David Copperfield [Naxos AudioBooks]

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton

Length: 36 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

The intensely personal David Copperfield (widely regarded to be the most autobiographical of the author’s novels) is one of Dickens’ greatest works. We follow David Copperfield from birth and miserable childhood to inevitable tragedies, until he finally finds happiness later in life. Full of some of the most memorable characters in literary history. Nicholas Boulton’s depiction of the oily Uriah Heep and David Copperfield’s sinister stepfather, Murdstone, do the novel full justice.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)2012 Naxos AudioBooks

Dickens would be proud

What made the experience of listening to David Copperfield the most enjoyable?

Mr. Boulton's reading was excellent...masterfully changing his accent and tone to portray the plethora of Dickens' wonderful characters.

What did you like best about this story?

Dickens' character development is so wonderful. He is a true wordsmith and a wonderful observer of human nature. This is one of my favorite books and each reading/listening strengthens my love of it.

Any additional comments?

Superb story read by a real master

10 people found this helpful

Depressed When it Ended

Would you consider the audio edition of David Copperfield to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version, but I can only imagine that the audio version is so much better. Nicholas Boulton is my absolute favorite narrator, and I didn't think you could get much better than Grover Gardner. Hearing Nicholas Boulton read such a classic is like going to the theatre in the privacy of your home. I was depressed for days when the book ended.

What did you like best about this story?

Dickens' stories are always so rich. Full of adventure, full of charm, and full of intricacies. If you want a longer read, a story that you can sink your teeth into, then choose a Dickens classic.

What about Nicholas Boulton’s performance did you like?

Absolutely everything! I can't say enough good things about Nicholas Boulton's narration. He imbues each character with a life of it's own, and you forget that only one person in reading the story. He does an excellent job with female voices, and male narrators tend to make them sound ridiculous. I chose this book to listen to solely because Nicholas Boulton narrated it, and I was not sorry.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were too many to mention.

Any additional comments?

Please listed to this audio book, you will not be disappointed.

6 people found this helpful

Story of our Life

What did you love best about David Copperfield?

Through the characters in "David Copperfield", we see ourselves. David, from his youth to adulthood, goes through difficult times but proves that the times are not what define us, but our reactions to those times. He is not without fault - finding teenage love in Dora (but remaining true to her, even once he finally figures out she has the keen intellect of a door knob), placing trust where it is not necessarily deserved (but adjusting course when he learns better), and forgiving those not necessarily deserving of forgiveness (his aunt), but in so doing, helping them become their better selves. We see also greed, avarice, hatred, spite, and envy. The story is some times a bit slow, but it is worth the read.

5 people found this helpful

David Copperfield narrated by Nicholas Boulton

Would you listen to David Copperfield again? Why?

Yes, Nicholas Boulton's narrations is so clear. His voice is easy to listen to. He doesn't just read the book. He breathes life into it. He distinctly brings emotion and personality to each character. This book narrated by Nicholas Boulton is worth listening to over and over again.

What did you like best about this story?

There isn't anything in particular that I liked the best about the story.

Have you listened to any of Nicholas Boulton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nicholas Boulton's narrations are all equal regarding performance. All of his narrations are worth listening to.

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

No, the book is only 36 hours long. I want to savor it over a couple of days or a week.

Any additional comments?

Buy audio books narrated by Nicholas Boulton to experience a superb performance for yourself.

3 people found this helpful

It's Dickens!

I didn't read this as a child, or young adult, so when a friend said it was one of her favorite books, OK got to read, I guess. Yes I loved it, yes it was predictable in some place and I have heard possibly autobiographical, maybe. Lagging at times and so very exciting at others. It definitely worth reading and maybe even reading again to get ALL the characters in the right place. People you love to hate and ones you can't help but love, it was everything and more, maybe not my favorite but will probably read/listen again some day. Narrator was awesome, can't imagine anyone could have done a better job!

2 people found this helpful

Fantastic Performance

Any additional comments?

This is a great reading of David Copperfield. I listen to so many audiobooks that over the years I've become rather picky about the actors rendition of the material. This was a top notch performance, read clearly and not one bit annoying. Highly recommended!

2 people found this helpful

Probably the Best Narration I Have Heard !

This is without doubt one of my favorite narrations of any book that I have heard, and quite possibly the best! Really fantastic voices and characters, and he actually pulls off the female voices well which is rare. The book speaks for itself I would think, another epic Dickens novel. Not my exact favorite Dickens book but really good (duh) and enjoyable. Unfortunately Mr. Boulton hasn't done very many other readings, at least of books I want to listen to, which was a bit depressing.

2 people found this helpful

most exellent narration- BRAVO!

What did you love best about David Copperfield?

Charles Dickens was written to be read out loud and Nicholas Boulton's wide range of voices brought the characters to life! Thank-you for such an entertaining performance.

1 person found this helpful

Wonderful narrator for a wonderful novel!

Would you consider the audio edition of David Copperfield to be better than the print version?

Nicholas Boulton's performance is tremendous, carrying Dicken's complex and often humorous writing along beautifully through the length of the book.

1 person found this helpful

A wonderful read

This is a wonderful story, exquisitely told. The threads of the lives of an extraordinary collection of characters weave a beautiful tapestry over the course of the narrator's life. It is a most satisfying book.

Excellent Performance of an Excellent Work

Where does David Copperfield [Naxos AudioBooks] rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks as one of the top in the classics

Who was your favorite character and why?

David, because he had so much to learn through his life and so much to go through.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I enjoyed the scene where Mr Dick helped Doctor Strong and Annie resume their life which had been interrupted by the mischief Uriah Heep caused.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

With Dickens there are always emotions and I always find different emotions coming into play when I'm listening to this book.

Any additional comments?

This is a long book and many comments from people who have purchased various narrations of it from Audible show that they've read it at school and been put off it because of its length. Dickens can be off-putting if you're not used to him and for anyone who wants to try his books but is not sure where to start, I'd suggest Oliver Twist or Great Expectations. However, if you want to read it, I'd suggest either this reading or the Martin Jarvis one. A reader can really bring across the emotions in this book so well and this compensates for the rather lengthy Dickens prose. Every time I come back to it, however, I get something new out of it.

One Audible customer, after finishing a reading of David Copperfield mentioned a feeling of bereavement. I often feel as though I'm saying goodbye to a much-loved friend on finishing it. Over thirty odd hours, in various installments, you have come to know David, who has been described as Dickens' favourite child and you do feel it when the book finishes. You can tell that Dickens found it difficult himself to round things off.

As with the majority of books by Dickens, there is always humour: the scene at Blunderstone when Betsey Trotwood visits is very humourous, as are the scenes with Mr Micawber and I love the scene at the picnic on Dora's birthday when David is really on fire with love for her. Such phrases as "The sun shone Dora, the Wind Blew Dora, the Birds sang Dora" often bring a smile of recollection of times when I've listened to a lovely song which I've dedicated to a person I've loved. Even David's first two loves, Miss Shepherd and the eldest Miss Larkins bring recollections of people I've loved when a child, but to whom I have never told my love.

So don't be put off by the length of the book: why not purchase it with your next credit, sit down and imagine yourself sitting in David's parlour as he tells you his story!

4 people found this helpful

A superb and moving piece of literature

This is a very long book that has been excellently narrated and I found a great way to enjoy Dickens if you find some of his work a little ponderous. The tale of David's early life moved me to actual tears and not recomended if you are sitting on a station as I was! Some of Dicken's characters are just a little too caricatured for my liking but the beautiful use of the english language is so humbling. Really worth listening to Dicken's life history first, to truly judge this book (in my opinion) to understand how close this was, in some of the themes, to his own life story.

4 people found this helpful

Hugely enjoyable rediscovery of Dickens!

What made the experience of listening to David Copperfield the most enjoyable?

The narrator was fantastic, exactly the right pace and all the characters clearly distinguished. I have added the Magus to my wishlist, as it is read by the same narrator.

What was one of the most memorable moments of David Copperfield?

It's not so much the moments but the characters although I did enjoy the account of the young David's trip to find his Aunt, and his time in London when a young boy really conjured up the period for me. I very much enjoyed Betsy Trotwood and Mr Dick - it was quite nice to have sympathetic characters who weren't paragons.

Have you listened to any of Nicholas Boulton’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I haven't but I'd like to. I thought he was excellent. Highly recommended!

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

Well, given the length probably not but it took me about two weeks which is pretty good going seeing as I have also read quite a few novels in that time as well.

Any additional comments?

I don't consider myself a massive fan of Dickens - being put off Bleak House at University - but I really enjoyed this and have now bought Great Expectations.

2 people found this helpful

A truly great tale, glorious in all its characters.

Wonderfully narrated, I enjoyed it so much, from beginning to end. I laughed and at times had tears in my eyes. Masterful Dickens, who is there alike today?

1 person found this helpful

Brilliant narration - superb performance

A book you know and love can be given a newly discovered extra dimension if it is as brilliantly narrated as this is by Nicholas Boulton. Every character spot on, all the narration read with exactly the right inflection. Scenes funny, sad, harrowing, dramatic... all handled with immense skill. Some scenes – particularly with Uriah Heep - must have been absolutely exhausting to do!

Voice acting needs to be given greater recognition.

(I wish Boulton had narrated more Dickens. I hope he will.)

Hugely entertaining

I must confess I never read Dickens in my youth - probably daunted by the length.

I never expected it to be so entertaining, and the excellent narration from Nicholas Boulton brought the characters alive vividly, both male and female. Particularly outstanding are his portrayals of Aunt Betsey, Mr. Micawber and Uriah Heep.

There are many hilarious moments in the book that are down to Dickens's keen observation, (and caricaturing) of little human foibles that you miss completely in, say, a film adaptation. The kind of detail like Peggotty's buttons popping off and flying across the room when she hugs David is something that would not have much impact in a film, but comes out in vivid detail in the performance.

Probably my favourite scene in the narration is Micawber's vehement denunciation of Uriah Heep.

Thoroughly to be recommended.

Brilliant characters, engaging story

To my shame this was the first time, other than A Christmas Carol, that I'd actually 'read' a Dickens novel. I was enthralled throughout, and amazed by his incredible insight into the human condition. It was also from time to time hilarious!

Excellently read with convincing characterisation.

Loved it

Revisiting Dickens after a lapse and plan and plan to hear this again when i ve completed the entire works. highly recommend

Most enjoyable

Beautifully read. I doubt I would ever have got through it if reading it myself, but compulsive listening - like having a mobile play, where you want to keep listening wherever - when read like this. The story is rather over detailed at times but the narrator manages to maintain the listener's interest.

A great tale, wonderfully narrated

It's hard to imagine that Nicholas Boulton's reading of this classic could be surpassed. He brings each character distinctly to life with supreme skill and sensitivity