Charles Dickens
A Life
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Charles Dickens
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Narrated by:
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Alex Jennings
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By:
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Claire Tomalin
About this listen
When Charles Dickens died in 1870, The Times of London successfully campaigned for his burial in Westminster Abbey, the final resting place of England's kings and heroes. Thousands flocked to mourn the best recognized and loved man of 19th-century England. His books had made them laugh, shown them the squalor and greed of English life, and also the power of personal virtue and the strength of ordinary people. In his last years Dickens drew adoring crowds to his public appearances, had met presidents and princes, and had amassed a fortune.
Like a hero from his novels, Dickens trod a hard path to greatness. Born into a modest middle-class family, his young life was overturned when his profligate father was sent to debtors' prison and Dickens was forced into harsh and humiliating factory work. Yet through these early setbacks he developed his remarkable eye for all that was absurd, tragic, and redemptive in London life. He set out to succeed, and with extraordinary speed and energy made himself into the greatest English novelist of the century.
Years later Dickens's daughter wrote to the author George Bernard Shaw, "If you could make the public understand that my father was not a joyous, jocose gentleman walking about the world with a plum pudding and a bowl of punch, you would greatly oblige me." Seen as the public champion of household harmony, Dickens tore his own life apart, betraying, deceiving, and breaking with friends and family while he pursued an obsessive love affair.
Charles Dickens: A Life gives full measure to Dickens's heroic stature - his huge virtues both as a writer and as a human being - while observing his failings in both respects with an unblinking eye. Renowned literary biographer Claire Tomalin crafts a story worthy of Dickens's own pen, a comedy that turns to tragedy as the very qualities that made him great - his indomitable energy, boldness, imagination, and showmanship - finally destroyed him. The man who emerges is one of extraordinary contradictions, whose vices and virtues were intertwined as surely as his life and his art.
©2011 Claire Tomalin (P)2012 TantorPeople who viewed this also viewed...
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Pip is an orphan, brought up in a village on the Essex marshes by his disagreeable sister and her husband Joe Gargery, the kind-hearted village blacksmith. Life is harsh and Pip has few prospects until he receives from an anonymous benefactor the chance of escaping the forge for a more promising life in London. But his expectations are fraught with difficulties as he is haunted by figures from his past such as the escaped convict Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Havisham, and her proud, beautiful ward, Estella.
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The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is closely modelled on the 18h-century novels that Charles Dickens loved as a child, such as Robinson Crusoe, in which the fortunes of a hero shape the plot. The likeable young Nicholas, left penniless on the death of his father, sets off in search of better prospects.
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5 out of 5 stars
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loved it much more than expected!
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Hardy's work challenged sexual and religious conventions in a way that few other authors of the time dared. Though his modesty and kindness allowed some to underestimate him, or even to pity him, they did not prevent him from taking on the central themes of human experience: time, memory, loss, love, fear, grief, anger, death. This engrossing biography identifies the inner demons and the outer mores that drove Hardy and presents a complex portrait of one of the greatest figures in English literature.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,760
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,469
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,470
After escaping from the dark and dismal workhouse where he was born, Oliver finds himself on the mean streets of Victorian-era London and is unwittingly recruited into a scabrous gang of scheming urchins. In this band of petty thieves, Oliver encounters the extraordinary and vibrant characters who have captured audiences' imaginations for more than 150 years.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing narration!
- By Karen on 12-11-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
Hard Times
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 151
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Despite the title, Dickens's portrayal of early industrial society is less relentlessly grim than that in novels by contemporaries such as Elizabeth Gaskell or Charles Kingsley. Hard Times weaves the tale of Thomas Gradgrind, a hard-headed politician who raises his children Louisa and Tom without love and to have no empathy, their lives completely devoid of beauty, culture, or imagination. Only after a series of crises does their father realise that the manner in which he raised his children has ruined their lives.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
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By: Charles Dickens
-
Nicholas Nickleby
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 34 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 248
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 189
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 188
One of Dickens' early works, Nicholas Nickleby combines comedy and tragedy in a tale of triumph over adversity that is interspersed with Dickens' moving condemnation of society's mistreatment of children and the cruelty of the educational system. Young Nickleby struggles to seek his fortune in Victorian England, yet succeeds despite social injustice, in a story that mirrors Dickens' own rise from poverty to great success.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful tale, wonderful reader
- By Richard on 06-19-09
By: Charles Dickens
-
Great Expectations
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 17 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 244
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 198
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 197
Pip is an orphan, brought up in a village on the Essex marshes by his disagreeable sister and her husband Joe Gargery, the kind-hearted village blacksmith. Life is harsh and Pip has few prospects until he receives from an anonymous benefactor the chance of escaping the forge for a more promising life in London. But his expectations are fraught with difficulties as he is haunted by figures from his past such as the escaped convict Magwitch, the eccentric Miss Havisham, and her proud, beautiful ward, Estella.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Great Expectations delivered
- By Neil on 02-06-10
By: Charles Dickens
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The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 30 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 361
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 310
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 303
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is closely modelled on the 18h-century novels that Charles Dickens loved as a child, such as Robinson Crusoe, in which the fortunes of a hero shape the plot. The likeable young Nicholas, left penniless on the death of his father, sets off in search of better prospects.
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5 out of 5 stars
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loved it much more than expected!
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-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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The Invisible Woman
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Story4 out of 5 stars 87
Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan met in 1857; she was 18, a hard-working actress performing in his production of The Frozen Deep, and he was 45, the most lionized writer in England. Out of their meeting came a love affair that lasted 13 years and destroyed Dickens's marriage while effacing Nelly Ternan from the public record.
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Interesting
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The Charles Dickens Collection: 10 Novels
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 25
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
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Bleak House
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 630
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 628
This Audible Exclusive performance features a unique introduction written and narrated by Miriam Margolyes. Recognised as one of Dickens' most accomplished titles, Bleak House has impressed critics and audiences alike since it was first published in 1852. The novel boasts one of the most intelligent and engaging plots in all of English literature and is sure to engage the listener's imagination as it transports us back in time to the seedy, grimy and hazardous streets of Victorian London.
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The Best Audiobook Ever?
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Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician
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In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everitt plunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancient Rome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through his legendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection of unguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to life here as a witty and cunning political operator.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An eloquent man, and a patriot
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The Hidden Lives of Tudor Women
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- Unabridged
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The Tudor period conjures up images of queens and noblewomen in elaborate court dress, of palace intrigue and dramatic politics. But if you were a woman, it was also a time when death during childbirth was rife, when marriage was usually a legal contract, not a matter for love, and the education you could hope to receive was minimal at best. Yet the Tudor century was also dominated by powerful and dynamic women in a way that no era had been before.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I love this book!
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By: Elizabeth Norton
What listeners say about Charles Dickens
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pooka
- 03-17-21
A Deep and Shallow man
I am amazed at the talent of this man, but saddened by his human frailty.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 06-30-23
Such a worthwhile read.
I learned a lot from this biography. So much material to get through but this book is perfectly researched and beautifully presented. Performance was exceptional.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Deedra
- 03-05-24
A Life
I found this to be a very good book. Mr Dickens lived such a storied life,the tabloids today would have eaten him up. Narration was very good.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 01-21-22
What The Dickens?
The author seemed to have forgotten the use of adverbs replacing them with adjectives. Many details about Dickens, his characters, locations in London & England, his novel’s story lines & his friends or acquaintances. As an Audible book I often forgot who a person or character was when talked about later in the book. There was no way to look back and rediscover the person or character. If you have not read all of Dickens’ works, the author’s details of each can be tedious to listen to. Mostly my impression was a this is bleak tale.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KathrynVB
- 10-16-14
Very comprehensive book about Charles Dickens
This book is a phenomenal accomplishment of research and compilation. I cannot imagine that anything important about Charles Dickens' life remains unsaid. There is almost too much detail here, but one finishes this book with a very good understanding of the author, the place of each book in his life, and the dynamics of his authorship. You may be surprised that some of his best books are given short shrift, but then, this is about Dickens and not just his books. Very interesting read!
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Peggy Jo Donahue
- 04-11-24
The surprises!
The Charles Dickens you never knew. Amazing narrative. He was a complex genius. And human.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LoveFromBothSides
- 05-13-23
Geniuses, don’t make good partners…
Geniuses don’t make good parents, usually. This wonderful biography shows the day today workings of an obsessed personality. If you listen to: stealing fire… That’s the kind of brain that Charles dickens was gifted with. And the fact that he knew how fired up his own brain was, and what it needed to calm down… Walking 12 miles a day, makes this biography, very much worth reading/listening to. His need for love and admiration made him the workhorse that he was. His sense of entitlement, and his ignoring of the middle class, morality, and hypocrisy that he saw all around him… Allowed him to pursue passionate friendships… If you were to relate him to a DSM diagnostic evaluation, head cold out as a narcissist. But all artists are complete narcissists. as his daughter said of him after he died: he wasn’t a good man, but he was wonderful! And he had a large beating heart that changed the way English people saw their own society… With all its prejudice, privilege, and pathology. This biography is very well done!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Camilo B
- 12-23-24
Great biography
Awesome book and truly insightful. Any admirer of Charles Dickens will enjoy this. The performance is excellent.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Boston Boy
- 04-13-25
Highly recommend
I enjoyed this biography immensely. I recommend it unreservedly.
One two three fifteen word minimum
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- C. Randall Curb
- 11-04-13
A great biography brilliantly read
What made the experience of listening to Charles Dickens the most enjoyable?
Claire Tomalin is one of the finest biographers working today. This is the fourth biography by her that I have read, and I have found only one--her book on Katherine Mansfield--less than superb. The complaints that the novels are not summarized or analysed in detail are absurd. Who goes to a genuine literary biography for plot synopses? The quibbling remarks about syntax are laughable. Tomalin is an extremely lucid and careful writer. The so-called slips are not based on current grammatical rules (and I taught English for years). I loved listening to this book as I am no longer able to read the print in most books. I do own this biography however and could at least follow along, mark my place, and look at the illustrations. I found the reading impeccable.
What other book might you compare Charles Dickens to and why?
The book can be compared only to other great literary biographies, such as Claire Tomalin's book on Thomas Hardy and the biographies of Michael Holroyd.
What about Alex Jennings’s performance did you like?
Alex Jennings, a great actor, is represented by many titles in the Audible catalogue. There is a good reason for this--he has a pleasing, resonant voice that the listener never tires of. It is a strong, sympathetic, manly, British voice that is perfect for reading a book about Dickens. I will seek out other recordings that Jenning has made.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Heavens no. I spent two weeks on this book. Though not overlong, it is packed with information and insight, especially into Dickens's marriage and his friendships. I have read a great deal about Dickens, but I learned much more from taking my time in reading this volume.
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20 people found this helpful