lately, I will answer this by saying in the top 20 at least. Other reviewers have said that they couldn't get into the story. It was not the case for me. I have enjoyed every single moment of this book. (Yes, even with George Hagan's mistakes). I bought this book a long time ago and finally got around to listening to it. And I have enjoyed it thoroughly.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Barnaby Rudge probably because of his being simple and his always cheerfulness and fresh look on life.

Have you listened to any of George Hagans other performances before? How does this one compare?

I listened to Nicholas Nickleby and enjoyed that performance. This one compares to it equally.

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

Too long for that. But if I could've, I might have.

Any additional comments?

This was Charles Dickens first attempt at an historical novel years before he did "A Tale Of Two Cities." Not knowing much about the Gordon Riots, I have learned a lot about them just from listening to this book. I would say Mr. Dickens did a good job on this book and I could see how this helped prepare him for "A Tale Of Two Cities" later on in his writing career.

Couldn't even finish this one!

Maybe that excludes me from writing a review, but this book has so many unengaging characters that I just couldn't stay with it. If there's a plot, it's too obscure or scattered for me to follow. George Hagan tries his best but I wonder if any reader could render this into a meaningful novel. Maybe it's just me.

Barnaby ... Drudge?

This novel is not rated among Dickens' best works. Sadly the reader quickly grasps why.

In general, it is difficult to identify or even sympathize with any character. In particular, many of the characters are just strange. Barnaby Rudge himself is, as Dickens puts it, an "idiot boy". His pet is a raven ... who actually speaks sentences, though admittedly with a croaky voice. Readers also encounter a brutal hangman and a blind beggar who manages to travel by foot through the 18th century English countryside.

This very long historical novel is set in the context of little known anti-Catholic riots. The plot is convoluted and very difficult to follow. Unexpectedly from Dickens, much violence is described in detail, mostly against property but also against human beings. The narrator sides with reason against prejudice but the reader still feels uneasy.

Definitely, this work is recommended only to die-hard Dickens fans.

poorly read

I enjoyed the story but was disappointed in the reading of it, the narrator was full of stumbles and mistakes - and corrections. His voice was beautiful and mellifluous - I felt that the book being so long tested the narrator's ability.

Very poorly narrated!

What would have made Barnaby Rudge better?

While the book itself is what you'd expect from Charlie Dickens, unfortunately the narration will drive you mad ... it's clearly not edited, and the mistakes the reader makes come frequently.

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Title: A Group of Noble Dames

Author: Thomas Hardy

Narrator: Nigel Graham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-23-09

Publisher: RNIB

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The ten stories focus on "store of ladies, whose bright eyes rain influence". Hardy delves into the hidden depths of country families to reveal what went on behind the scenes.

Part I - Before Dinner

The First Countess of Wessex

Barbara of the House of Grebe

The Marchioness of Stonehenge

Lady Mottisfont

Part II - After Dinner

The Lady Icenway

Squire Petrick's Lady

Anna, Lady Baxby

The Lady Penelope

The Duchess Of Hamptonshire

The Honourable Laura

Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928) was an English novelist and poet of the naturalist movement.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

Members Reviews:

Some good, Some boring

This was a good collection of stories, while some take a while to ponder before you actually get the concept, and the sad part is, by that time the excitement of the story has worn off. However, that is only a fraction of the stories. Many of the others are just plain disturbing and terrifyingly real.

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Title: Ivanhoe

Author: Walter Scott

Narrator: Jim Killavey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-16-09

Publisher: Jimcin Recordings

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Sir Walter Scott gathered a popular audience, larger than any audience before. A great innovator, he created one of the outstanding literary forms of the past 200 years - the historical novel. In Ivanhoe, Scott brings to life 12th century England. The disinherited knight Ivanhoe, his fair lady Rowena, Richard the Lion-Hearted and Robin Hood - these are people shaped by the forces of tradition, molded by their nation's history.

(P)1986 Jimcin Recordings

Editorial Reviews:

Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe takes place in the 12th century and follows one of the last remaining Saxon nobles, Wilfred of Ivanhoe. Set shortly after the crusades, Robin Hood, by the name of Locksley, is one of Scott's more famous characters. With his classic tenor voice, Jim Killavey serves as a good guide for Scott's Middle Ages. He harnesses the vernacular of the time with ease and his formality, although stiff in moments, fits the work's tone. Killavey's diction is quite remarkable, and he utilizes his deeper register to capture these masculine characters' voices.

Members Reviews:

Wonderful

Good tales are good - no matter how old.

Fascinating story. Well read, too.

ROBIN HOOD

Aside from being a source for the legend of Robin Hood, Ivanhoe is a boring adventure with a smattering of muddled history, stilted romance, and legendary valor.

This is a story of twelfth century England, a time of great conflict between Christians, other-believers like Muslims and Jews, and non-believers (pagans that believe in many gods or no God). Layered into this religious conflict is Anglo/Saxon resentment of Norman control of England. Ivanhoe creates the legend of Robin Hood with an introduction of Norman-King Richard the Lionheart and his brother, Prince John, to characterize the era. This is during the time of the Crusades when Saladin is spreading Muslim beliefs through the world with conquests in Syria and the Middle East.

Sir Walter Scott may be a better writer than is shown in Ivanhoe but for adventure and romance, Alexander Dumas is a better practitioner of the art.

Terrific story! Not my favorite narrator...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Story:

The poetry that opened each chapter gave such a marked elegance to the text and a chivalrous ambience to the portrayal of the people. The description of the land and the manner and attire of the people were so carefully detailed as to be perfect for a student studying the time period. Historical references were intermingled with a delightful story of honor and avarice, fortune and despair, which made you admire and feel for even some of the most despised characters.

Narrator:

I originally began to listen to this book narrated by Jim Killavey, and although it has high reviews, I personally found his voice or possibly the recording a little grating. So halfway through, I bought the recording by Michael Page whose voices are so expressive and distinct, that I understood the book better. I enjoyed Michael Page's version greatly, and even laughed out loud at some of the ways he expressed some of the lines of the jester and Cedric. But don't take my word for it. Listen carefully to the samples from both, and pick for yourself!

Disappointed

19th Century yarn set in Norman England, written by a Scotsman, read by an American. Should have listened to it first.

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Title: The School for Scandal

Author: Richard Sheridan

Narrator: Edith Evans, Cecil Parker, Harry Andrews

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-26-09

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Sheridan's most famous play, The School for Scandal, has been called "the best existing English comedy of intrigue".

A favourite with audiences and critics alike since its premiere in 1777, this play is a classic English comedy of manners. Full of satirical wit, it subverts the Georgian social mores of its day with subtlety and charm.

This historic recording features Edith Evans, Cecil Parker and Harry Andrews: Some of the finest actors of their generation.

Editorial Reviews:

Richard Sheridan's subversive 18th-century comedy of manners School for Scandal comes thoroughly to life in this entrancing audiobook thanks to incandescent performances from Edith Evans, Harry Andrews, and Cecil Parker. These skilled voice actors adeptly draw out the humor of this satirical work, hamming up their performances and fully inhabiting their characters, guiding listeners effortlessly through the twists and turns of this complex and convoluted play.

Evans, Andrews, and Parker produce performances so distinctive as to render confusion nearly impossible; indeed, listeners will find themselves wholly drawn into this world of salacious secrets, threats, and gossip, entranced by the plot of this captivating work as it unfolds.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

Good! Read it! It's a classic âï

Perhaps The Greatest Comedy of the Era

Playwright, poet, and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) did not produce many works--some sources note that he was frequently afflicted with writer's block--but among them were two titles that have remained constants of world theatre since the moment of their debut: THE RIVALS (1775) and THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL (1777.)

In may respects THE SCHOOL SCANDAL anticipates the slightly later novel LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES (1782) by de Laclos, for both works present portraits of a hypocritical social world that amuses itself--and fiercely manipulates others--through rumor, scandal, and extra-marital affairs. But where LIAISONS is essentially a portrait of evil machinations that succeed against virtue, SCANDAL is a witty portrait of evil machinations that fail when confronted by personal integrity. Witty and tone and sparkling with wickedly amusing malice, it is a gossamer farce that draws heavily upon the earlier Restoration styles of Wycherly and Congreve but molds them into a less uncompromising turn of mind.

The central plot turns upon two brothers, Joseph and Charles Surface, both of whom are wards of the wealthy but long absent Sir Oliver. Joseph appears to be an upstanding member of society; Charles appears to be a wild spendthrift--but appearances are deceiving, for in truth Joseph is miserly and vicious where as Charles is generous and open-hearted. The Lady Sneerwell has determined to have Charles for a lover; as such she works with Joseph to break Charles' attachment to Maria, who is the ward of Sir Peter Teazle.

Although the plot arises from Lady Sneerwell's determination to capture Charles Surface, the actual focus of the play falls on Sir Peter and Lady Teazle. Sir Peter sought and married a significantly younger and socially unstudied country girl--but once she set foot in London she unexpectedly transformed into a lady of fashion. Indeed, Lady Teazle has fallen in with Lady Sneerwell and her malicious circle, where talk consists almost exclusively of maliciously witty gossip that greatly damages its subjects.

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Title: The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Author: Charles Dickens

Narrator: George Hagan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-05-09

Publisher: RNIB

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Mystery of Edwin Drood is the final novel by Charles Dickens, unfinished at the time of his death.

