Bleak House

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Teresa Gallagher

Length: 35 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

A complex plot of love and inheritance is set against the English legal system of the mid-19th century. As the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce drags on, it becomes an obsession to everyone involved. And the issue on an inheritance ultimately becomes a question of murder.

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©2006 Naxos Audiobooks (P)2006 Naxos Audiobooks

Radiant Bleak House

Beyond description. Dickens magic! Wonderful readers, a male and a female voice working together in harmony, creating atmosphere by capturing and being able to voice the essence of the characters.

Dear Dickens, I love you

This audiobook put me to sleep every single night for an entire month. If you want to get some serious bang for your buck (or your free credit) this is the way to do it. It's like being read to by a 30-person cast. The readers are first-rate and I love Bleak House. This has to be one of the top best-done books on audible.

Great way to complement reading.

Would you try another book from Charles Dickens and/or Sean Barrett and Teresa Gallagher ?

Since Dickens can be difficult to read because the books are very 'wordy', having the audio to listen to and reading the book at the same time was a joy. Hearing the different voices of the characters, accents and all, and listening to the flow of Dickens' beautiful writing was wonderful.

What could Charles Dickens have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

nothing

How did the narrator detract from the book?

no detractions

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Bleak House?

none

Any additional comments?

I will definitely do this again, especially for more difficult texts. And the price was right. If these were priced any higher, it would limit my ability to but both the book and the audio.

Exceptional Readers!!

Would you listen to Bleak House again? Why?

Yes, again and again. Like all Dickens' novels, the characters are well developed and the story is never predictable.

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

Yes

Any additional comments?

The readers of this version were the best I have ever heard.

Bravo for the dual narration!

Bleak House is one of my all-time favorite books. I think it should be required reading for everyone. I've read it multiple times and have just now completed my second full listen. Having listened to an excellent audio version by Simon Vance, whose narration is superb, I am of the opinion that this one surpasses even his mastery. Both voices are immaculate. The narrator who does Esther is my favorite--she's utterly perfect for the role. Dickens broke new grounds of creativity in dividing his masterwork into two narrative strands that weave intricately together to form one tale in its entirety. Both narratives are so intentionally distinctive, a necessary facet of the novel (I won't say more so I don't give anything away), that having two narrators read them is nothing short of brilliance. Listen to this version of Bleak House with my wholehearted recommendation!

One of the greatest of all time!

I absolutely love this story. This is one of the best works of Charles Dickens, right up there with Little Dorrit. The performance of the two readers is engaging and exciting. You can completely immerse yourself in this story. I loved every bit of it. And I will definitely listen to it again. Spectacular!!!

A Dickens' masterpiece to be savoured

This is a massive tome. Certainly my longest audio-book till date. And perhaps also the most vivid combination of narrative and narration. Dickens' writing, as meandering, as it is (certainly more so than, say, two cities) creates an atmosphere that has laid a template for generations of writers, I imagine. And the narration... well Sean Barrett and Teresa Gallagher are absolute stars. They infuse an incredible amount of life in each character and the bits in between. Barrett takes a truly grim tone as the narrator, and I bet he'd be wonderful at horror stories! Gallagher, on the other hand shapes Esther Summerson and gives her a form the most perfectly cast actor couldn't in a live action movie.

The story itself is meandering, in a very satisfying manner. In the age we live in, where two dialogues that don't move the plot ahead is termed as slow, it is a joy to relish in the world built by Dickens. By itself, perhaps the book doesn't have quite as much drama that one might expect. It might even seem a little deliberate, to have Lady Dedlock react the way she did. Or the way Richard goes about his life. There is no grand overarching plot comprising of a series of events and resolution at the hand of "a" protagonist. But such is life really. Not every story has a hero who resolves all of world's problems. And most lives are made up of seemingly mundane events compared to threat of nuclear warfare or world hunger. Still, everyone's own life feels like a perfect storm for them. And storms are aplenty in this tale. It starts of on that note, and the grimness keeps climbing towards an unreachable crest. Thankfully, we have the kindness and friendliness and warmth of Esther Summerson to take us through. There is a fair bit of dark humour in the story too... which makes you laugh, or begin to laugh before you realize it's just too painful, when you find something funny while you are bed-ridden with all of your insides requiring medicines and contraptions to function. Again, this is a grim, grim tale.

I am on a bit of a Dickens spree. A tale of two cities, while I liked, I felt had characters who were rather, umm, idiotic. No such complains here. I thoroughly enjoyed each personality, major and minor, we encounter in the years we spend with Esther and her friends. A great big hug for her and high five to George and "how-do-you-do" to Jarndyce and others. My life is that much better having known them.

Worth the effort.

Vividly descriptive portrait of mid 19th century England - mostly London. Part social commentary, part melodrama, part murder mystery and full of preposterous plot twists, it was beautifully presented by this pair of readers.

Ordinary Lives; Extraordinary Circumstances

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

Absolutely. This book was first written as a monthly serial over 20 months. Twenty episodes for 20 days perhaps. Or, if you are like me, you'll forgo sleep and listen to all. Then listen again, several times over, to catch the parts missed whilst dozing the first few times. Dickens writing is meant to be spoken. Hilarious characters beautifully exaggerated - or are they - abound here. The most decent of characters. And the most vile. My greatest reason for recommending this book is that the two readers really demonstrate Dickens intent when he gave Bleak House two narrators, the unknown onlooker telling in the present tense; and Esther, around whom all of the stories are woven. Poverty, wealth, class systems, skullduggery, robbery and murder are all given centre stage. Personalities galore.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lady Dedlock is perhaps the most intriguing to me. I don't understand her loyalty to her awful husband, Sir Leicester Dedlock. Perhaps it's gratitude that he married her despite her past, though he knows nothing of it. She's awful. She's snooty. She's breakable. She's smart. She's discerning. She's drawn to beauty. She's conceited. Her husband is quite a bit older and very wealthy. Her deceit is so complete that she believes it herself. Most of the time. An occasional sensitivity is revealed.

Which character – as performed by Sean Barrett and Teresa Gallagher – was your favorite?

Narrator Sean Barrett is witness to the events that run almost parallel to Esther's own memoir. Both readers were called upon to animate, and maintain, the voices of a huge variety of characters. Sometimes the voices are whining and irritating. Sometimes, seductive and warm. As are the characters. I particularly enjoyed Teresa Gallagher's interactions between Esther and Charley, the thirteen year old orphan girl who leaves her six year old brother Tom to take care of their baby sister while she goes to work as a laundress and is later employed by Mr Jarndyce to be Esther's maid. Her portrayal of Esther's voice throughout is easy and confident, warm and chatty at times. Formal at other times. Thoroughly enjoyable. Sean Barrett's dialogues between Lady Dedlock and Mr Tulkinghorn, given the opposing attitudes of the adversaries and the undercurrent of intent, are excellent spoken civilly in a respectably soft volume. But it is Sean Barrett's own voice as the narrator that is most commanding.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Take your chances in the Court of Chancery

Any additional comments?

Many hours of thoroughly enjoyable listening.

Fantastic reading of an amazing classic!

What did you love best about Bleak House?

Bleak House is a wonderful book, full of some of the most vibrant characters and subplots anywhere. These readers bring it to life and make it easy to follow and fun to listen to. A joy from beginning to end!