The Pickwick Papers
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Narrated by:
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Simon Prebble
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By:
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Charles Dickens
About this listen
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (commonly known as The Pickwick Papers) is the first novel by Charles Dickens. The book became the first real publishing phenomenon, with bootleg copies, theatrical performances, Sam Weller joke books and other merchandise.
Written for publication as a serial, The Pickwick Papers is a sequence of loosely-related adventures. The novel's main character, Mr. Samuel Pickwick, Esquire, is a kind and wealthy old gentleman, and the founder and perpetual president of the Pickwick Club. To extend his researches into the quaint and curious phenomena of life, he suggests that he and three other "Pickwickians" (Mr. Nathaniel Winkle, Mr. Augustus Snodgrass, and Mr. Tracy Tupman) should make journeys to remote places from London and report on their findings to the members of the club. Their travels throughout the English countryside provide the chief theme of the novel.
Its main literary value and appeal is formed by its numerous memorable characters. Each character in The Pickwick Papers, as in many other Dickens novels, is drawn comically, often with exaggerated personalities. Alfred Jingle provides an aura of comic villainy. His misadventures repeatedly land the Pickwickians in trouble. These include Jingle's elopement with the spinster, Aunt Rachael of Dingley Dell manor, misadventures with Dr. Slammer, and others.
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- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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This title includes not only the entire audiobook of Right Ho, Jeeves, but also all of the P.G. Wodehouse titles in the current Classic Tales library. It also includes a Jeeves short story only available in the collection: "Extricating Young Gussie". The complete running time is over 15 hours. All titles have been remastered, and have never sounded better!
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Don't buy this version of the wonderful Wodehouse stories
- By K Bell on 11-05-16
By: P. G. Wodehouse
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Lady Audley's Secret
- By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Abridged
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A fast-paced Victorian thriller that will delight audiences today as it did 100 years ago, Lady Audley's Secret has subterfuge, kidnapping, jealousy, and fraud, all thrown into the mix and shaken up for good measure.
A mystery which keeps a listener guessing until the last moments, this production is a must-listen for anyone who enjoys playing detective.
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Narrator creates the listen
- By connie on 02-06-12
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Felix Holt, The Radical
- By: George Eliot
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Relinquishing thoughts of a materially rewarding life, the respectably educated Felix Holt returns to his native village in North Loamshire and becomes an artisan. He is a forceful young man of honor, integrity, and idealism, burning to participate in political life so that he may improve the lot of his fellow artisans.
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four and a half stars
- By connie on 01-02-08
By: George Eliot
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Oblomov
- By: Ivan Goncharov
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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A member of the landed gentry, with a seemingly guaranteed income from his estate in the country, Oblomov lives in Petersburg, uninterested in the business that provides his living and barely aware that the revenue is diminishing. Not that he leads a dissolute life of extravagance, balls and entertainment. Instead he is a dreamer, a sybarite, content above all to spend most of the day supine, in bed. The novel opens with Oblomov thus ensconced, attended only by his dirty, grumbling, indolent servant Zahar, who has looked after him since childhood, catering to his every need.
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funny and smart
- By Bennett Weiss on 07-29-20
By: Ivan Goncharov
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Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Honoré de Balzac uses his classic style of detail to describe a most controversial setting in his novel Le Pere Goriot. The story takes place in Paris just after the fall of Napoleon in 1819. The story focuses on three characters, Rastignac, a student who wants to try and make it big in the capital, Vautrin, an interesting and funny character who is also quite mysterious, and the main character, Goriot, that carries a heavy burden that only a loving parent would endure.
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A minor masterpiece
- By Jack Rock on 03-04-18
By: Honoré de Balzac
What listeners say about The Pickwick Papers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Karen
- 02-08-11
Captivating reader
This reader (Prebble) is a master at dickens voices! He is wonderful to listen to.
The Pickwick Papers is a fun read, not a dark story-line such as Tale of Two Cities
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16 people found this helpful
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- J. Gary Thompson
- 05-15-18
One of my favorite books by Dickens
this audio-book is marvelously read, and such an engaging story, but I think I've either read it, watched it, or listened to it, five or six times.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 03-15-19
Wellerisms!
Loved the droll sense of humor. Particularly the comments of Sam Weller. Wellerisms had me rolling
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- George Criticos
- 09-06-22
Astonishing character study
I enjoyed every sentence of this great work. I am sad that it has ended.
I will miss his endearing characters and their surprisingly common-to-us experiences.
Dickens delights with his endearing characters,💚
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- Planser
- 07-15-16
Dickens at his best
Audible at its best. A grand story matched with a grand reader. Thank you Mr. Prebble.
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- Sand
- 07-13-13
Silly, Corny, Delightful 'Dickens Lite'
Everyone seems to have a different impression of Charles Dickens, depending on how many of his 15 novels they've read (or movie and/or BBC adaptations they've watched).
I decided to listen to all of his novels chronologically, and, technically this is his first.
I say technically because, although all of his novels were serialized, subsequent ones become much more cohesive--written more like chapters of a continuing story/ modern novel-- rather than individual episodes with familiar characters.
In other words, if you think of a sitcom vs. an HBO series, Pickwick Papers is a sitcom, both in structure and depth. Over the chapters, the adventures and situations vary, but the core cast is consistent, with "guest" characters coming in and out. And as sometimes happens, one introduced character (Sam Weller) clicks so well he becomes not only a regular cast member, but also a clear fan favorite.
As with any sitcom, a continuing plot (or lack thereof) isn't the point--it's all about the characters and setting, and-- although Dickens will become fairly proficient at plotting later in his career--characters and settings will always be his natural wheelhouse and earliest claim to fame.
And that's why his stuff is such a pleasure to listen to---it was meant to be read aloud, and Simon Prebble is a total pro. His accents and character differentiation are pitch-perfect.
For me, the biggest draw here is the detailed glimpse into mid-19th century English life, albeit a comically idealized one. (Milk punch, curling papers, meat pies, harrowing carriage accidents...)
Either you're really into this stuff our you aren't, but if you are, I highly recommend you supplement your listening by downloading the digitized original print version (with illustrations) from Google Books or iBooks (it's free/public domain) so you can see the illustrations that inspired the stories.
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36 people found this helpful
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- M A Young
- 12-25-15
Life can be a daring adventure! We can hope😊
Love this book!!! This is my third listen. Terrific reader, and the adventures, trials and tribulations of the Pickwickians, never fails to bring a smile and often a bit of sympathy for these babes in the woods looking to find out more about the world! Highly recommended.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Gae Ann Dudley
- 05-18-19
Fantastic Narrator!!!
Simon Prebble’s narration is absolutely perfect!! This book comes alive because of his outstanding skill!!
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- Lauriesland
- 02-01-15
Cute until It Bores
I selected The Pickwick Papers because Simon Prebble was born to narrate audiobooks, and he does not disappoint. He brings every character to life by creating the perfect voice, accent, cadence, and intonation.
The Pickwick Papers is a long book, nearly 31 hours' listening time, and was written for serialization. The story is pure fluff, mildly amusing and mostly pleasant. The book offers several continuing characters and plot threads, and the story floats along a gentle stream. For me, it never generated a high level of interest. Probably the original serialization format had a lot to do with its success. Taken all in one piece as an audiobook, the novel and the characters became tiresome, like sucking on confectioners sugar, and I chose to opt for something else.
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14 people found this helpful
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- David
- 06-27-16
Dickens' first novel
The pompous, verbose tone with which The Pickwick Papers begins is characteristically Dickens, though the entire book is not quite so dense, as the beginning is deliberately written in the oratory style of the pompous personages depicted therein.
The Pickwick Papers was Charles Dickens' first novel. I wouldn't recommend it as someone's first Dickens novel to read, as it's evident if you've read a few others that he was already a brilliant writer, but he was still perfecting his style. Also, The Pickwick Papers, like many of his books, was originally published in serialized form, but since this was his first effort, there isn't a really a main plot. Rather, it's a long series of adventures featuring Samuel Pickwick, Esquire, and his friends and foes, all wealthy London gentemen who want to get out and see a bit more of the world (i.e., parts of England within a coach ride from London). So from one chapter to the next we read the humorous adventures of Mr. Winkle, Mr. Smiggers, Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Trotter, Dr. Slammer, and so on. Sometimes entire chapters are devoted to a character telling an unrelated story, ranging from anecdotes about bygone relatives to ghost stories and Christmas tales, clearly "filler" material while Dickens decided what to do next with his Pickwickian characters.
The Pickwick Papers are mostly a series of humorous misadventures, with a bit of satire, that give some insight into the mores of Victorian society. You can also see Dickens working on a few prototypes that will show up in later novels - for example, there is a very Scrooge-like morality tale, and a goblin story that resembles his other Christmas tales. You also see his social consciousness already manifesting itself. After Mr Pickwick is sued for "breach of promise" (supposedly extending an offer of marriage which he then reneged on), the trial is described in humorous fashion, starring the character who would become a fan favorite in Dickens' day, Sam Weller, Mr. Pickwick's Cockney manservant. The jury rules against Pickwick, and he tells off the crooked attorneys for the plaintiff.
Standing on principle (but without much sense), Mr. Pickwick does end up going to debtor's prison, which is described in grimly realistic detail. Mr. Pickwick, a wealthy gentleman, is able to make himself somewhat more comfortable there with his ability to bribe the jailers and prisoners, but he learns just how horrible life is for the downtrodden members of society who don't have other options.
Aside from this episode, though, most of the book is quite light-hearted.
I have been a Dickens fan for years, and I have never not enjoyed one of his books, but The Pickwick Papers isn't my favorite. Being his first novel, it doesn't have as much of the brilliance of prose that characterize his later books, and being a big collection of serialized adventures, it goes on and on with only a few recurring storylines. Recommended for Dickens fans, but I can only give it 3 stars as it's fairly mediocre in comparison to his other works.
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12 people found this helpful