• Brideshead Revisited

  • By: Evelyn Waugh
  • Narrated by: Jeremy Irons
  • Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (3,227 ratings)

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.
Brideshead Revisited  By  cover art

Brideshead Revisited

By: Evelyn Waugh
Narrated by: Jeremy Irons
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.83

Buy for $21.83

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

Publisher's summary

Selected by Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the century and called "Evelyn Waugh's finest achievement" by the New York Times, Brideshead Revisited is a stunning exploration of desire, duty, and memory. Read by Jeremy Irons, star of the acclaimed 1981 television series based on the novel.

The wellsprings of desire and the impediments to love come brilliantly into focus in Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece - a novel that immerses us in the glittering and seductive world of English aristocracy in the waning days of the empire. Through the story of Charles Ryder's entanglement with the Flytes, a great Catholic family, Evelyn Waugh charts the passing of the privileged world he knew in his own youth and vividly recalls the sensuous pleasures denied him by wartime austerities.

At once romantic, sensuous, comic, and somber, Brideshead Revisited transcends Waugh's early satiric explorations and reveals him to be an elegiac, lyrical novelist of the utmost feeling and lucidity.

"A genuine literary masterpiece." (Time)

"Heartbreakingly beautiful...The 20th century's finest English novel." (Los Angeles Times)

©1973 Laura Waugh (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Evelyn Waugh's finest achievement." (John K. Hutchens, New York Times)

"A many-faceted book....beautifully told by one of the most exhilarating stylists of our time." (Newsweek)

Featured Article: It Was the Best of Scribes—The Best British Authors


With its esteemed history and bold contemporary scene, Britain lays claim to some of the most exciting literature in audio. With the hundreds of incredible British writers throughout the centuries, a person could devote their whole literary life solely to British authors and still never run out of amazing things to listen to. Whether you're an avid Anglophile or just want to discover the best English novelists for yourself, here’s a list of the best for you to choose from!

What listeners say about Brideshead Revisited

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,233
  • 4 Stars
    660
  • 3 Stars
    224
  • 2 Stars
    68
  • 1 Stars
    42
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,566
  • 4 Stars
    260
  • 3 Stars
    75
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    19
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,901
  • 4 Stars
    612
  • 3 Stars
    273
  • 2 Stars
    86
  • 1 Stars
    41

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Belongs to another time

Any additional comments?

I just couldn't care about the silly self-absorbed and conceited characters who led lives of entitlement. I got horribly bored with them and their self-importance. Maybe that is the point of the book, but enough already!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The decline of an aristocratic family

I first listened to Jeremy Irons perform "Lolita" on audible and wasn't ready to let him go. So, I searched for another book to listen to by Jeremy. Thus bringing me to "Brideshead Revisited". As with Lolita, he brings the book to life, making you enjoy hearing about the lives of people that personally disgust you. The book is the narrative of Charles Ryder, starting during WWII when he marches in to the abandoned estate of Brideshead. Thus, the reminiscence of his time with the aristocratic family living there, when he was a college student. An interesting story, made more interesting by the superb narration.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brideshead Revisited, classic 20th century novel

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

Yes, Evelyn Waugh is a poetic writer. Every sentence carefully crafted. A good book to read and a good one to listen to. I listened on my Kindle, while reading the book. Not simultaneously, but flipping back & forth. You get to see the elite life of Brits in the first half of the 20th century, and terrific character development too (especially the men).

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must, must read for everyone

Would you listen to Brideshead Revisited again? Why?

I will keep Brideshead Revisited on my IPod forever. I will listen to it again and again. I love the story and Jeremy Irons tell it to perfection. The story came alive visually for me through his soothing voice. Loved it!

What did you like best about this story?

Although it was very hard to listen to the horrid details of life in the trenches, it was real. Going back to Brideshead was told with such emotional sadness that I have to admit I cried.

Which character – as performed by Jeremy Irons – was your favorite?

I cannot choose because each one had their own importance to the story.

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

Oh yes, however I could not do that. Could hardly wait for the next chance to listen.

Any additional comments?

This was a very good visual of life in the trenches which I had never thought about before. I saw this production on PBS many years ago and loved it then. The book gives a different slant on the reality and emotional part of the story which cannot be fully captured in film.
Thank you for bringing this book back and THANK YOU Jeremy Irons for this great audio version. I want to listen to more of you on Books on Tape.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Book, Superb Reader

Jeremy Irons is an excellent narrator. I think that’s the mark of a great reader: while listening to the audiobook, you barely notice him or his voice. Instead, you hear the distinct voices of the characters and the story comes alive in your head. Irons has done this novel justice.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • NF
  • 03-29-21

A Classic!

A brilliantly nuanced tale of human frailty and God's ever-faithful mercy. A must-read classic work.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

extremely unlikeable characters, nothing happens

There's not much I can add to Dan Harlow's excellent 3 star review on amazon.

I will just add this example of the empty nastiness of the narrator and protagonist, Charles.

He goes to South America for two years to work (he is an architectural artist). After two years, he wife, who he never loved, comes to visit him. She has been writing him, but he hasn't bothered to read many of the letters. She says that she has a daughter, and Charles says that he does remember her saying something about being pregnant. This is his child, so the girl is at least a year old by now. So clearly he couldn't care less. Then, as they are heading back to England, he makes some transparent excuses to not go home and see his daughter, or his older son.

I don't wish death on him, though, as Dan Harlow does. I wish long life, poverty and ill health on him. A few years in a prisoner of war camp might have done him some good.

By the way, none of the main characters are much better.

The fact this book is included in a 100 all time list makes me even more dubious of those kind of lists.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

only one reservation

other than the "last rights gang rape leads to renewed faith for all!" bit at the end, i loved the book. wonderful characters, wit, satire.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Third time’s the charm

Wonderful to read after watching the PBS series twice. Nice to be able to picture all the characters and Jeremy Irons did an excellent job with narration. I’ll probably watch it again soon....then read it again.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Jeremy Irons for the Win

I don't think this is Waugh's best novel. It's sentimental about the British class system and, especially, about Catholicism. There are a few too many conversions--deathbed and otherwise, and I suppose the reader is meant to cheer for the triumph of Catholicism over love.. In that sense, it has an unsatisfying coldness at the end. Still, the prose is so lush, sensual, and evocative, it's irresistible. The descriptions of landscapes and architecture are unforgettable and pull you into the world of the novel with such immediacy, you practically swoon. The early years in Oxford and the romance with Sebastian form the emotional heart of the novel. They are described with such intensity, they reverberate throughout the book and the decline of many of the characters. Jeremy Irons' performance enhances every sentence. He inhabits every character completely with artfully nuanced shifts in his voice. It's impossible to imagine a better reading of the novel, and I think this is a good example of listening to an audiobook being a richer experience than reading it on the page.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful