Barnaby Rudge
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
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By:
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Charles Dickens
About this listen
Dickens provides another memorable cast of characters, including the dull-witted, tyrannical John Willet, Dennis the Hangman, and Hugh the savage ostler.
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The unapologetic intensity with which Emily Brontë wrote this story ensures that it will forever be considered one of the greatest works of English literature. A passionate tale of a chaotic and often violent love, Wuthering Heights transcends your average romance and, with its Gothic undertones, takes the listener on a journey through one man's lustful hunt for revenge.
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Almost Peerless
- By Brad Simkulet on 02-04-18
By: Emily Brontë, and others
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Villette
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 22 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Hailed as Charlotte Brontë’s “finest novel” by Virginia Woolf, Villette is the timeless semi-autobiographical tale of Lucy Snowe. Left with no family and no money, Lucy goes against her own timid nature and travels to the small city of Villette, France, where she becomes a school teacher in Madame Beck’s school for girls. During her stay, she falls in love—twice—and discovers an independent, inner strength rarely seen in women of her time.
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The Divine Ms. Porter delivers as always
- By peachnmario on 03-17-15
By: Charlotte Brontë
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My Lady Ludlow
- By: Elizabeth Gaskell
- Narrated by: Susannah York
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
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Lady Ludlow's appalling snobbery, prejudice and bred-in-the-bone conviction as to the superiority of the English aristocracy and their feudal way of life are deliciously tested, and found wanting, in this gently radical tale of the collapse of a social system. Elizabeth Gaskell's My Lady Ludlow is a brilliant picture of the shift in power in a rural northern village, from the velvety feudal Ludlows to the glitter of the new money rattling through the system courtesy of the brazen baker from Birmingham.
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A treat
- By Tad Davis on 03-04-20
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El conde de Montecristo [The Count of Monte Cristo]
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- Narrated by: Joan M Martinez
- Length: 46 hrs and 47 mins
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Ésta es sin duda, la novela de aventuras más famosa de la historia de la literatura. El joven Edmundo Dantés llega al puerto de Marsella, feliz por poder ver a Mercedes, de la que está enamorado. Pero otros pretendientes de Mercedes, van a hacerle la vida imposible, consiguiendo que el mismo día de la boda sea detenido, acusado de traición al rey y enviado directamente a la terrible prisión del castillo de If.
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Qué bonita historia y que gran narración.
- By Luis Enrique Cuevas Hernández on 02-14-21
By: Alejandro Dumas
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The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- By: Anne Brontë
- Narrated by: Mary Sarah Agliotta
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
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Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant and phenomenal success and is widely considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. A mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Helen and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village.
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A good story ruined by the narrator
- By i. Ski on 04-17-14
By: Anne Brontë
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Le Pere Goriot
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- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
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At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was, at first, afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household.
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balzac rocks
- By beatrice on 03-12-10
By: Honoré de Balzac
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Edgar Allan Poe - The Complete Short Stories
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All of Edgar Allan Poe’s great short stories in one 16-hour collection.
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NEVERMORE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-23-15
By: Edgar Allan Poe
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The American
- By: Henry James
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Self-made American millionaire Christopher Newman arrives in Paris brimming with hope and optimism, excited to experience the culture and, hopefully, find the perfect woman to become his wife. After a chance encounter with American expatriate friends, his attention is drawn to Madame de Cintré, 25-year-old widowed daughter of the late Marquis de Bellegarde. Having fallen on hard times, the centuries-old aristocratic family permits Newman's courtship to proceed; however, they later persuade the widow to break off her engagement to the nouveau-riche businessman.
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excellent reading
- By Andorboth on 12-03-22
By: Henry James
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loved it much more than expected!
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The most gorgeously theatrical of all Dickens's novels, Nicholas Nickleby follows the delightful adventures of a hearty young hero in 19th-century England. Nicholas, a gentleman's son fallen upon hard times, must set out to make his way in the world. His journey is accompanied by some of the most swaggering scoundrels and unforgettable eccentrics in Dickens's pantheon.
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Amazing
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Jason Watkins, the award-winning stage and screen actor best-known for his roles in The Lost Honour and A Very English Scandal, masterfully performs this brand-new recording of Barnaby Rudge; first published in 1841, it was Dickens’ fifth title and his first historical novel. Set against the backdrop of the Gordon Riots of 1780, Barnaby Rudge reflects back on a time of revolt against the British parliament, following the Catholic Relief Act of 1778.
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History repeats
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A sinister masterpiece, Our Mutual Friend was Dickens' last completed novel. It is perhaps his ultimate vision of a dark, macabre London and the corrupting power of money.
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Worth six stars
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Gripping
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loved it much more than expected!
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It's worth the wait
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History repeats
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Least enjoyable Dickens' books I've ever read or listened to.
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The Pickwick Papers (AmazonClassics Edition)
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Audible presents an original production of the aptly named The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Charles Dickens’ final, unfinished novel. Following his untimely death at the age of 58, Dickens managed to publish only six of the 12 planned instalments of the story. Though it has gone on to be one of his more popular titles and the source of inspiration for various television, stage and theatre adaptations, no one knows exactly how Dickens planned to end the mystery.
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After 18 years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the ageing Dr Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil lanes of London, they are all drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror and soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.
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nice intro, but unnecessary addition to audible
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London. A city drowning in fog. Amid that fog, a man with no name dies above a strange junkshop. Threads of mist and intrigue weave around a court case with no resolution, linking great country houses with the lowest slum in the city, mingling the high-born with a boy who sweeps the filthy streets, enshrouding devious plots and sudden murder, bringing together two extraordinary women – Lady Dedlock and Esther Summerson - who seem to have nothing whatsoever in common but who will find themselves inextricably linked.
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What can one say - it’s Dickens!
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David Copperfield
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Between his work on the 2014 Audible Audiobook of the Year, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, and his performance of Classic Love Poems, narrator Richard Armitage ( The Hobbit, Hannibal) has quickly become a listener favorite. Now, in this defining performance of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield, Armitage lends his unique voice and interpretation, truly inhabiting each character and bringing real energy to the life of one of Dickens' most famous characters.
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A PERFECT narration of an English classic!
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The Charles Dickens Collection: 10 Novels
- Great Expectations; A Tale of Two Cities; Nicholas Nickleby; Oliver Twist; Bleak House; Our Mutual Friend; The Old Curiosity Shop; Dombey and Son; Little Dorrit; A Christmas Carol
- By: Charles Dickens
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- Unabridged
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This audiobook includes unabridged recordings of 10 of Charles Dickens' great novels in one audiobook. The novels included here are A Tale of Two Cities, Bleak House, Great Expectations, The Old Curiosity Shop, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, Our Mutual Friend, Little Dorrit, Dombey and Son and A Christmas Carol.
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Excellent
- By Chad Walter on 06-13-22
By: Charles Dickens
What listeners say about Barnaby Rudge
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Neil
- 04-23-11
Another Great Dickens Tale
This was a long story, with many characters. I lost parts of the story along my commute as there are numerous conversations with the characters, which didn't appear to have meaning, but come together in the end. I had to relisten to parts of the book to keep up with the story. The narrator was fantastic with his ability to change characters manners and age which is part of Dickens work. I preferred the end of the book much more as that is where the riots and drama evolves. It lacked some of the mystery of his famous classical works like Twist and Great Expectations, but to me the last 20 chapters brought it all together. The characters and accents were excellently done with the likes of Dennis the Hangman, and the Gabriel the locksmith, the idiot Barnaby, and almost human Grip. If you like Dickens you should like this one.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall
- David
- 08-14-09
Overlong but under-rated Dickens
"Barnaby Rudge" is possibly Dickens's least well-known novel among modern readers. Hollywood has ignored it: there's a 1915 silent film version, a 1960 BBC version, and that's it. There are reasons for this: the novel makes an awkward 5-year jump in the middle, sends major characters off-stage for hundreds of pages, and is in general more padded with extraneous material and long conversations than it needs to be. Even if you're a Dickens fan, you might prefer an abridged version as an audiobook.
But the full version has its rewards. Over time, characters who initially seemed flat and stereotyped take on true psychological depth. The best of them are among the best in Dickens--no one has created a better picture of genteel hypocrisy than Sir John Chester, for example. There are magnificent descriptions of 18th-century inns and an imaginative recreation of London after dark, pre-gaslight. And the historical portions, the depiction of Lord Gordon, the rioters, and the anarchy they unleash on London, are as compelling as the better-known counterparts in "Tale of Two Cities".
Whitfield's narration and voice characterization is excellent throughout, despite a couple of annoying idiosyncrasies (notably, the way he handles "Why" as an exclamation). Audio quality of the file is excellent (enhanced format).
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25 people found this helpful
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- BDHumbert
- 10-31-16
So glad I listened
To this...
Dickens is an awesome storyteller and Simon Vance really nails the narration. Long but interesting throughout
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- OliviaL
- 08-08-22
Dickens
I always say the same thing: Bravo!
