Nicholas Nickleby

Anton Lesser is a one-man theater troupe composed of excellent actors. Dickens was a novelist par excellence. And Perry Keenlyside is a sensitive abridger. Between them, they've created a terrific listening experience. This abridgment of one of Dickens's longer and best-loved works is long enough to feel commodious and short enough to keep one listening. It's also seamless. All the plot points and major characters, from noble Nicholas Nickleby to odious Mr. Squeers, are here. Speaking of characters, Anton Lesser voices them so well that it can be unnerving. Surely, one thinks, that decorous female is read by a different actor than the drawling male aristocrat, but it's all Lesser. And he links the dialogue with interesting, well-paced narration. In between sections, a fine selection of classical quartets. Do listen. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

For those of us who love Dickens, this is exactly what we love best: the hearty hero, the evil scoundrel, the benevolent benefactors, humor, social commentary, and, best of all, the vast array of eccentrics. Our hero, Nicholas, fights a cruel uncle, a demeaning and humiliating "teaching" job at a boy's boarding school in Yorkshire and wins (by his own hard work and kind heart) a happy life for himself and nearly everybody he takes a fancy to. You read Dickens for the story, but you also read him for the genius he shows in creating characters. In a page he can make a person more real and more memorable than most authors can manage in an entire book. Robert Whitfield, given this Herculean task, never falters. He juggles armies of accents, ages, and levels of intelligence with never a slip. He covers he gamut from effete snob to exhausted street urchin, and not only manages to keep them all straight, but infuses into every one a distinct personality. This is a feast! D.G. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

Here is a book so long that the National Theater of Great Britain's acclaimed stage version consumed two entire evenings. Purists will detest this mere three-hour abridgment, thus denying themselves the enormous pleasure of hearing the brilliant Martin Jarvis do his stuff. In addition to the usual Dickensian melodrama, NICKLEBY gives us an affectionate view of the theatre, where the title character finds his niche in life, and its many fascinating characters. Even those of us in the biz who otherwise dislike Dickens love this book. Jarvis makes a star turn of it, by virtue of his deep understanding of the material, his fecund imagination, his immense vocal range and his refusal to fall back on clichÄ. Only Miriam Margolyes can hold a candle to him as a Dickens interpreter, and no Dickensian opus provides more of a showcase for talents like theirs. Y.R. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

[Editor's Note--The following is a combined review with DAVID COPPERFIELD, GHOST STORIES, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, HARD TIMES, MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, OLIVER TWIST, OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, THE PICKWICK PAPERS, and A TALE OF TWO CITIES.]--New Millennium presents the distinguished Academy Award winner Paul Scofield interpreting abridgments of the novels and stories of Charles Dickens. These are excellent readings, sonorous and compelling. However, they lack the verve and character of the old Victorian qualities that have been so wonderfully captured on cassette by Martin Jarvis and Miriam Margolyes, among others. And while few authors benefit more from pruning than the paid-by-the-word Dickens, some of these cuttings are far too drastic. In addition, hurried post-production is evident in numerous audible edits, frequent mouth noises, and occasional overlapping of announcer and narrator. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

In his third novel, the author casts three impoverished, virtuous innocents -- the plucky 19-year-old of the title, his beautiful sister, and their addled mother -- out into the cruel Victorian world, where, in spite of grotesque villains and with the help of equally grotesque heroes, they eventually triumph. The usual Dickensian tropes pertain, with humor predominating. This BBC dramatization is best appreciated as a diverting melodrama with humorous elements, without reference to the source material, which it overcompresses and cheapens. It has two chief virtues, a playable script and very listenable performers. For this listener, however, the good guys come off irritatingly sappy, the overall energy forced, the humor flat, and the production values merely functional and perfunctory. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

Nicholas Boulton is simply a masterful narrator. His tour-de-force performance of this Dickens classic shows the full complement of his vocal ability: He does all manner of English accents, from Yorkshire farmer to clerk to the upper class; he dexterously captures age, gender, and geographical idiosyncrasies. In a novel teaming with vicious characters (Wackford Squeers and Ralph Nickleby being the top two) who are opposed to the heroic Nicholas and his sister, Kate, Boulton quickly changes tone and tenor to give meaning to every utterance. Dickens's gifts as a storyteller are well served by Boulton. He smoothly renders the author's sometimes monumental descriptions, monologues, and dialogues. In this age of binging, here is an audiobook that can be listened to and enjoyed over time. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine