Nicholas Nickleby

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Alex Jennings

Length: 34 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

One of Dickens' early works, Nicholas Nickleby combines comedy and tragedy in a tale of triumph over adversity that is interspersed with Dickens' moving condemnation of society's mistreatment of children and the cruelty of the educational system. Young Nickleby struggles to seek his fortune in Victorian England, yet succeeds despite social injustice, in a story that mirrors Dickens' own rise from poverty to great success.

One of eight children, Dickens came from a very poor family, with his father eventually being sent to debtor's prison. At the age of 12, Dickens was forced to start work in a blacking factory in order to help clear the family debt.

Dickens depicts a funny version of his own mother in the character of Mrs. Nickleby, his feelings towards her dark and complex. He never forgave her for trying to keep him working against her husband's wishes.

Hailed as a comic triumph with a cast of incredible characters, it firmly established Dickens as a 'literary gentleman'.

Full of typically Dickensian elements, the book is well suited to dramatic adaptation.

It is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic masterpieces of 19th century literature and continues to entertain its fans to this day.

Narrator Biography

Three-time Olivier Award winner actor Alex Jennings has had an extensive career with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. His recent stage performances have included Willy Wonka in 2014's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical and Professor Henry Higgins in the 2016 Australian 60th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady. In 2006 he played Prince Charles opposite Helen Mirren in The Queen and has had other roles in films such as Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), Babel (2006) and The Lady in the Van (2015). His television work has included the BBC TV series Cranford (2007) and long running legal drama Silk (2011-2014). In 2016 he featured in the Netflix series The Crown and the ITV series Victoria. He has narrated many audiobooks including Attention All Shipping by Charlie Connelly, which in 2008 was chosen as one of the top 40 audiobooks of all time.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

The narrator was absolutely awesome at doing the different voices. It brought so much life to the story

I thoroughly enjoyed this narrator Alex Jennings. I have read Nicholas Nickleby before and have seen more than one movie about the book but his depiction of the various characters was absolutely a home run in my book

Immersive companion

The story reveals life at that time covering so many from the rich to the poor - the adversities and the experiences of all:

Nicholas Nickleby

Loved this story. I highly recommend this book to others looking for a good story.

The amazing Alex Jennings

Dickens novels are famous for their sprawling characters, and I am amazed at Alex Jennings’s masterful oratory and memorable performances of so many characters. I mean, you really need to have an experienced actor when recording Dickens—and this is right up there as one of the best dickens recordings I’ve ever heard.

Beautiful filler.

What did you like best about Nicholas Nickleby? What did you like least?

Best liked: The parts of the story that moved the plot forward, especially the conflict sections. Dickens' antagonists are the best. Also, his wonderful descriptions of human foibles and vanities are poignant and hilarious.

The narrator is very good. He keeps the numerous characters identifiable and memorable.

Least liked: Truly half of the novel is filler that is almost completely disconnected from the plot. These sections are clearly intended to make the novel come out to a specific length, and most likely were necessary to satisfy serialization agreements. During these entire chapters, the story comes to a complete stop.

Despite nuggets of brilliant satire and beautiful characterization, these sections are essentially character studies a novelist might write to round out the characters in his/her mind. But they would not normally be included in the novel.

Has Nicholas Nickleby turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. Even Dickens' weak novels are gems.

Which character – as performed by Alex Jennings – was your favorite?

Dickens' villains are almost always the most interesting. If I had to pick one here, I'd choose Mr. Squeers, who is consistently and enthusiastically despicable, while at the same time cunning, self-aware and three dimensional.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably, knowing that the extra fluff would be eliminated for film.

Overall Average

Although not one of Dickens' great texts, Jennings' gives a flat, boring narration of the novel. What I found most troubling is his inability to present the female parts in an enjoyable reading; they were quite annoying actually. I much prefer Robert Whitfield's narration. Overall, a poor narration. It sounded as if he were forced to read this novel and didn't enjoy it himself.