Written in 1890, the story is a murder mystery in which Edwin Drood is supposedly murdered. The novel investigates the characters in a distinctly Dickensian manner from the suspicious and tormented Jasper to the Reverend Crisparkle to Princess Puffer, the enigmatic Datchery and finally the gravedigger and his obnoxious but perceptive boy assistant. But who is the murderer? We will never know....

Charles Dickens (1812 - 9 June 1870) is arguably the greatest novelist England ever produced. His innate comic genius and shrewd depictions of Victorian life - along with his memorable characters - have made him beloved by readers the world over.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

Members Reviews:

Avoid! Get another narrator.

I do enjoy unabridged Dickens read by Brits, but the narrator is truly dreadful, although likely the producer is more to blame for not forcing the voice actor to do more takes. The stuttering and stammering get increasingly annoying and more frequent as it goes along.

One of the lowest quality narrations I've heard here. Content excellent as always from Dickens, so I'm willing to try another version.

Avoid this one, even if the price is tempting.

Awful reading

I've been listening to books on tape, cd, etc. for almost 20 years, including almost all of Dickens, and this is absolutely the worst reading job I've ever heard - please remove this version from your list, since it will give YOU a bad reputation.

Worst Production Ever!!!

I have read somr books for Taping For The Blind in Houston where I live. I have made some mistakes while reading, but none approaches the performance of this production. Cheap or not, leave this one alone!!! George Hagan is good, but this stinker should have never made it into production. Take my advice, and the reviewers above. If nothing else, find the book in print and read it out loud yourself. You will definitely do a better job than this guy! Nuff said about that. What is here is here. This is a great example of what happens when you rush a production through. Stick with Walter Covell. He's much better.

Rich, colourful and full of suspense.

Beware of disappointments as this is Dickens's last unfinished novel and such a shame. You do actually know 'who did it' as the plot begins to close in on the culprit. You do not however get to see him put bang to rights or find out what happens to all the characters in the end.

That said this is a lively and colourful novel with Dickens's typically larger that life characters. These are ably brought to life by George Hagan whose characterisations are well honed. He is not afraid of the female voice and he does it very well. He is in fact one of the best narrators I have heard, so good I could'nt wait to get back to the story after a break.

I particularly liked the character Grewgious a socially inept gentleman but never the less incredibly shrewd and absolutely devoted to his ward Miss Rosa Bud.

I write this in December and what better time to listen to some stories from Dickens.

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Title: The Pardoner's Tale

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer

Narrator: Robert Ross

Format: Unabridged

Length: 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-31-08

Publisher: Saland Publishing

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Read in Middle English by Robert Ross.

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Title: 'Youth' and 'Heart of Darkness'

Author: Joseph Conrad

Narrator: Jim Roberts

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-23-08

Publisher: Jimcin Recordings

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Heart of Darkness features Marlow 22 years later and deals with maturity and old age.This highly symbolic story follows Marlow as he recounts his adventure into the Congo to a group of men aboard a ship anchored in the Thames Estuary. Marlow was employed to transport ivory downriver, but his more pressing assignment was to return another trader, Kurtz, to civilization in a cover up. Kurtz had an unsavory reputation throughout the region. The last sentences in the story, including Kurtz words ,"The Horror, The Horror," are among the most famous in English literature.

Editorial Reviews:

Polish-born English writer Joseph Conrad has influenced writers from Ernest Hemingway to V. S. Naipaul with his worldly perspective and insight into the human condition. This audiobook brings listeners two of his greatest stories, Youth and Heart of Darkness.

Both pieces draw upon Conrads experience as a sailor. The first story, Youth, is about a young seamans misadventures, including a violent storm and an onboard fire, aboard a ship called Judea. The second story, the classic Heart of Darkness, tells the tales of one mans search down the Congo River for the mysterious ivory trader named Mr. Kurtz.

With a slight New York accent, Jim Roberts delivers a ringing, smooth reading of these classic works.

Members Reviews:

Not what was offered

I purchased this audible exclusively because in Amazon was offered as including The End of the Tether.

The Audible version DOES NOT include it. Beware

Great Novella ruined by narrator.

One of the all time great stories and its prologue, put simply, ruined by the narrator's droning delivery, constant mispronunciations and an east coast accent that insists on putting R's on any word that ends in a vowel. Even though you get the earlier "Youth", this reading is NOT worth it, in my oppinion, at any price.

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Title: Brideshead Revisited

Author: Evelyn Waugh

Narrator: Jeremy Northam

Format: Abridged

Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-26-08

Publisher: CSA Word

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

A study of faith and disillusionment in a glamorous upper-class world, Waugh's most famous novel is partly autobiographical and is a gripping multi-character-study of aristocratic life behind closed doors.

