Gulliver's Travels

By: Jonathan Swift

Narrated by: Walter Covell

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

Irish writer Jonathan Swift was trained for the Church, but for many years did not achieve a suitable post. He supported himself as a private secretary. The break came with the publication of Tale of a Tub, published in 1704, when he was 37. He continued to make a living from minor Church positions but increasingly gained recognition for his writing. Swift went to England as a political journalist for the Tories, but when George I died in 1714, he returned to Ireland, much scorned. He retreated into Church work, gradually recovered his spirits, and in 1725 published Gulliver's Travels, a book universally acknowledged as one of the most fantastic adventure stories and best satires on the human condition ever written.

Public Domain (P)1986 Jimcin Recordings

Good reader's voice

There are dozens of readings of Gulliver's Travels. This is my favorite so far, just because the reader has an interesting voice, a cross between Christopher Walken and the dad from Punky Brewster. He has funny pronunciations for a few things like "Houyhnhnm" and even such words as "treatise," but the slightly raspy inflection works well for a satire as savagely funny as this one. Anyway, Swift really shouldn't be read by a polished Brit, since he didn't particularly like them. This works better for me. My only complaint is the title page, which misspells Swift!

Excellent

Excellent reading of this classic tale.