The Odyssey

The Fitzgerald Translation

By: Homer, D. S. Carne-Ross, Robert Fitzgerald - translator

Narrated by: Dan Stevens

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

"In classical Greece men called rhapsodes memorized and recited “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.” My own rhapsode is the English actor Dan Stevens, whom fans of “Downton Abbey” will know as Matthew Crawley. He’s been performing the Robert Fitzgerald translation, and no Hellene could do it better." — Wall Street Journal

Robert Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey has been the standard translation for more than three generations of students and poets. Macmillan Audio is delighted to publish the first ever audio edition of this classic work, the greatest of all epic poems. Fitzgerald's supple verse is ideally suited for audio, recounting the story of Odysseus' long journey back to his wife and home after the Trojan War. Homer's tale of love, adventure, food and drink, sensual pleasure, and mortal danger reaches the English-language listener in all its glory.

In keeping with the oral tradition of the time, Dan Stevens, whose many celebrated performances include Downton Abbey's Matthew Crawley, makes this epic tale come alive. The listener becomes totally immersed in the adventure and drama of the story—this is the way The Odyssey was meant to be experienced.

Also included on the program is a portion of the poem read in ancient Greek so that listeners may experience the lyricism and music of the original language.

©1998 Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc. (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Fitzgerald's smooth, musical verse is perfectly matched in this performance by the light, honeyed tones of Dan Stevens, the British actor who played Matthew Crawley in the first three seasons of "Downton Abbey." Stevens has beautiful, clear articulation, and wonderful pacing, and he really seems to enjoy the poetry of the words. I confess that I could listen to him all day.” —The Boston Globe

“The lightness of Fitzgerald's touch, his almost conversational poetry, is well suited to the spoken word and to an audio version. His translation is in turn well served by the audio production... The reader is the talented actor Dan Stevens… his tone is not conventionally ‘bardic,' which is to say not dark, ponderous or declamatory, but rather young, bright and noble – as if King Harry had decided to deliver Homer instead of his St. Crispin's Day speech.” —The New York Times

Worth it!

Took a while to get into it. I blame that on the 2 greek plays i listen to before. After half way I was 100% hooked.

My favorite book!

The Odyssey is my favorite book of all time, so I hold it to such high standards, but this translation and performance does not disappoint! Dan Stevens does a fantastic job of retelling this epic story; his voice is perfect! The quality and sound is great too. I honestly have no complaints.

Cannot Rate a Classic

I wish I could understand and read the original Greek version of it or better yet, heard it from so many of the bards that sang the stories in the Odyssey but I will have to make do Robert Fitzgerald's excellent translation as well as Dan Stevens' amazing narration of both the Iliad and the Odyssey and my rating is only based on said translation and narration.

One thing I would like to mention is that the Odyssey as well as the Iliad are books that were meant to be listened to. The tales are best heard from an orator and therefore listening to the audible version made the journey an experience of a lifetime. I liked the Odyssey a little bit more than the Iliad since the Odyssey was a complete story in of itself even though references to the earlier works were made, but it's self contained almost entirely. The Iliad on the other hand was just a story of a brief period during the ten year long seige of Troy although it was a story worth passed on for generations (Assuming the events did actually happen).

For anyone on the fence about picking up this classic, I am positive it's well worth a read and even better if listened to narrated by someone as excellent as Dan Stevens.

I listened to two audio versions in turn and liked this best.

I found the narration and translation gripping. This is the version that made me feel like I was sitting by the fireside to hear the epic story of an ancient hero. Just wonderful!

Interesting introduction into the ancient classics

I’m glad to have selected this book and it’s representation of an ancient classic. I was afraid I would get stuck in gory details ad nauseum but not the case. Dan Steven’s narration was excellent and it added a sense of British nobility to the entire work. I will forevermore pronounce the word goddess with the accent on the second syllable!

Great!

Really really good and the story was told amazingly well with little to no issues

Perfect

Great story and this reader is perfect. I wish he did more of the classics.

enjoyable

I never read this title before. it surprised me. I really enjoyed listening to it.

All around loved it

The story itself is great. The narration was great and appreciate how it maintains the dactylic hexameter that the poem is supposed to be read. Will probably listen to it again in the future, maybe a few times.

great narration, classic story

Thanks to the astonishingly captivating voice of the reader, Fitzgerald's translation of this poetic classic simply pops, leaping to life in ways it never does on the page. Homer, even in translation, is simply meant to be read aloud, and this audiobook is one of the best ways to hear it.