The Cricket on the Hearth

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Jim Dale

Length: 3 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

The holidays are upon us, and this year Audible is very happy to present to our members one of Charles Dickens’ most popular Christmas stories, The Cricket on the Hearth. This holiday classic (original subtitle: “A Fairy Tale of Home”) tells the innocent, picturesque, and charming story of a poor family and their would-be guardian angel; in short, a delightful vision of Victorian Christmas. As always, a great story calls for a great voice, so we’ve brought in legendary actor and record-breaking Audie and Grammy award-winning narrator Jim Dale (The Night Circus). Happy holidays and happy listening!

Public Domain (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Weird Little Story

I love Dickens, and I love a bargain, so when Audible offered me a Jim Dale reading of this story free as a Christmas thank you, I jumped at it . . . Perfect listening for the week before C'mas vacation, thought I.

Well. It's one weird little story. It opens with a long "conversation" between the cricket on the hearth and the tea kettle. Honest. Then we meet the family who lives in the house: little Dot (whose real name is Mary) ad her (in modern eyes, creepily) older husband. . . . and, luckily, Tilly Slowboy the mentally deficient housemaid and the baby, about both of whom we get some great Dickens humor to leaven the schmaltz that drips from this little offering. There is an evil(ish) toy manufacturer, a saintly father, an angelic blind girl, a nearly undeveloped fiancee, a missing brother. . . lots of spirits of family and goodness and the like. Still, towards the ends Dickens manages to wring the old heartstrings, as he usually does, but I did miss the wry humor and control of his best writing (Great Expectations; Nicholas Nickleby; Christmas Carol). Not a good introduction to his work, but it was interesting to hear anyway.

Jim Dale did a nice job with the reading, and I am grateful for the gift, I should add.

If Jim Dale read a dictionary, I would listen

Would you listen to The Cricket on the Hearth again? Why?

Two words: Jim. Dale.

Which character – as performed by Jim Dale – was your favorite?

The carrier.

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

Not at all. The story was a bit dull, even for the era.

Love Jim Dale, dislike Dickens........

I should have known......I dislike Dickens. Really dislike Dickens. However, I love Jim Dale and it was a Christmas gift, so I had a listen. Jim Dale's narration (I think his work really can be called "a performance") was wonderful, but the story itself......feh. Nothing that changed my mind about Dickens, that's for sure. Still writes a good story line but embellishes it with too many words and too much confusion.

Lovely story those under 40 may not appreciate

Where does The Cricket on the Hearth rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is an outstanding recording; love the British accent of the narrator. The story was quaint and pleasant, but sometimes hard to follow. It's not one of my favorites, nor my least favorite.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting aspect of this story was the characterization and plot. The least interesting were the very vivid and sometimes tedious descriptions--no doubt appreciated by Dickens' pre-television culture, but less appealing to our very video-oriented society.

Which character – as performed by Jim Dale – was your favorite?

My favorite character was the carrier--so simple, yet so loyal and affectionate.

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

I would have been happy to have listened to this recording all in one sitting, since it is a mere three hours or so. However, my busy schedule would not allow it. It would have been nice to have shorter chapters, but then the narrator was no doubt just reading it the way the author wrote the story.

Any additional comments?

I have been exposed to many of Charles Dickens' writings through books, plays, videos and now audio recordings. Until Audible offered this as a free holiday gift, I had never heard of this story before. It was in many ways unlike his deeper, more popular works. However, I found the theme of love, trust and loyalty engaging. Especially the willingness of the main character, John, to sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of his beloved Dot.

While I was not turned off too much by Dickens' exhaustive descriptions of scenery, sounds and characters, younger audiences may not be used to this feature of classic literature. It had a few unexpected turns of plot and resolved itself quite nicely. Overall, a warm, fuzzy tale for the holidays.

Better to listen during the Holidays

Originally posted at: A Girl that Likes Books

Why I read this book

For Christmas Audible gave a free book that turned out to be this classic from Dickens.

What the book is about

The book opens introducing John Peerybingle (I had to look the spelling of that one up!) and his wife Dot. Through them we meet the other characters, a lovely woman, engaged to a horrible man that is believed to be charming to the eyes of a blind girl. I know it sounds like a lot of deceive, and there is such, but it sounds less so when written by Dickens

First impressions

Did you know that A Christmas Carol was part of a "collection" of Christmas books? Well I didn't. Turns out that The Cricket is the third book in a series of stories set during the Holidays that Dickens wrote, it just so happens that it was A Christmas Carol that got to be so renowned. This is what poked my curiosity for this story and what kept me going, even though at the beginning it was hard to get into the story.

Final thoughts

It was a good story, but it didn't move as Christmas Carol did. There is a bit of humor here and there, but I don't know if it was because of the language or because of the setting, it just wasn't a fun read for me. Maybe I should've listen to it, near a fire during the Christmas Holidays. I do think however that the comparison of the cricket to the "soul" of the house, feeling the happiness or sorrow of the home owners was a sweet way to give live to the environment.

was a good read.

It was good, however I struggled a little to finish it. I won't say it was bad writing, just not my type of book and a little slow for me.

Not the Most Famous Dickens Christmas Story

This is the "other" Charles Dickens Christmas story. While not anywhere near as good as A Christmas Carol, this workshould have its own place on the bookshelf. While I want to read A Christmas Carol nearly every Christmas, this story only rises to the "every so often" level. Nevertheless, it's a heartwarming story that captures the spirit of the season. Contemporary listeners should be warned that this is not a fast-paced story--Dickens had to paint a picture in the minds of his readers who did not have the benefit of travel, televisions, pictures, etc... that we have. As a result, someone unaccustomed to reading books from this era might find the book a little hard to follow or "boring"...I hate to use that word because it's not fair to Dickens's masterful writing or the context in which it was written...but modern styles of writing could contrast with this book to leave such an impression.

Short Novella That Warms The Heart

This was the perfect read for winter days and nights. Not quite as wonderful as "A Christmas Carol", it still has some interesting characters (including the cricket) and a Dickensian misunderstanding that resolves happily for all. Jim Dale's narration is excellent as always, although Dot's voice seemed a bit strained at times. Having both read and listened to the story, I would definitely recommend the audio version to get the full effect of Dickens' writing. This leaves the listener with a happy feeling that "all is well with the world"!

Hi hum

Hi him just about sums it up - other Dickens are decidedly better - this is probably very outdated

Charming Listen

Who hasn't heard of Charles Dickens (1812-1870)? Who hasn't read or seen an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" (1843), "Oliver Twist" (1837), or "David Copperfield" (1849)? Sometimes it seems that half of the Disney empire is built on Dickens.

"The Cricket on the Hearth" (1845) is a lesser known Christmas novella. The Cricket is the guardian angel of John Peerybingle and his much-younger wife, Dot and their young son; and their friends and neighbors. Tackleton, a cranky old toy maker disrupts the sweet working class life of the Peerybingles - but perhaps not intentionally. The story was new to me, and I liked not knowing the ending. I liked the listen on the drive to and from Mom's house I for Christmas dinner.

Jim Dale was a good pick for the unnamed narrator. Who was the narrator? Some say Dickens meant it to be the Peerybingle's son, or neighbor blind Bertha Plummer. I like to think it was the Cricket.

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