The Prince Audiobook By George Bull - translator, Niccolò Machiavelli cover art

The Prince

Penguin Classics

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Prince

By: George Bull - translator, Niccolò Machiavelli
Narrated by: Simon Callow
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.88

Buy for $18.88

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Simon Callow, actor and director, known for his roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Shakespeare in Love, and the BBC adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

As a diplomat in turbulent fifteenth-century Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli, knew how quickly political fortunes could rise and fall. The Prince, his tough-minded, pragmatic handbook on how power really works, made his name notorious and has remained controversial ever since. How can a leader be strong and decisive, yet still inspire loyalty in his followers? When is it necessary to break the rules? Is it better to be feared than loved? Examining regimes and their rulers the world over and throughout history, from Roman Emperors to renaissance Popes, from Hannibal to Cesare di Borgia, Machievalli answers all these questions in a work of realpolitik that still has shrewd political lessons for today.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence, and served the Florentine republic as a secretary and second chancellor, as ambassador and foreign policy-maker. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512 he was suspected of conspiracy, imprisoned and tortured and forced to retire from public life. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to gain favour with the Medicis and return to politics.

If you enjoyed The Prince, you might like Plato's Republic, also available in Penguin Classics.

Public Domain (P)2019 Penguin Audio
History & Theory Philosophy Political Science Politics & Government Society Classics Celebrity Royalty
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

"Tim Parks's swift and supple new translation brings out all its chilling modernity." (Boyd Tonkin, Independent)

"A gripping work, and a gripping translation." (Nicholas Lezard, Guardian)

Vivid Narration • Timeless Classic • Immersive Experience • Renaissance Masterpiece • Evocative Performance
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
The text speaks for itself and so I will not comment on it.

I will say thus is my favorite audiobook narrator that I’ve ever heard on any book.

Great narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Very well narrated. Went much faster than I expected. An extremely enlightening book. Everyone should read/listen to at least once.

Very well narrated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I had to read this book for school, and I expected it to be more boring than it was. I enjoyed the book and listening to the narrator really made me feel like I had gone back in time and Machiavelli was reading it to me himself (but in English). Thank you.

Well Done!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Excellent translator and narrator. He is what you imagined Makaveli would sound like.
I highly recommend

Great Penguins Classics book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Easy to listen ,....... ....... ...... ......
quick paced very informative

good good good good stuff that was really interesting

Bueno

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I have had this book on my todo list for years. I was afraid it would be a bit too academically/old language/style. But I loved it. It’s short to the point and easy to follow. It’s a great view in to a world of power and a snapshot of Italy at the time.

The performance is actually really good, but the narrators voice demand a silent listening environment as the pitch and volume have quite some range. This is difficult for my personal use of audio books eg walking in city and public. On the other hand he master both English Latin and Italian very good. So take the 3 stars as a middle value between 2 and 4/5 - definitely good for home use.

Better than expected

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I could not have wished for a more suitable narrator than Simon Callow. His performance evokes the very essence of Niccolò Machiavelli, imbuing the text with a vivid tonality and fluency that truly bring the work to life. Concurrently reading the book while listening to the audio version allowed me to uncover nuances and details that had eluded me during my initial reading. I highly recommend this audiobook to any aficionado of Renaissance history who seeks a deeper immersion in this seminal work.

Greatest Narrator for The Prince

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I bought the Audio Classic version but couldn’t stand the narrator. I caught myself dozing off. This version is much more interesting and to the point.

Best version to listen to

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Machiavelli's timeless classic is an impressive masterpiece and guide for practical statesmanship on par with the art of war. Supplying both contemporary and ancient examples, both positive and negative, of leadership and why certain leaders failed and others succeeded. He further outlines core principles that any leader should follow to be successful. In essence his maxim is "the ends justify the means".

Realpolitik for Dummies!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The Prince can certainly be read as a manual for tyranny. However, given how we all have access to such an insightful text gives us the means to fight against the princes that will come in the future.

A fantastic exploration of tyrants

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews