Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel

By: A. J. Hartley, David Hewson

Narrated by: Richard Armitage

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

It is a tale of ghosts, of madness, of revenge - of old alliances giving way to new intrigues. Denmark is changing, shaking off its medieval past. War with Norway is on the horizon. And Hamlet - son of the old king, nephew of the new - becomes increasingly entangled in a web of deception - and murder.

Struggling to find his place in this strange new order Hamlet tries to rekindle his relationship with Ophelia - the daughter of Elsinore’s cunning spy master, a man with plots of his own. Hamlet turns for advice and support to the one person he can trust -- Young Yorick, the slippery, unruly jester, whose father helped Hamlet through a difficult childhood. And all the while the armed forces of Fortinbras, prince of Norway, start to assemble, threatening to bring down Elsinore forever.

Beautifully performed by actor Richard Armitage ("Thorin Oakenshield" in the Hobbit films), Hamlet, Prince of Denmark takes Shakespeare’s original into unexpected realms, reinventing a story we thought we knew.

A. J. Hartley is the New York Times best-selling author of the Will Hawthorne fantasy series and several thrillers, as well as the Darwen Arkwright books for younger readers. He is the Russell Robinson Distinguished Professor of Shakespeare at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

David Hewson is the best-selling author of more than 20 novels, including the Nic Costa crime series and a trilogy of books based on the hit Danish television show The Killing. His most-recent novel, The House of Dolls, begins a new series set in Amsterdam.

Richard Armitage is known to movie audiences around the world as "Thorin Oakenshield" in the trilogy of films based on The Hobbit. Born in Leicester, England, and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Armitage has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and created memorable roles on Robin Hood, North & South, and other British TV series.

©2014 A.J. Hartley, David Hewson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"It's a fresh, contemporary take on Shakespeare's tragedy, one not afraid to create new characters or cut long soliloquies. We get a noirish Hamlet, who, when asked by Laertes if he's ready to fence, blurts out: 'I've been ready all my life.'" ( Associated Press)

"English literature teachers worried about getting pupils entranced by Shakespeare should plug them in to this imaginative gloss on Hamlet before starting on the real thing. Hobbit-fanciers will rejoice to find that Richard “Thorin Oakenshield” Armitage is an outstandingly versatile narrator. This is the one of the most powerful listening experiences that I’ve had." ( The Times London)

"Armitage is amazing. He's more than a simple reader, showing himself as a gifted actor. He gives distinct life to each of the many characters in the tragedy, making it easy to follow the story. You can actually close your eyes and listen to the work and imagine the scenes unfolding, thanks to Armitage's acting skills." ( AudioFile)

Good listen!

Authors took liberty with many aspects of the story in a creative way, and made it into a fascinating thriller. It is not a simple reiteration, but a story with imp lex narrative and description, less philosophy.

That Voice...

Would you listen to Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel again? Why?

I would listen to Richard Armitage read a phone book. (Do we even have phone books anymore? Oh, who cares. He could read an insurance contract and make it sound interesting!) Fortunately, "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel" is good material. Hawley and Hewson know the play intimately and have created a masterful story that fleshes out what we have read and/or seen on stage and screen. It's exciting, creative, witty, and intelligent. I highly recommend it.

Not my favorite Shakspeare

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, and know

Would you listen to another book narrated by Richard Armitage?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I had just listed to the novelization of Macbeth, and thoroughly enjoyed it. This was well done, but perhaps the structure of the story itself did not engage me the same way. I do like the concept of being reintroduced to WS in this fashion.

Wow. Very dark but almost feel as if you are there

I really enjoyed this. Almost as good as MacBeth a novel but that book took some beating. Great concept to make the plays into novels and well executed. Great stuff.

Nice!

I loved this audiobook so much. Armitage did a great job! This retelling of Hamlet was way better than what I remembered from reading the play in highschool! I highly recommend it.

lived up to the hype in the comments

Probably the best audible book I've listened to in the 2 years I've had Audible. I never read the play, didn't know anything of the story going in (which the authors say they changed). long story short, great listen!

Great take on a classic!

Shakespeare never gets old, but what the authors did to Hamlet is simply amazing! They brought the characters to life in this novelization of the play. They delve deep into Hamlet’s phyche and put some historical context into the story. And fabulous narration from Richard Armitage is the bow it’s wrapped up in. Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry

Winner for a reason

What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? This is basically my new favorite book. As an English major, I studied Shakespeare extensively in college and got out a bit sick of it. I'm at the point where I can appreciate it again, but none of my studies covered Hamlet this deeply, and it's an interpretation. I feel like I understand the characters and their motives and personalities so much better now, their reasonings for the things that they did. Instead of reading just the play and feeling like every single character was a complete nutter, I can now understand the motivations for everything that they all individually did. Yorick is done especially well, and his part in the story was so well executed.

Would I like it as much just reading it as much as I enjoyed listening to Richard Armitage's narration? I highly doubt it. I've always loved just listening to his voice (seriously, I'd listen to him read the phone book), but he gives each character such life with his accents and voices that I actually forgot I wasn't hearing a full cast.

tl;dr: Get this book if you can in any format, but even if you've already read it hard copy, Armitage's performance makes it a million times better. There is a very good reason this won audiobook of 2014.

fantastic

a excellent adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most famous plays performed fantastically I will definitely be recommending this to my friends and family

Bravo!

If only could give 7 stars. Perfectly written, flawlessly narrated. I was sorry when it ended.