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The Pickwick Papers Audiobook
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(3.27) - 153 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
When a twenty-four-year-old writer named Charles Dickens was asked to write a serialized story about English country life, no one anticipated that he was about to become one of the most famous authors of all time. The Pickwick Papers, as it came to be called, enchanted readers with its lively humor and delightfully drawn characters. The members of the Pickwick Club, presided over by the kindly old Mr. Samuel Pickwick, Esquire, agree to make a series of separate journeys into the English countryside and report back to the other club members on their adventures and observations, resulting in an abundance of entertaining anecdotes. When The Pickwick Papers was finally released as a complete novel, it became the first real publishing phenomenon, inspiring bootleg copies, theatrical performances, and merchandise based on the popular characters.
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"A very funny novel and one that is written in such a way that you can read it a section at a time, which is good because it is kinda long. It was written in installments and is recognizable as such but I don't think it detracts from the novel. "
— Drucilla (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“To wander into Pickwick is to wander into a room of wholly recognizable characters—a Dickens nursery, if you will, with the characters we would meet over the years appearing as embryonic personae, much as an artist sketches ideas for inclusion into a painting at a later date. Pickwick is defined not by its plot but by the extraordinary depth of its characters.”
— Jasper Fforde, New York Times bestselling author -
“A supreme masterpiece…The great example of everything that made Dickens great.”
— G. K. Chesterton -
“No essay in fiction ever gave more incontestable assurance of genius…Never, perhaps, was satire so large-hearted and so entertaining.”
— George Gissing -
“Charles Dickens’…comic masterpiece [is] some 750 pages long. Fear not, gentle listener, you will never be bored. The madcap adventures of Samuel Pickwick, wealthy retired businessman with a gigantic brain, and his three young friends, Tupman, Winkle, and Snodgrass, poke fun at the law, religion, debtors’ prisons, romance, the medical profession, dueling, con men, local elections, the media, a lawsuit for breach of promise, and other difficulties too numerous to mention…Through it all, Pickwick’s virtue and naïvete shine, a beacon to his club members and the many friends he makes along the way. Many anecdotes told by those many friends let Dickens flex his literary muscles. He writes scenes of tender love, death scenes to make you weep, grinding poverty, soul-blighting prisons but balances all with wit and uproarious humor. Dickens’ masterwork is narrated by the incomparable Simon Prebble…He gives the novel the full-voiced treatment, with accents and fluttery females given to hysterics. Highly recommended.”
— SoundCommentary.com (starred review)
Awards
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SoundCommentary.com’s The Best of the Best in 2010
The Pickwick Papers Listener Reviews
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Colder68, 7/23/2024
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" when song lee's class goes on a field trip to a pond harry falls into the pond and get leech men all over his body they try to take them off of harry because there blood suckers and song lee saves the day. "
— Sydney, 5/31/2013 -
" when song lee's class goes on a field trip to a pond harry falls into the pond and get leech men all over his body they try to take them off of harry because there blood suckers and song lee saves the day. "
— Sydney, 5/31/2013 -
" this was a good book it talk about them goig on a trip and looking at bug,insects and more "
— Ashley, 2/19/2013 -
" this was a good book it talk about them goig on a trip and looking at bug,insects and more "
— Ashley, 2/19/2013 -
" Probably my least favorite of Dickens' work. The humor was pretty thin, and the long, rather pointless asides were many. I had to work pretty hard to get through it. "
— Jennifer, 6/24/2011 -
" Probably my least favorite of Dickens' work. The humor was pretty thin, and the long, rather pointless asides were many. I had to work pretty hard to get through it. "
— Jennifer, 6/24/2011 -
" I have read Dickens later novels, but this is by far my favourite, an excellent story crammed full of eccentric characters, low villains, drinking and adventures. I only wish he would have written more in this style. "
— Tom, 6/22/2011 -
" I have read Dickens later novels, but this is by far my favourite, an excellent story crammed full of eccentric characters, low villains, drinking and adventures. I only wish he would have written more in this style. "
— Tom, 6/22/2011 -
" A very funny novel and one that is written in such a way that you can read it a section at a time, which is good because it is kinda long. It was written in installments and is recognizable as such but I don't think it detracts from the novel. "
— Drucilla, 5/25/2011 -
" Hilarious book written in typical Dickens style. Simply loved it..:) "
— Ravi, 5/23/2011 -
" Hilarious book written in typical Dickens style. Simply loved it..:) "
— Ravi, 5/23/2011 -
" This is one of my favourite books. "
— Brian, 5/22/2011 -
" This is one of my favourite books. "
— Brian, 5/22/2011 -
" Dickens' first novel. Fairly entertaining, though you'll likely end up wondering what the point was after alllllll those pages. "
— Eric, 5/13/2011 -
" Dickens' first novel. Fairly entertaining, though you'll likely end up wondering what the point was after alllllll those pages. "
— Eric, 5/13/2011 -
" This was the only Dickens that I didn't really like. It was long and pointless. "
— Katie, 5/12/2011 -
" This was the only Dickens that I didn't really like. It was long and pointless. "
— Katie, 5/12/2011 -
" Who could forget the character of Sam Weller? Worth reading just for him. "
— Teresa, 4/26/2011 -
" Who could forget the character of Sam Weller? Worth reading just for him. "
— Teresa, 4/26/2011 -
" I liked the plot but the prose is definitely not my style. I had such a hard time focusing and tried to trudge on through but just couldn't do it. "
— Allison, 4/20/2011 -
" I liked the plot but the prose is definitely not my style. I had such a hard time focusing and tried to trudge on through but just couldn't do it. "
— Allison, 4/20/2011 -
" A nice read, with a lot of humorous stories about the "mis"adventures of the club. "
— Matt, 3/1/2011 -
" A nice read, with a lot of humorous stories about the "mis"adventures of the club. "
— Matt, 3/1/2011 -
" I started this book 3 times over the last several years and put it down in disinterest - Charpet 1 is abysmal! However, as soon as I got a few more chapters in, the story took off. It's a great little jaunt of a read! "
— M, 2/19/2011 -
" I started this book 3 times over the last several years and put it down in disinterest - Charpet 1 is abysmal! However, as soon as I got a few more chapters in, the story took off. It's a great little jaunt of a read! "
— M, 2/19/2011 -
" Cannot say anything that hasn't been said about this classic. But on a personal level it has added to my vocabulary and grown my respect for Dickens. "
— Aaron, 2/14/2011 -
" Cannot say anything that hasn't been said about this classic. But on a personal level it has added to my vocabulary and grown my respect for Dickens. "
— Aaron, 2/14/2011 -
" I busted my butt to finish this book. It had Dickens's charm and humor, but no plot impetus to push through to the end. "
— leslie, 2/12/2011 -
" I busted my butt to finish this book. It had Dickens's charm and humor, but no plot impetus to push through to the end. "
— leslie, 2/12/2011 -
" Funny but the language can be difficult to get through at first. "
— Johanna, 2/6/2011 -
" Funny but the language can be difficult to get through at first. "
— Johanna, 2/6/2011
About Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was born in Landport, Portsmouth, England, the second of eight children in a family continually plagued by debt. A legacy brought release from the nightmare of debtors’ prison and child labor and afforded him a few years of formal schooling. He worked as an attorney’s clerk and newspaper reporter until his early writings brought him the amazing success that was to be his for the remainder of his life. He was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era, and he remains popular, responsible for some of English literature’s most iconic characters.
About Simon Prebble
Simon Prebble, a British-born performer, is a stage and television actor and veteran narrator of some three hundred audiobooks. As one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices, he has received thirty-seven Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie in 2010. He lives in New York.