• The Hundred and One Dalmatians

  • By: Dodie Smith
  • Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
  • Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (210 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Hundred and One Dalmatians  By  cover art

The Hundred and One Dalmatians

By: Dodie Smith
Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.35

Buy for $16.35

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Pongo and Missis Pongo are a pair of Dalmatians who live with the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Dearly and their two nannies. Mr. Dearly is a "financial wizard" who has been granted life-long tax exemption and lent a house on the Outer Circle in Regent's Park in return for wiping out the government debt. The dogs consider the humans their pets, but allow the humans to think that they are the owners.

Missis gives birth to a litter of 15 puppies. Concerned that Missis will not be able to feed them all, Mrs. Dearly looks for a wet nurse, and finds an abandoned Dalmatian mother in the middle of the road in the pouring rain. She has the dog treated by a vet and names her Perdita.

Mr. and Mrs. Dearly attend a dinner party hosted by Cruella de Vil, an intimidating and very wealthy woman fixated with fur. The Dearlys are disconcerted by her belief that all animals are worthless and should be drowned. Shortly after the dinner party, the puppies disappear. The humans fail to trace them, but through the "Twilight Barking", a forum of communication in which dogs can relay messages to each other across the country, the dogs manage to track them down to "Hell Hall", the ancestral home of the de Vil family in Suffolk.

Pongo and Missis decide to run away from home and find them, leaving Perdita to look after the Dearlys. After a journey across the countryside, they learn that there are 97 puppies in Hell Hall, including their own 15.

Thus commences a determined attempt to rescue the Dalmatian puppies quickly before they end up as fur for one of Cruella de Vil’s famous black and white fur coats.

©1956 CSA Word (P)2003 CSA Word

Critic reviews

"Martin Jarvis continues to bring the classics of children's literatue to new audiences with a reading of Dodie Smith's dognapping adventure every bit as enjoyable as his Just William series" ( The Daily Telegraph)
"Fun as the film was, it did not do justice to the cascade of wit and jokes that flows from Dodie Smith's pen in the novel....like Peter Pan, this is a book that will be as much enjoyed by parents as children." ( The Independent)

What listeners say about The Hundred and One Dalmatians

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    174
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    161
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    156
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

OVER 60 MILES AS THE DOG BARKS

MOST USUAL DOGS ARE MORE UNUSUAL THAN UNUSUAL DOGS.
What a wonderful story. This is not a Disney Movie made into a book, but a 1956 book that was adapted into a movie in 1961. It is extremely well written and can be enjoyed by the whole family. At times it is laugh out loud funny. I found the General, to be extremely funny. Dog owners will love it the most.

THE SIZE OF ALL BREEDS SHOULD BE KEPT UP
Since it was written in 56 and even though it was written by a woman, there are some noticeable sexist remarks. The mother dog, is referred to as Mrs., while her husband has a name, Pongo. Mrs. can't tell her right from her left and the male dogs think, that is cute. The male pups struggle bravely, but the female pups, just can't go on. With that exception, I recommend this book, highly. It is entertaining, fun and intelligent.

S.O.S, SAVE OUR SKINS
Narrator does an excellent job

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A lot of fun

Don't let the fact that this is supposed to be a children's book stop you from listening to this entertaining and well written story. The narrator does a great job of voicing all of the characters in a believable fashion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent - great for car trip with kids!

I downloaded this for a 4 hr road trip with my 4 yr old niece - I didnt get "are we there yet" once! She listened to the entire book and loved it. Well narrated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Who Knew this Book was so Good?

Would you consider the audio edition of The Hundred and One Dalmatians to be better than the print version?

I never read the print version but the audio was great as a thing to listen to as a family with my 9 and twelve year old daughters.

What about Martin Jarvis’s performance did you like?

Jarvis voices the characters, mostly dogs, in wonderful and distinctive ways.

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

The story is told with nice understated humor throughout. Both I and my children got some good laughs.

Any additional comments?

The story moves crisply and brings you into the dogs-eye view of the world in a terrific way. This was a real delight.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful listening for the whole family

We listened to this story on a long car trip and it kept our entire family entertained. My seven-year-old had read the story twice before so she was familiar with it, but our five-year-old heard it for the first time. My husband and I found ourselves chuckling in the front seat as we listened. Well worth the money spent to have us all happy during the trip!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A hit with the kids

This was a hit from begining to end. The story was well narrated, clear and easy to follow. My two children, aged 5 and 8, were riveted, and so was I!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Favorite childhood book.

When I was a child, I would check out this book from the school library so many times I lost track of counting. Trough
troubled times, it was my anchor to a better world.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A precious story of parents' love

Listened to this book right before Christmas with my tween son, not realizing it is actually a Christmas story. He loved the adventure of Pongo and Mrs. and he did a great job of predicting what was going to come next and putting the clues together along the way, it was a precious gift to share with him. I enjoyed the story as well, knowing the characters only from the clips I've seen of the Disney movie and was surprised that the physical description of Cruella De Ville were spot on to how she is described in the book. Will probably use the winter break to watch the movie with my son to wrap it all up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So much better than the movie!!

Martin Jarvis is one of my most favorite narrators! They list to say he brought this lovely story to life!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful book

Amazing narrator. Awesome story and so well told I loved the book so so so so so much please read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful