The Pickwick Papers

The Audible Dickens Collection

By: Charles Dickens, Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Rory Kinnear, Neil Gaiman

Length: 32 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

This edition of The Pickwick Papers features an exclusive introduction, written and narrated by Neil Gaiman.

This Audible Exclusive retelling of Charles Dickens’ first novel, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, or as we now know it, The Pickwick Papers, is brought expertly to life by multi-award-winning actor Rory Kinnear.

A huge success, The Pickwick Papers catapulted young Dickens to fame and sold over 40,000 copies by the release of the last instalment. Stage adaptations were soon performed and merchandise quickly sold out to a public who dreamed of owning their own Pickwick cigars, song books and china figurines.

About the book

When Samuel Pickwick decides to establish and preside over a travelling society, he unknowingly brings together three of the oddest men in all of London: Tracy Tupman, the loveless self-professed ladies’ man, Augustus Snodgrass, the poet who’s never put pen to paper, and Nathaniel Winkle, the endlessly clumsy sportsman.

Introductions made and plans established, the ‘Pickwickians’ set off in search of new adventures outside of the confines of the city. Along with a host of other colourful Dickensian characters such as Mr Pickwick’s love-struck landlady, Mrs Bardell, and his trusty sidekick, Sam Weller.

The Pickwick Papers manages to both move and amuse the listener as the protagonists find themselves in a whole host of bizarre situations they had not bargained for.

About the author

With his father incarcerated, Charles Dickens had to abandon his studies at a young age and worked in a factory to support himself. Despite his short-lived education, Dickens went on to write 15 novels, various articles, novellas and short stories. He lectured and led campaigns for children's rights and education and arguably became the ultimate self-made man. Dickens had strong values, and they pervade The Pickwick Papers, which is not only one of his most comical texts but one in which he lays the groundwork for future satires expressing his deep-felt discontent with Victorian values.

About the narrator

Rory Kinnear is an award-winning actor for his work both on stage and on screen. He is known for his portrayal of Bill Tanner in the James Bond films and is also recognisable for his television work including Black Mirror and Count Arthur Strong. His audiobook credits include Anthony Horowitz’s The Word Is Murder, Nutshell by Ian McEwan, and now this fantastic version of The Pickwick Papers.

Public Domain (P)2018 Audible, Ltd

A hugely enjoyable rendition

The story is most entertaining; I liked catching scenes and storylines that Dickens used in later novels. Rory Kinnear's performance is superb.

95% Excellent Read

The only downfall is occasional difficulty in understanding certain characters at times, as mumbling, unfamiliar dialects, and thick accents get in the way (at least for an American listener). Overall, though, the voices are consistent and the story well narrated.

The Pickwick Papers is a Total Joy!

It's very easy to describe the plot for this delightful tale. There is none, or at least very little. It entails the antics of a loosely knit group, the Pickwick Club, assembled by Samuel Pickwick, a wealthy and kind old gentleman. The loose plot thread is primarily based on the travels of Mr. Pickwick and a select group of "Pickwickians" on trips about England, with the intent of preparing reports to the other members. The results range from amusing to hilarious. Rory Kinnear is a superb narrator and provides distinct voices for the numerous characters. This is my pick as the best introduction to the world of Dickens!

excellent depiction of Dickens wit and wisdom

excellent voices. interesting dialects. amazing variety from just one man. as an author Charles Dickens entertains with wit and wisdom. he gives us glimpses of ourselves in the characters and a chance to see ourselves in his character's foibles. the narrator gives insight and inflection to the words of Dickens in a way that reveals the humor and opinions of Dickens that I would have missed. well done!

Pickwick Papers

The reading and performance of this book is brilliant. It is very highly recommended even if you have read the Pickwick Papers yourself already.

First class narration

The narator handles so many characters so perfectly, delivering even Weller's accent without a blink.
The story goes much in the vein of Don Quixote, but I found this to be superior in that it is undeniably more accessible and contemporary. Nonetheless, there is no complicated plot here, just several highly comical short stories, great characters and a stellar performance.

Dickens at his most light hearted

If some of the darker novels by Dickens have deterred you from listening, this is the book for you. I found myself smiling and laughing through much of the story, and the narrator is pure genius. I don’t think I have ever heard such a large repertoire of voices, and his handling of the humor made it even better. When you finish this one, you’ll feel like you’re saying goodbye to old friends.

Pickwick Papers

Narration was brilliant. Laughed and cried. Well done Rory and Neil. A long book which “ne-wer”lagged.

Amazing, Wonderful Narration, Voices and Accents

One of the best narrated books I’ve listened to.
Laugh out loud funny and deeply heartwarming.
Amazing vocabulary, heartwarming story, and colorful characters brought to live with masterful narration. Couldn’t ask for better.

Done with gusto

Audible started listing this title months before it first appeared. I wasn't familiar with Rory Kinnear’s work, so I didn't know what to expect. Having listened to it now, I’m happy to say that Kinnear is a brilliant narrator, and the symphony of voices he employs here is masterful. I do have one (very small) reservation, which I'll get to shortly.

The Pickwick Papers is one of my favorite works of Dickens: just thinking about reading it makes me smile. Rory Kinnear does it justice.

The novel starts off with a series of loosely-connected comic episodes, originally intended to accompany a set of commissioned illustrations. As Neil Gaiman points out in his introduction, this was Dickens’ first novel, and you can see his skill expanding and his sympathies deepening as he writes. His haphazard structure eventually develops a plot without sacrificing the wonderful characters. Everyone gets his moment, even Jingle, the actor, cad, and con-man. Episodic it may be, but Dickens has an unerring instinct for picking up each thread of the story at exactly the right moment.

It’s not all sweetness and light. Long before the main plot takes a serious turn, Dickens gives us glimpses of life on the other side. At several points, he pauses the action to record a traveler’s tale, usually a grim or spooky one: the death of an actor in abject poverty; the tragic career of a son who turns to crime and breaks his mother’s heart. One or two concern a drunken thug who beats his wife — a dress rehearsal, possibly, for Bill Sykes. Pickwick Papers is a comic masterpiece, but it’s not an unclouded one.

Kinnear rises to the challenge. He populates the novel with several dozen voices, each instantly recognizable. His Wellers, father and son, Tony and “Samivel,” are masterpieces: they alone are worth the price of admission. (Already grinning about the book itself, my smile threatened to split my face open whenever one of the Wellers showed up.)

Mr Pickwick himself begins as a figure of fun, but by the end of the book he's attained genuine stature and a kind of moral greatness.

My one reservation? Depending on whether I was using my “treble” or “bass” earphones, I occasionally had to fiddle with the volume. The treble ones seemed more prone to this. There were times when a moment of almost whispered narration was interrupted by one of the Wellers, who both have voices that “carry.”

The book is an international treasure. There are two or three other recordings of the unabridged novel on Audible, all of them excellent. But this one, for me, captures more of Dickens’ comic gusto.