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Nicholas Nickleby

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Nicholas Nickleby

By: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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About this listen

 The most gorgeously theatrical of all Dickens's novels, Nicholas Nickleby follows the delightful adventures of a hearty young hero in 19th-century England. Nicholas, a gentleman's son fallen upon hard times, must set out to make his way in the world. His journey is accompanied by some of the most swaggering scoundrels and unforgettable eccentrics in Dickens's pantheon.

From the dungeon-like Yorkshire boys' boarding school run by the cruel Wackford Squeers to the high-spirited stage of Vincent Crummles' extraordinary acting troupe, Nicholas Nickleby is a triumph of the imagination, bursting with color, humor, and poignant social commentary.

Click here to see all the titles in our Charles Dickens collection.(P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc. Classics England Heartfelt Witty

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This should be a nailed on hit. Dickens is one of the world's favourite authors and Simon Vance is one of the best readers on audible.

But sadly Nicholas Nickleby is not one of the master's best. It rambles along through over sixty episodes and some of them are a complete sidetrack from the story. One whole chapter is given over to a tirade against the piracy of his work by 'dramatists' who are abusing the authors work. Whilst it was interesting to hear that 175 years ago Dickens was struggling to protect his intellectual property, it didn't add to the story.

Meanwhile Simon Vance was not at his best either. Most of his stock voices are ready and welcome, but for the kindly Yorkshire farmer Simon wanders the British Isles for his accent. Sometimes he is geordie, at other times welsh and often Scottish. What he never achieves is the lilting North Yorkshire country voice which John deserves.

So this is value for money - it's long for the price - and important if you want the whole of Dickens' work but don't make it a priority.

Not the best

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Fantastic reading of this novel, the actor is superb and incredibly gifted in the different voices for the different characters.

Incredible diversity in the actor's voice

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Another story peopled with memorable characters and familiar tropes. I find his novels always more engrossing when I hear them read aloud. This recording is fine though it jars in one respect which is the appalling “Yorkshire “accents. I can only think that nobody listened while it was being recorded. However they only appear from time to time and we got along nicely the rest of the time.

Dickens delivers

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Not only a classic piece of literature, but also nicely read by Simon Vance.... the most outstandingly awesome Yorkshire accent ever (Note - I don't say it's a good Yorkshire accent, but it is most amazing. Really. )

Story telling at its best

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I decided to go through the works of Charles Dickens during the spate of lockdowns. Simon Vance’s performance and voice characterisations thoroughly engaged me throughout this story.

Simon Vance brings it alive

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loved it
hard to say which is the best story.
The Yorkshire accent needs some work.

Happy Dayy

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What made the experience of listening to Nicholas Nickleby the most enjoyable?

An interesting story beautifully read

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nicholas

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favourite?

Nicholas

Any additional comments?

Listening to this long story made me appreciate Dickens' Victorian verbosity. The language is so amazing compared with today, but it has a beauty to behold. It would have been the EastEnders of those days, brought out as a series in a magazine, with cliff-hangers at the end of most chapters. Quite convoluted regarding who was who though, and a bit of a coincidence when some of the characters met up later in the book to bring about the denoument of the plot.

Dickens at his best

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I must admit that I struggled to really connect with this novel .
This is despite having read and enjoyed many of Dickens novels there seemed to be a shallow feel to it which the excellent narration struggled to bring to life.Not one that I shall read again I'm afraid.

Not one of his best

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