Nicholas Nickleby

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 31 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The most gorgeously theatrical of all Dickens's novels, Nicholas Nickleby follows the delightful adventures of a hearty young hero in 19th-century England. Nicholas, a gentleman's son fallen upon hard times, must set out to make his way in the world. His journey is accompanied by some of the most swaggering scoundrels and unforgettable eccentrics in Dickens's pantheon.

From the dungeon-like Yorkshire boys' boarding school run by the cruel Wackford Squeers to the high-spirited stage of Vincent Crummles' extraordinary acting troupe, Nicholas Nickleby is a triumph of the imagination, bursting with color, humor, and poignant social commentary.

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

(P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Aged well

This was one of the best books I have ever read. I cannot believe how well Dickens story has aged and that it was originally written in the 1830s. The narrator was superb. I wish that I had not read it so that I could read it again for the first time. I’ve read two of dickens novels now and I can see I have to go back and read all of the rest. And I’m going to find out what else this narrator has narrated and read those books as well just to hear his voice.

The Good, The Bad, and The Sentimental

Years ago, someone at a party enthusiastically described Dickens as “the Ralph Nader of his day”. No more depressing pigeonhole could be found for this creator of tangible worlds populated with vivid characters. And yet that narrow, agenda-driven label is more than partly the author’s own fault.

When Dickens lets his characters be people, with vices as well as virtues, he’s delightful. When he makes them into poster children for social causes—or exemplars of pure, disinterested compassion—he’s tedious at best. Not that abusive schools or plots for forced marriages are good things. And, certainly, rare souls who know how to create happiness for themselves and others make for happy listening. It’s just that, after showing us the school, the plot, or the rare soul, Dickens can’t resist getting up on a soapbox and waxing sentimental. When she warned us of the Cult of Sensibility, Jane Austen knew what she was talking about.

Fortunately, though the sermonizing increases as the story proceeds, by and large Dickens allows his extensive cast to be human. Capitalism comes in for a few knocks (one wonders how he imagined his books were printed, or how his public afforded them). Even allowing for early Victorian sensibilities, some of the later dialogue smacks of the provincial melodramas he pokes fun at so delightfully in this story. Cheeryble Brothers sounds more like a charity than a going concern and the brothers, though rare souls, strike one as just a shade too angelic due, no doubt, to Dickens’ soap box. (Why can’t he let dialogue and actions speak for themselves?) However, I admit the grasping villains of the piece tally precisely with my experience of human malevolence.

And, when the characters are allowed to be themselves, hilarity and sentiment (as opposed to sentimentality) preponderate. This is an uneven, mostly humorous (don’t miss Mr. Mantalini, or the Language of Vegetables), pastiche of a novel; everyone’s romance ends as expected, but those resolutions are followed by other, unexpected and satisfying denouements. And, as always, Simon Vance’s impeccable performance renders it all that much more enjoyable.

Listening to Dickens is always a pleasure.

If you could sum up Nicholas Nickleby in three words, what would they be?

Long, but worth it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nicholas; quite the hero.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

Although he was rather a villain, I loved the way he read Squeers.

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

Too long to do that, but I wish...!

Perfection

This is my favourite Dickens narrative thus far. I loved everything about it. Read exceptionally well!!!

Enjoyable listen

If you like Charles’s Dickens style of writing you will enjoy this book, for me I like the way he writes and the story line of his books

I have a new love!

I have loved Simon Vance since his narration of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series.
he has now made me fall in love with Dickens! his masterful use of voices, intonation, accents/dialects just makes you fall into the story! I go to sleep listening, wake up and get ready for work listening, eek out a bit more on my 10 minute commute all to keep it going.
I would listen to Simon Vance's narration of The Dictionary!
if you've never read Dickens or heard Simon Vance....
you're missing out.
Start with David Copperfield or Nicholas Nickleby or any and you won't be disappointed!

classic novel, great reader!

I find it incredibly enjoyable to have a novel like this read out loud to me. The inflections and voices and knowledge that the reader brought to the narration really gave this story so much life. true to its time, the novel has blatant messages about society which again we're just so easy to digest and ponder because the narration was just clear and entertaining.

fantastic classic

love this story. good triumphs over evil! this is a great classic, and a timeless treasure.

Audio is altered sometimes, but good story

I loved the wit and observations of Dickens. It is incredible how endearing and how vile some of the characters are portrayed. My main complaint is that the audio would be altered and somewhat cut out occasionally. It was never completely gone, but the recording would have a weird tone for a couple seconds in quite a few places in the book.

"""Excellent!"""

This is a masterpeice. The character development by Dickens is striking, as well as fascinating. I found myself pulling for redemption of Ralph Nickleby, and hang at cliff's edge till learning his fate. Ralph was the antagonist, one can only imagine how I cheered for the good guys. The performance was top notch. I will catalogue it among the best-ever, rivaled in my estimation only by Oliver Twist...DOwens