Bleak House

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Hugh Dickson

Length: 37 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

The case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has ground its way through the courts for generations. At its heart are Ada Clare and Richard Carstone, who find love - and terrible loss - through their involvement in the endless battle.

Meanwhile, her friend Esther Summeson, who believes she is an orphan, gradually discovers the truth of her identity. The court case throws out a web ensnaring all who come near it, including Lady Dedlock, the menacing lawyer Tulkingham, detective Bucket and tragic little waif Jo.

Secrets emerge, crimes are committed and love affairs bloom. But will anyone ever benefit from the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce?

©2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Reader cannot be praised too highly

What made the experience of listening to Bleak House the most enjoyable?

Fabulous reader with a huge range in voices, each flowing seamlessly from the narrative, breathes life and vitality into an novel famous for its abundance of secondary characters.As with any Dickens novel, the plot of Bleak House bumps and rumbles along (and along and along) presenting not so much one story as a collage of interwoven stories punctuated by long, evocative descriptions. But the writing is excellent and Hugh Dickson's reading carries even the lengthiest description of London Streets and well-situated country views, and the main character, Esther, manages to be both a fascinating portrait of Victorian ideals about womanhood and an interesting person in her own right.

Have you listened to any of Hugh Dickson???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first Hugh Dickson performance I've heard, but I will be looking for more.

Simply wonderful: Protest Literature/Thriller

I think Hugh Dickson's narration is off the hook. Had such a great time listening as I commuted! He reads at a pace I enjoy, too. Not too slow, but such precise intonation. Lots of accents from uppercrust to humble (Dedlock to Jo and everything in between. Loved Guppy and Snagsby, Phil Squod --oh, everyone!).
Listen to the sample and make up your mind. :)

Moved By Language and Words

Oh it was so wonderful to wallow in the words and to brood over the characters so marvelously portrayed by Mr. Hugh Dickson. (Paticularly the character's of Smallweed, Bucket, Guppy and of course the Bagnets) Dickens has set me down in London in the middle of the 1800s and invited my mind's eye to see the extremes of that society, and amid the tragedy of its epidemics, the incredible goodness that is to be found in the souls of those who are bound to be the great counterweight to those whose hearts are nourished only by their own avarice.

Worth the time for sure

Best story teller meets best narrator. It's intimidating to review either one. Hours of uninterrupted enjoyment!

Bleak House ruined by narrator

The reader, with a master thespian British accent, actually rrrrrolls his "r" as though he were speaking Spanish. Worse, instead of reading at an even pace, he skims a few words and pauses, skims and pauses, like an old slide show going black between each slide - which makes it tedious to follow.

Idea: The novel would be better read by 2 readers, since half is in Dickens' voice and half in the voice of the character Esther.

Obviously, my review has nothing to do with the greatness of the novel. I was just hoping to hear a great book that I'd already enjoyed.

Outstanding and not to be missed!

Hugh Dickson’s masterful narration makes each character come alive with each having their own unique voice. And, while the novel is so beautifully written and I would often go back to read, underline and take notes, I wanted to hear the story first. This book will make you cry and laugh. I did not want it to end. Here is a masterpiece. Listen read and prepare to moved and so feel the stirrings of your heart!

Outstanding reader!!!!!!!

of course, the story is wonderful, but what a tour de force by this read it. Amazing how he read every voice a different unbelievable way.

Great Book but badly packaged

What would have made Bleak House better?

When I buy a book, even a book on CD, it is available in individual units. Books have chapters and page numbers allowing me to find the part I'd like to read or reread. This enormous book, 35+ hours, is delivered in five big unpaginated, unchaptered lumps of 7 hours each. Imagine receiving a Bible with no page numbers, no books or verses. It's not only user-unfriendly, it's obtuse. And it is crummy of Audible to sell books without indicating how they are portioned. Some I've bought are nicely organized into 3 or 4 minute increments, some are divided into chapters. But I purchased six books today, all of them very long, and all of them are unsorted lumps of unwieldy story, no chapters, no individual bands that can be flipped through. Fast forward to the next chapter? It flips to the end of the book. Miss a passage because the phone rang? You can rewind and hope you can find the spot, but you cannot flip back to the previous chapter. If you bump the FF arrow, the book is done and good luck finding where you were. This is really stupid. Publishers invented chapters and page numbers and bookmarks for a reason.

Have you listened to any of Hugh Dickson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Good voice. Voices and accents matter. Nice work.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger. Sadness. Disappointment. I love this novel, but prefer to re-read it in a way that I can find the chapter I want to re-read. This package hands it to you in unpaginated 7 hour lumps. Really insulting.

Any additional comments?

Audible has known about this problem because I've complained about it before. And for several months I have found my purchases arrive in neatly banded segments, easily navigated. Today I bought six books and all of them are big fat unnavigable unpaginated unchaptered lumps of material. Very unfriendly packaging. I feel defrauded. Of course the lesson of Bleak House is "good luck trying to gain satisfaction from any smug unhelpful monopolistic system."

rubbish story, worse naration, dickens wastes so

rubbish book...worse story...dickens wastes so many words to describe the simplest things. i abhorred this crap...could not finish it. it was like enema