Martin Chuzzlewit

The Audible Dickens Collection

By: Charles Dickens, William Boyd - introduction

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi, William Boyd - introduction

Length: 41 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

This exclusive recording of Martin Chuzzlewit starts with a unique introduction written and narrated by William Boyd, author of Any Human Heart and A Good Man in Africa.

First published in 1842, Martin Chuzzlewit is the last of Charles Dickens' picaresque novels. Despite poor sales at the time, Dickens considered it his best work, and it is now regarded as one of the most significant literary depictions of 19th-century America.

Horrified by the ongoing use of slavery in the self-professed 'land of the free', Dickens returned home after his first trip abroad with an extreme distaste for American laws and, equally, their frequent use of spitting tobacco. Dickens turned to his pen once again and created a story which satirically centres around the selfish and greedy Chuzzlewits.

About the book:

Deeply distressed at thought of his singularly money-minded family circling around his inevitable death bed, when Old Martin Chuzzlewit comes across a young and kindly orphan girl, he immediately decides to take her into his employment. Offering her a comfortable living in exchange for her care and protection, Martin rests easy in the knowledge that her comfort will last only as long as he does; upon his death, Mary the orphan will find herself on the cold and dirty streets from whence she came. To his great dismay, Old Martin's plan is foiled when his own grandson and main heir, Martin Chuzzlewit Junior, declares his undying love for Mary and his consequent intention to marry her.

This Audible Original dramatisation follows the Chuzzlewit household from this point on, as relationships are born and tested, old feuds are reignited and the ever-present vultures start to close in. A lesson in the dangers and consequences of looking only after number one, the narrative remains highly relevant to this day and is expertly narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi.

About the author:

With his father incarcerated, Charles Dickens had to abandon his studies at a young age and set to work in a factory so as to support himself. Despite his short-lived education, Dickens went on to write 15 novels, various articles, novellas and short stories. These include Hard Times, Bleak House, Oliver Twist, Barnaby Rudge, Little Dorrit and A Tale of Two Cities. He lectured and led campaigns for children's rights and education and arguably became the ultimate self-made man.

About the narrator:

Sir Derek Jacobi is an English actor and stage director, best known for his illustrious stage career and his appearance in films such as The Day of the Jackal, Gladiator, Gosford Park and, most recently, Murder on the Orient Express. He is the recipient of two Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy, and in 1994 he was knighted.

Sir Derek has also recorded over 100 audiobooks, including Roald Dahl's George's Marvellous Medicine, Anthony Horowitz's Moriarty, and many works of classic fiction. A lifelong Dickens fan, Sir Derek is delighted to lend his dulcet tones to this recording of Martin Chuzzlewit as part of Audible's Definitive Dickens collection.

©2018 Charles Dickens (P)2018 Audible, Ltd

Mr Dickens

Mr Dickens, bravo sir - as usual. And very well performed. I liked this. There are some things that recur in his books: there’s always an orphan, always a rich relative, always a villain. But while the events of the book revolved around old Martin Chuzzlewit’s actions, the book, in my opinion, was about Tom Pinch. You have to conclude that by the ending. Charles didn’t kill off a beloved character in this one, as he usually does. And Tom is much like Smikes from Nicholas Nickleby. He did not get his beloved in the end - but he did stay alive, and was the hero of the novel.

Derek Jacobi is MAGNIFICENT!!!

Especially his rendition of Sarah Gamp is fantastically funny. So good at the voices. What a wonderful performance.

Characters come alive

I keep listening to Dickens books, and each time I listen, I decide ‘that’s my favourite book’, but by far this has been my favourite. Very well read, all the characters come alive with the narrator. Recommended and will likely listen all over again.

Loved it.

Dickens at its sarcastic best.
Spectacular performance by Derek Jacobi.
I know readers and performers are a matter of taste, but I am not sorry to have chosen this performance.

Far from his best

Legend has it that Dickens thought Martin Chuzzlewitt was his best novel. He was wrong.

A wonderful and rousing performance by Jacoby.

Much of the humor is lost to us today.Though Dickens Painted this story with high satire throughout, He has done so at the expense of creating very few likable characters. I would have been glad not to have been introduced to Mrs Gamp at all. The insufferable Pecksniff brought no joy and little levity to the story. l was quite stunned at the contempt which Dickens expressed toward America of the 1840s. There is so much better of dickens to enjoy that I would not recommend spend

Wonderful all around!

What a joy to have Derek Jacobi read this story one of Dickens’ best the characters are unforgettable his style of reading, and recitation of the text is beautiful, and the very highest level of theater.

Not my favorite

As I go through the great Dickens books via audible format, this one was the most difficult. I started one with a different reader and gave up; I couldn’t bear his accent/voice. Thankfully I tried this one and his performance made it a fine experience. The plot and theme were so relevant to modern times that I cringed through it. Not much of human nature seems to change.

A great actor doesn't always = a great narrator

For as deadly dull as the first third of this book is, the rest of it pays off. Derek Jacobi is obviously a tremendous actor, skilled at voices and tone. But, often and frustratingly, he modifies his voice to whispers, shouts, bellows, and mumbles, so that it's actually hard to listen to his narration. It's like listening to classical music with its abrupt changes, except there it's not as important to hear every note. Lots of rewinding to turn up the volume and hear what was whispered, then hastily lowering it again as the voice returns to loud.

Difficult listening

The reader did a reasonably good job of maintaining characters' voices but the volume and tone variations made it extremely difficult to hear the dialog for much of the performance. Too low a wisper made it so I had to increase the volume almost to its highest setting and almost instantly had to grasp the volume control to turn it down with the next words. This made the book one of the lest enjoyable I've listened to yet. The story itself is not one of Dickens' best for sure.