I love this man. And the way he talks about the things he cares about as well as the absurdities of his society. Hilarious too :)
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- DFK
- 10-05-18
Become a Dickens fan first, then listen to this
There is much of value in this book - the depiction of the Gordon Riots, in particular, is of interest and importance. There are aspects of these riots - violence against a minority instigated by inciteful talk by important people and carried out by the riffraff (and a naive Barnaby Rudge of the title) - that are, sadly, too relevant today. One can understand from these riots how easily it is to rile up a crowd to commit a pogrom in the name of religion with hatred towards others of another religion for no real reason. Unfortunately, Dickens devotes too much of the book to building the stories of the various characters, and much of those stories seem superfluous. In fact, it is not even clear what value the title character, Barnaby Rudge, adds to the main point of the story. He is a “simple” person, often called an “idiot”, of limited intellect, with a devoted mother. Her husband is a fugitive murderer. These three characters (and Grip the raven) could have been omitted, and all that surrounds them (Stagg, Rudge Sr.’s accomplice) without detracting much from what to me are the more interesting aspects of the story. Haredale could be Emma’s ward without the whole additional complications of those characters, and the animosity between Haredale and Chester would be intact, relevant to the story because Haredale (and Emma) are Catholic while Chester (and his son, who loves Emma) are Protestant, but it is a deeper animosity, and I was left puzzled about the actual source of Chester’s treachery. That he is a villain is clear, but why? As always, Dickens’ language and writing is superb, and much of this book is excellent. Simon Vance’s reading is, also as always, superb. If you are a Dickens fan, you ought to listen to this book to familiarize yourself with all his works, and be left with much to contemplate (and many analyses of this book to consider if you agree or not). But if you are not yet a Dickens fan, it is best to start with some of his other books.
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- Frank Donnelly
- 08-03-20
A Good, Lesser Known Dickens Novel, About 1780 London Riots
"Barnaby Rudge" is a very good but less known Dickens novel. It is a historical novel set in 1780. Dickens tended not to author historical novels. I liked it, but can understand why it is a lesser known novel.
In that this is an audiobook, I want to state that the narration is excellent. The reading by Simon Vance is very good. Mister Vance has a real knack for capturing the comedic aspects of this novel.
As for the story itself, it is like all Dickens novels, well written. It is an historical novel, which is not the normal Dickens venue. This story develops slowly which honestly frustrated me. I knew all along that Dickens would tie it together but it seemed to take forever to really get going. But this is a story that the longer I read it, the more I liked it.
I am glad that I read this novel. Simon Vance is very good. The story starts slowly. In the end I am very glad that I stayed with it. Thank You...
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- carla k
- 01-05-22
Dark and well paced
Great narrator. Dickens certainly knew a thing or two about psychological motivation. Hard to predict the ending.
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- lauren Davis
- 12-25-22
Great
I think this is one of Dickens best books. Often overlooked but a great historical picture of the riot acts of London
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- Jlc
- 03-23-24
Stay with it
It’s quickly obvious from the outset that is is different from other Dickens stories. Character development seemed pedestrian at first. I’m glad I stayed with the book to the finish. I disagree with the negative reviews. It’s difficult to find one protagonist. Redemptive qualities appear in several characters. Unveiling underlying bitter motives of shallow religious convictions, this book invites the reader to consider a better understanding of self and religious movements in our world.
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Overall
- connie
- 05-03-09
darker Dickens relevant to our intolerant times
Lighter characters are not as prominent as in better known Dickens' novels, so this is not as heart warming as usual; however, I thought it just as good as any Dickens and, as an historical tale, I liked it better than "Tale of Two Cities." There is less domestic melodrama, but the usual Dickens' cast of characters and stereotypes: overbearing-martyr-complex wife, shrew, feral young man, sensible young woman, beautiful but silly young woman, honourable rich young man, put-upon striving poor young man, and not one but two selfish, narcissistic fathers -- And Barnaby. And Grip -- all embroiled in political and social machination.
Dickens' usual insight into human nature is sharp thoughout: "So do the shadows of our own desires stand between us and our better angels" -- No psychologist ever described projection, scapegoating, mob mentality, and political manipulation as well as well as Dickens does in "Barnaby Rudge."
Most characters still live happily ever after in the end, however, as the spoiler in the publisher's summary suggests.
Whitfield's narration is excellent as usual.
(And this is a must listen for all fans of ravens, literary or avian.)
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16 people found this helpful