Dombey and Son

Publisher's Summary

Dombey and Son is vintage Dickens and explores the classic themes of betrayal, cruelty and deceit. Dombey's dysfunctional relationships are painted against a backdrop of social unrest in industrialized London, which is populated by a host of fascinating and memorable secondary characters. The complete and unabridged novel is brought spectacularly to life by veteran reader David Timson.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)2009 Naxos Audiobooks

A Hidden Dickens Gem

Would you consider the audio edition of Dombey and Son to be better than the print version?

I have never read the print version of Dombey and Son and had never even heard of it until I did a Dickens search in Audible.

What does David Timson bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

I thought that David Timson did a fanctastic job of bringing Dicken's characters to life. One benefit (and sometimes drawback) of listening to a book, is that you can be pulled into a character's life by the narrators voice. David Timson did an excellent job of differentiating one character from another. He has a very pleasant voice to listen to. Dickens has tendency to go on and on about a subject, but in David Timson's voice, it was not only pleasant but helped me understand the beauty of Dicken's narrative.

21 of 21 people found this review helpful

Utterly incredible!

It is difficult to state that this is my favorite Dickens because I enjoy them all. I can state though that David Timson is my favorite narrator. I also enjoy Sean Barrett, but Timson's distinctive variety of voices gives him the edge. I just listened to Dombey and Son and Barnaby Rudge - both novels are so full of life (and death), so much color and true Dickensian stories - right overcomes wrong and justice over evil in the end. I also read many of Dickens' novels, but I now believe that Dickens is to be listened to and not read. Although this book has two males (father and son) in the title, the most powerful and endearing character is Florence, Dombey's neglected daughter. Further, Dickens may have created one of the most obnoxious and evil characters in English literature in the person of Mr Dombey's manager, James Carker. Fortunately, and in true Dickens style, Carker gets his just desserts in the end.

31 of 32 people found this review helpful

Standout Narration

Dombey and Son is a book that contains a lot of touching moments alongside of great comical passages. Somehow, David Timson is able to read and bring to life all of Dickens' characters and hit all the punchlines while also being able to perfectly set the mood for the emotional situations. This was a really, really well done narration!

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

Great performance!

David Timson did an excellent job. Each character is instantly recognizable by its voice as read by Timson.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Great narrator for undeservedly forgotten Dickens

I love all things Dickens, so it's no wonder I enjoyed this. This narrator is just gorgeous. He absolutely brought this book to life. Captain Cuttle became a most beloved and alive human with Timson's voice. Wonderful, wonderful job.

About the book itself. This is a very underrated Dickens novel that probably deserves some modern eyes to see & modern ears to hear. Of course, as is characteristic of Dickens, this book rounds itself out and works all the bits and pieces to a satisfactory ending, but not always in the way we thought we wanted or in the timeframe we expected. It is a gorgeous story full of heart and timeless themes.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Brilliant narration!!

Better than reading the book? Yes- the narration is so good, it really brings the story alive. This is not one of Dickens great novels, but well worth the listen. Many of the social themes that Dickens typically examines are here, but the central themes are "Papa, what's money," and pride goeth before the fall. The main characters can be a bit tiresome (not Timson but rather Dickens). But there are some truly memorable and wonderful characters in Domby and Son, and Timson does a great job of inhabiting them. The novel's really bad guy, James Carker, has just the right resonance of condescension and swarm. Captain Cuttle is masterfully inarticulate, and Major J.B. Bagstock is equally masterfully a conceited windbag. You will much enjoy!!!

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Terrific experience

Any additional comments?

First of all, Dickens is a master of the English language, using it like an artist painting a vivid portrait of Victorian England, his characters, and the world they live in. Second, he is deeply cognizant of human psychology,( of the passion of pride and jealousy in particular in Dombey and Son) and makes the motives believable. He is also a master of building up the suspense to make stories a real "page-turner".
To top it all, the reading is fantastic, persuasive, and better than any print edition. I am out to read all of Dickens on audiobooks, now that I have so deeply enjoyed the first two (this one and the equally great Bleak House).

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

A Master Narrator and Under-appreciated Classic

What did you love best about Dombey and Son?

