• Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh

  • By: Joseph Conrad
  • Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh
  • Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (8,995 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh  By  cover art

Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh

By: Joseph Conrad
Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

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.

Editorial reviews

"The horror! The horror!" In this brooding and justly celebrated novella of 1902, seaman Charles Marlow is cruising quietly down the Thames at dusk with some friends. As night begins to fall, he tells them of his harrowing journey down an African river in search of the unscrupulous and near-legendary ivory trader named Kurtz, a quest deep into inky spiritual and symbolic darkness. Acclaimed Irish actor/director Kenneth Branagh impersonates Marlow in this recording. Admirably, while fully playing the drama, he never goes overboard. He plays the tale for the great yarn that it is. But had he taken more cognizance of its trajectory and subtleties, he would have made the listening experience far richer than he has.

Publisher's summary

Prose that demands to be read aloud requires a special kind of narrator. For the Audible Signature Classics edition of Joseph Conrad’s atmospheric masterpiece, Heart of Darkness, we called upon four-time Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh.

Branagh’s performance is riveting because he reads as though he’s telling a ghost story by a campfire, capturing the story’s sense of claustrophobia, while hinting at the storyteller Marlow’s own creeping madness. Heart of Darkness follows Captain Marlow into the colonial Congo where he searches for a mysterious ivory trader, Kurtz, and discovers an evil that will haunt him forever.

With this landmark work, Conrad is credited with bringing the novel into the twentieth century; we think Branagh brings it into the twenty-first.

Stay tuned for more one-of-a-kind performances from actors David Hyde Pierce, Leelee Sobieski, Tim Curry, and more, only from Audible Signature Classics.

Public Domain (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Acclaimed Irish actor/director Kenneth Branagh impersonates Marlow in this recording. Admirably, while fully playing the drama, he never goes overboard. He plays the tale for the great yarn that it is." ( AudioFile)

Featured Article: 35+ Quotes About Hard Work to Keep You Motivated and Moving Forward


The things most worth doing require the most from us—it takes hard work to accomplish important tasks, achieve major goals, and realize your dreams. Commitment, sweat, exhaustion, frustration, and a willingness to fail are all necessary parts of taking on challenges. When you’re in the middle of a difficult project, there will be times when you’re tempted to simply give up. In such moments, look to these quotes about hard work to keep you going.

What listeners say about Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5,240
  • 4 Stars
    2,205
  • 3 Stars
    1,040
  • 2 Stars
    341
  • 1 Stars
    169
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6,422
  • 4 Stars
    1,049
  • 3 Stars
    352
  • 2 Stars
    93
  • 1 Stars
    72
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,333
  • 4 Stars
    1,896
  • 3 Stars
    1,173
  • 2 Stars
    380
  • 1 Stars
    181

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

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

I only wish this had been the full version!

I would listen to Kenneth Branaugh read anything, even, God help me, 50 Shades of Grey.
His rendition of this classic is magnificent. Listen and be awed.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Beautiful narration, pointless story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

have the story lead you somewhere or at least leave you with a decided impression what it was trying to say

Would you recommend Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh to your friends? Why or why not?

no. the narration is absolutely beautiful and the story is detail rich and visually compelling, but it doesn't "go" anywhere. That is to say that when it's over, you're just as curious what it was about as you were when you started. Except you're a littel more depressed and quite tired of the words darkness and silence.

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

No, but I will not hesitate to listen to another one of his narrations because this one was perfect. In some book narrations, you can't tell the characters apart by the voices used or the reader pauses or adds inflections that don't seem to go with the story.... like the narrator didn't really know what the character was feeling or trying to say. You never get that in this story, and as wild and hopeless and deranged as some bits of it are, that is quite an accomplishment.

Could you see Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No. The turmoils, revelations and outcomes in it are largely internal to the mind of the main character.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Stirring

Kenneth Branagh's narration is truly haunting and brings this dense complex tale outside of the pages to a terrifying life.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Sounds familiar.

Would you listen to Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh again? Why?

Yes. For all you fans of Apocalypse Now, this is going to sound very familiar.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Beautiful performance!

The performance was the best I could imagine; the story is haunting. It’s portrayal of women and indigenous people is highly antiquated, as expected for its time, but still disheartening to hear. Otherwise the plot is intriguing and its emotions ring of truth.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Branagh is a beast! Oozing with gnar! Awesome!

totally frickin' great. Imagine a review bursting with f-bombs of praise and adoration. The goods.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

quite incredible

Incredible performance of a classic. Evocative and dark, though I did find it a little too intense at times. Stunning and unforgettable nevertheless.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Truly a treasure.

This work of art has never been done better. Truly a story to be remembered.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Doesn't get any better👏👏👍👍

That says it.
Literature verbalized as it was meant to be. Thank you. Marc W.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Please, please, PLEASE -- more Branagh!

This audiobook should come with the following label:

Warning: listening to this audiobook will permanently raise your standard for narration, and leave you disappointed at most other narrators.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!