Brideshead Revisited

By: Evelyn Waugh

Narrated by: Jeremy Irons

Selected by Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the century and called "Evelyn Waugh's finest achievement" by the New York Times, Brideshead Revisited is a stunning exploration of desire, duty, and memory. Read by Jeremy Irons, star of the acclaimed 1981 television series based on the novel. The wellsprings of desire and the impediments to love come brilliantly into focus in Evelyn Waugh's masterpiece -- a novel that immerses us in the glittering and seductive world of English aristocracy in the waning days of the empire. Through the story of Charles Ryder's entanglement with the Flytes, a great Catholic family, Evelyn Waugh charts the passing of the privileged world he knew in his own youth and vividly recalls the sensuous pleasures denied him by wartime austerities. At once romantic, sensuous, comic, and somber, Brideshead Revisited transcends Waugh's early satiric explorations and reveals him to be an elegiac, lyrical novelist of the utmost feeling and lucidity. "A genuine literary masterpiece." --Time "Heartbreakingly beautiful...The twentieth century's finest English novel." --Los Angeles Times

Critic reviews

"A many-faceted book....beuatifully told by one of the most exhilarating stylists of our time."—Newsweek

"Heartbreakingly beautiful....The 20th century's finest English novel."—Los Angeles Times

"A genuine literary masterpiece....Brideshead Revisited is actually a wildly entertaining, swooningly funny-sad story about an iumpressionable young man, Charles Ryder, who goes to Oxford in the 1930s and falls in love with a family: the wealthy, eccentric, aristocratic Flytes, owners of a grand old country house called Brideshead....Told in flashbacks from the dark days of World War II, the novel is aglimmer with the guttering candle glow of an elegant age that was already passing away."—Lev Grossman, TIME

"Evelyn Waugh's finest achievement."—John K. Hutchens, New York Times

A great book and performance

Where does Brideshead Revisited rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This recording was right up there at the top...

What did you like best about this story?

Not so much the actual story but the prose; extremely well written.

What does Jeremy Irons bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Jeremy Irons was the only one to read this as he was also the star of the BBC series. In addition his voice was beautifully fit for this English story and his interpretation of the character's voices was wonderful.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to savor it so listened in meaningful segments.

Any additional comments?

It was wonderful to see just how well the book was interpreted for the TV series and many of the pictures of the series were just as Evelyn Waugh had described them in the book.

Beautifully performed

I was so happy to have listened to Jeremy Irons reading of Brideshead Revisited. Writer Evelyn Waugh has perfectly captured a time in British history that reveals the Everyman issues on a backdrop of the British hierarchy. Issues of religion, family dysfunction, alcoholism, marriage, homosexuality, class, war, cultural ennui; all weaved together into what at first appears to be a sad story of some unappealing upper class characters, which slowly unfolds into a story of acceptance and hope and the connection to spirituality in individual ways. Mr. Irons performance is pitch perfect on every level.

Brideshead Revisited, classic 20th century novel

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

Yes, Evelyn Waugh is a poetic writer. Every sentence carefully crafted. A good book to read and a good one to listen to. I listened on my Kindle, while reading the book. Not simultaneously, but flipping back & forth. You get to see the elite life of Brits in the first half of the 20th century, and terrific character development too (especially the men).

A Masterpiece Thoroughly Enjoyed

The prose is beautiful in this book. Jeremy Irons does a masterful job as narrator. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Tour de Force

This is a beautiful book beautifully and so thoughtfully read by Jeremy Irons. There are times when he's reading the prose that you'll think he's reading from a book of poetry.