Bleak House

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: David Case

Length: 39 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Published in 1853, Bleak House is one of Dickens' most mature and ambitious novels. From London's slums to the Court of Chancery, where the endless case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce devours the future of several generations, the author's canvas of Victorian society vividly conveys an indictment of legal corruption, a riveting tale of detection, and a compelling emotional drama.

Not a little Dickens: peruse our full list of Charles Dickens titles.

(P)2006 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Vigorous satire....[with] a host of interesting minor characters." (The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature.)

This is how to read a book!

I am delighted with the narration in my recently purchased "Bleak House" ( David Case). I am amazed how clearly he is able to define the many characters and how perfect is his gentle edge of irony when Dickens makes those telling side comments along the way. Wonderful. A great novel, well presented . Works well along with the BBC video series, which we are re-watching at the same time.

not a bleak listen

Bleak House contains some of the most sentimental melodrama ever written by Dickens. However, unlike most modern novels, Dickens' storytelling and prose, combined with great narration, drew me into the world of the novel and left me wanting more at the end, no matter how incredible the plot coincidences or how larger than life the heroes and villains. I enjoyed every minute of the listen, even the most overly sentimental, drawn-out death scene of one of Dickens' most pathetic characters. I can't explain the power of Dickens (especially Dickens read aloud) to do this; I can only give him and the narrator five stars for it.

Bleak House Love it or Leave it

It's Dickens! The story is a classic. Have a test listen to the narrator first, you're either going to love his accent and attitude or he's going to drive you around the bend. I personally love his dry droll bored upper class condescending narration. I don't think everyone else will though.

Well-read, highly enjoyable!

What a great story - full of twists and turns, and unexpectedly bring all the multitude of characters and their story lines together by the end of the novel. The narrator did a great job with the dual narrative voices, and a very admirable job of giving each character their own, distinctive "voice." Highly recommended for Dickens fans.

The Best Bleak House Ever

David Case is my favorite reader, and surely his Bleak House was a labor of love. Each passage and each voice is so perfectly interpreted that I am convinced he knew this novel well. The complex but fascinating plot is presented clearly by his reading; I understood it better than ever before despite reading Bleak House perhaps twenty times over the decades.

I have yet to hear any reader who could do separate voices, male and female, better or even as well as David Case. His voice for Esther Summerson, the heroine, was perfect, as was the tone of gentle irony he gives her when Mr. Stimpole and Mr. Guppy and other ineffectual villains try to take advantage of her good nature. All his many voices from this novel are perfect, and so distinct they are instantly recognizeable.

Bleak House is a brilliant and charming novel of Dickens, a mystery and a thriller, and my personal favorite. His heroine is, simply, a lifetime model for women, and the reader is left to work out why, since Esther, the narrator, has no such high opinion of herself. The truth in my opinion is that this novel, read by the brilliant David Case, is more accessible in this audiobook version than if you read it from the text.

narrator is brilliant

Don't put this off due to length. I did, and then couldn't believe I had. this is delightful, and David Case does an amazing job!

So good!

What a great story and wonderful adventure to read. This novel is truly Dickens at his best (and his most "Dickens like" if you know what I mean). The book won't let go of you, and at times you actually wonder why it's so fascinating. I'd listen for hours non-stop and be amazed that I'm I so into the story. The reason is that it's simply Dickens as only he can be. It's the equivalent of a modern day soap opera (in a good way... it was originally published in 20 monthly sections, and was written as to keep the reader begging for the next installment.) There are twist and turns and love and death. Each section ends with some twist that leaves you unable not to continue on to the next right away.
The narration is superb. I have listened to numerous Dickens novels, and David Case seems to bring the characters alive better than any other. And that is the most amazing and memorable aspect of Bleak House.... the characters. LOTS of characters, and each developed so fully, with there own history and story lines and mysteries. I was worried going into this book that the vast number of characters would clutter up the novel and confuse the reader, but that was not the case at all. In fact, it does just the opposite, with each character and story line coming alive individually, but working together so well. This is the true genius of Dickens.
I highly recommend this novel and this audio production of it.

Why we still love Dickens after 300 years

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book has been such a fun read and so cinematic. If Dickens were alive today, he would be a screenwriter. Although there are many chapters that feel like diversions and the plot doesn't really thicken until part 5, I couldn't stop listening because the images are so vivid and the minor characters such a hoot! This reader is perfect for Dickens, and creates distinct voices for this huge cast of characters. My only complaint is that the audio quality isn't up to current standards and sounded a bit tinny.

Frustrating

If you could sum up Bleak House in three words, what would they be?

Cunningly woven tale

What did you like best about this story?

Charles Dickens has a delightful and subtle wit. I find I need to listen closely to understand just what he means, but it's well worth the effort. It was worth the work to follow the characters set up in their individual lives and then watch as Dickens drew them together. I felt I had "aha!" moments when I remembered where I heard a character's name from an earlier chapter.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of David Case?

I am not familiar enough with narrators to make a suggestion, but anyone else could have been better. I realize there are LOTS of characters, but Mr. Case often started reading a character in one voice and then switched to another character's voice while in midstream. It often made an intricate story very confusing.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Nope.

Classic Dickens

The last half of the story really picked up and saved this from being just a longwinded jumble of characters. It starts out introducing several of them in quick succession and I was drowning in a sea of names. I had a very hard time keeping them all separate and understanding the very complicated web of interaction among them. As the story went along, the minor characters fell away and I was able to identify the main players but it took a long time for that to happen. The plot and sub-plots are extremely complex and I must admit I needed help from Wikipedia to get me through. If you are better than I at listening closely you may have a better understanding of how it's all going but I was completely lost. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, I did. Just following along with the characters is an enjoyable ride but since I listen while I run or drive, I can't focus my attention close enough to capture all the fabulous nuances that Dickens has hidden in this one.

David Case was OK. There was some breathing, smacking and swallowing but not as bad as I have heard from other narrators. He did a very good job with the different voices especially the women's' voices considering his voice is rather deep. He did not make them all out to be ditzy or snobby sounding. At first I thought I'd have liked it to have been narrated by a woman but by the half way point, I had adjusted to it.

Overall, this was not my favorite Dickens novel but it wasn't terrible. A little too political for my taste but it was very poignant for it's time. If you have the time, give it a try.