Charles Ryder meets Sebastian, a member of the aristocratic Flyte family, at Oxford. He then begins to spend time at the family home, Brideshead, where he is welcomed into the fold and enjoys a decadent high-society lifestyle.

Things start to unravel, however, when Charles notices the cracks in the veneer: his perception of the naivety of the family's devotion to the Catholic faith, and his friend's increasing drink habit. Tangled webs of love and obsession also threaten to break up the at first happy idyll.

Examining the complexity of relationships and the strength of belief, 'Brideshead Revisited' is an intense listen and a riveting one.

Members Reviews:

An entertaining and emotionally satisfying listen

I loved this narration of Brideshead Revisited. Not having read the book or seen the TV series for over 25 years I couldn't remember much beyond the Oxford scenes and the Catholic thread; so I was revisiting it with an open mind. I found it an involving story, superbly narrated by Jeremy Northam, and ultimately very moving and thought provoking.

Jeremy Northam is the perfect narrator for Waugh

Would you listen to Brideshead Revisited again? Why?

This era & author have fallen out of fashion but this story is expertly woven

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sebastian, gorgeous fey and troubled.

Which character as performed by Jeremy Northam was your favourite?

Charles. Jerem

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Sebastian's decline into alcoholism and the text-book deceit used to achieve and maintain that state.

Any additional comments?

Just a lovely and beautifully narrated spoken book for the commute to work.

Apparently a classic

Perhaps its my own ignorance, but I hated this book it was boring from start to finish. The narrator did a decent job of building up and tension etc but it just want for me.

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Title: Treasure Island

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Narrator: Gabriel Woolf

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-24-08

Publisher: RNIB

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 30 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

First published in 1883, Treasure Island remains one of Robert Louis Stevenson's best-known and best-loved works.

A classic coming of age adventure, featuring buried treasure, treacherous pirates, and the eponymous Long John Silver, Treasure Island tells the enthralling story of Jim Hawkins, a young cabin boy, who sets sail on an 18th century voyage in search of a pirate's buried gold.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

Members Reviews:

Fantastic story, unprofessional recording

I am enjoying the story despite the distracting throat clearing and congestion problems that were recorded and not edited out. I wish I had purchased the reading by Alfred Molina instead.

So much fun to listen to!

This was a treat, I love Gabriel Woolf, who knew he could move from the evil father Karamozov to Long John Silver, to an innocent youthful protagonist and be so perfectly able to bring them all to life! The story is wonderful and just as exciting as it was when I read it 40 years ago. Makes you want to revisit all of the classics.

Story almost ruined by sniffling reader

This is a great story, but I'm also sorry I didn't purchase the other version since this narrator obviously had a cold. The sniffling and throat clearing are very distracting, not to mention the accent sounds fake, and the reader seems to stumble over his words from time to time. Very disappointing.

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest?

'Treasure Island' - what magical images those two small words conjure up! One of the most adapted books in the English language, here are Robert Louis Stevenson's words presented verbatim in a well-paced action narrative that grips from the first few minutes onwards. Two hundred and more years have not aged the book at all, despite the spawning of hundreds of imitators. I have not had the pleasure of the company of this book for more than thirty years, but time has not diminished the story and rose-tinted spectacles have not washed out the bright-drawn characterisation.

Buried within the main plot is a story of morality and trust. This type of sub-plot is unusual as the book is aimed squarely at the gung-ho! action adventure; it is all the more remarkable considering when the book was written. At the end of the story I was left hanging between mild distaste and outright dislike of the Long John Silver character.

The only thing that slightly spoiled the rendition of this book for me was the reader's accent. Considering that most of the characters came from the West Country and outright reference was made to Bristol, the accent adopted by the reader seemed to float somewhere between East Devon and the Northumbrian coast. As a twenty-year resident of rural Dorset, it sounded very odd indeed.

Excellent listen.

A great, classic book full of adventure, heroics, skulduggery and pieces of eight. A real pleasure to listen to for it's innocence and escapism. Well read and highly recommended.

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Title: Gulliver's Travels

Author: Jonathan Swift

Narrator: Paul Albertson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-08-08

Publisher: Alpha DVD

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 51 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Lemuel Gulliver travels to the remote country of Lilliput, where he encounters the six-inch-tall Lilliputians. On his next journey, he is captured by a 60-foot-tall native of Brobdingnag. His next journey takes him to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdrib, and Luggnagg, where he meets a race of people devoted to music and mathematics. On his final journey to the country of the Houyhnhnms, he meets the subhuman race of Yahoo's and the intelligent horses that rule them.

Members Reviews:

Boring

I know this a classic but i found it to be so boring that i didn't continue past half way, it was interesting enough at first (maybe the first hour of listening) but soon became very redundant,i think the story is cool but as much as i tend to dislike the practice, it would be better abridged.