There's little I can add to what other commentators have already said: David Timson is masterful. He's able to manage many different voices for the novel's characters and is one of the few male narrators I've listened to who's female voices are believable. But what most surprised me about this book was just how captivating it was. I hadn't been expecting that since it's not one of Dickens' better known novels and I'd assumed this was because the plot or characters were less compelling than in his other books. Not the case! I've listened to about half of Dickens' novels now and this is my favorite, along with Bleak House. This has partially to do with the narrator, who can truly make or break a book, but greatly to do with the story itself. Like other novels, those of Dickens can be either plot-driven or character-driven. Dombey is character-driven and the characters here are colorful and captivating from the very beginning. This was the only novel that didn't take a few chapters or more to "get into". He had me from the very first lines and his description of the newborn Dombey in swaddling clothes by the fire, "as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin."

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Dickens and a great narrator

The book is read brilliantly. Dickens' subtle (and not-so-subtle) sarcasm is delivered in the most natural way. This one is simply hours of fun.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Dark Dickens, Superb Narrator

This is one of the darkest Dickens I've listened to. Fewer funny or lovable characters than in many of his stories and much time spent in very sad situations with too little love and too much greed and selfishness. Narration is brilliant -- all voices are distinct and unique, women's voices are natural, and Captain Cuttle, Mr. Toots, and Sally are absolutely delightful. Despite the dark mood that prevails, this is still worth a listen because the writing is so beautiful and, as with all Dickens, his observations of human nature are spot-on. My favorite Dickens novels are still (1) Our Mutual Friend and (2) David Copperfield. Each have the perfect balance of characters, depth of story, humor and pathos in the right proportions.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Excellent Range of Voices

This is the first review which I have submitted to Audible, but I felt that I had to comment on the excellence of the narration. Each character's voice is distinctive and appropriate and the narrative sections are paced beautifully. Dickens wrote rather better books than "Dombey and Son" and the last few chapters are weak, but for David Timson's reading of it fully merits the four stars.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Outstanding!

I had reached 67 years on this planet without reading this book, despite Charles Dickens being one of my favourite authors. Thank heavens I rectified that error by listening to this outstanding narration. Even at nearly 40 hours it still came to an end too soon.
The relationship between mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, uncles and nephews, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends and acquaintances......it's all there!
If he were alive today I suspect Dickens would have made a great therapist.
Every character came alive but Captain Cuttle was my favourite, possibly because David Timson literally became him! Wonderful.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

A more subtle Dickens

Whilst not lacking the usual Dickens characters, always good for a laugh, the greatest satisfaction I got from this novel was from the rich and thoughtful narration. Many of his novels are somewhat predictable, but I found that Dickens pursues a very open plotline. There are some detours which are perhaps over long, but the net result is an excellent yarn

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Highly recommended

Dombey and Son is not fast-paced so needs an ebullient performance from it's reader to bring it to life.
David Timson manages that admirably and I would highly recommend this audiobook.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Utterly fabulous

Such a wonderful story, told with passion, energy and excellence. I could listen to Timson's voice all day.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Mixed Bag

There are some wonderful aspects to this book, and some great writing. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of cloying sentimentality - and the attitudes to the duties of children (especially daughters) to parents are dated and often distasteful. I also felt it ran out of steam for quite a while in the last quarter.



I give it 4 stars because it has great moments, but it also needs a lot of leniency of the 'it was written a long time ago' sort.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A Forgotten Classic

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

Definitely yes, I've come to really enjoy the longer books in my collection, when well read like this of course, they allow you to inhabit their world.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dombey and Son?

"Let him remember it in that room, years to come" I first came across those words over 30 years ago, they've haunted me ever since.

What does David Timson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I love a good story really well read.

Any additional comments?

Dombey and Son is one of Dickens novels that is less well known which is a shame. Dickens characterisation is always phenomenal but he I've always thought he surpasses himself with
Mr Dombey who is his greatest monster

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Dickens at his best.

Brought to life by narrator David Timson. Truly excellent and moving novel. Wonderful characters described so well one can picture them.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Wonderfull novel.

I was already familiar with Dombey and Son having read it twice before without the accompaniment of this Audible book. I always read the novels in hard copy while listening to achieve maximum enjoyment and in this case the experience has been sublime. John Timpson's reading is excellent and his many voices present these rich characters to perfection. I cannot recommend this audiobook more highly.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

David Timson shines once again

By far my favourite narrator of Dickens, David Timson has an astonishing ability to give a convincing voice to each of Dickens' broadest and most complex collection characters. The story is, of course, edge of the seat stuff!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful