A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
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A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
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Narrated by:
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Nick Offerman
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By:
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Mark Twain
About this listen
Praise for Nick Offerman narrating Mark Twain:
“Offerman’s Illinois-raised voice and actor’s talent suit him ideally to channel Mark Twain.” (The New York Times Book Review)
“There’s something about his wry Midwestern merriment that aspires to Twainishness.” (Men’s Journal)
“It’s a melding of sardonic voices: Mark Twain, meet Nick Offerman.” (The Wall Street Journal)
With his trademark mirth and boundless charisma, actor Nick Offerman brought the loveable shenanigans of Twain's adolescent hero to life in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Now, in yet another virtuosic performance, the actor proves that despite being separated by a span of over a century, his connection to the author and his work is undeniable and that theirs is a timeless collaboration that should not be missed. Trading in the idyllic banks of Twain's Mississippi for medieval England, Offerman regales listeners with one of American literature's foremost satires and the author's most inventive and darkly funny pieces of fiction.
Hank Morgan is the archetype of modern man in 19th-century New England: adept at his trade as a mechanic, innovative, forward thinking. So when a blow to the head inexplicably sends him back in time 1300 years and places him in Camelot, instead of despair, he feels emboldened by the prospect placed before him and sets out to modernize and improve the lives of his fellow citizens. But, in order to do so, he'll need to contend with brash nobles, superstitious nincompoops, and a conniving, blowhard wizard.
While time travel has become a common trope in storytelling today, in Twain's time it was truly a novel idea; all the more imaginative when you consider how it's used for satirical effect. A thinly veiled critique of the political and social institutions that impede progress and a scathing condemnation of the naiveté that allows them to thrive, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court saw Twain's biting wit and sharp tongue honed to a fine point.
Told primarily through Hank's first-person perspective, Offerman effortlessly captures the Yankee's straightforward, matter-of-fact gruffness. Like Offerman - whose woodworking skills are the stuff of legend - Hank is a natural builder of things and his can-do, by-the-bootstraps spirit finds its vocal foil in Offerman's crisp delivery. But it's in Offerman's ability to convey the myriad characters and absurdities Hank faces that makes this an incomparable listening experience: the flowery embellishments and insane braggadocio of knights; the lilting, feathery sing-song of Clarence; the garrulous, long-winded pomp of the aristocracy; the old, dithering windbag pronouncements of Merlin. Offerman plays each of these with a humor and humanity that Twain himself would have enjoyed.
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Editor reviews
Editors Select, September 2017
I didn't think it was possible. Nick Offerman's reading of Tom Sawyer is one of my all-time favorites - a performance that made me fall in love with Twain's classic all over again. But I may actually love his performance here even more. The character of Hank Morgan - a bearish, no-nonsense adherent to practicality and pragmatism - could be seen as a natural predecessor to Ron Swanson (the character Offerman played in Parks and Recreation) as well as the very embodiment of the gumption the actor writes of in his own work. That is to say, this is a character tailor-made for Offerman. Even better is the fact that we get to hear him voice boastful knights and flittery damsels and a villainous Merlin. But mostly, I'm happy to see Offerman quickly becoming the go-to performer and interpreter of Twain's brilliant stories. —Doug, Audible Editor
What listeners say about A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Bruno Keyworth
- 03-02-24
Not one likeable character
Starting with the main character, he never has difficulty with anything. Whether he is about to be burnt alive, getting sold into slavery or electrocuting twenty thousand people, he behaves in exactly the same way. He is made to seem intelligent by making every other character unbelievably stupid.
It is, as other reviewers have said, more of a political pamphlet than a story. However, it is hard to see who it was aimed at, as nothing that he proposed didn't already exist in his own country, and the one he was comparing it to never existed.
I was disappointed by the book, especially because of the prologue and epilogue. They present the story as being something Twain heard from someone he met, this being the main character now returned to the present. They really make it seem kind of sad, which feels like it would have been a good story, but is so far removed from the lack of seriousness in the rest of the book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 21-01-21
Perfect casting
An enjoyable book, but that Nick Offerman narrates it makes it so much better - well worth a listen
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fredbear
- 29-01-19
Twain at his best
The story may be nearly 200 years old, but it is as fresh and entertaining, humorous and challenging as it was when Twain penned it at the end of the 19th Century!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M. Redmond
- 23-10-18
Overcame a problem
Was able to finish the book and thoroughly enjoyed it, fantastic listen, well narrated and very funny.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Tamara Djordjevic
- 01-06-22
It is a political pamphlet
I'm glad I've heard this work as I would have thought it was a funny account seen in the screen version. Twain was dead serious when he wrote it but he wrapped his political intent in his excellent novelist style. Narration is superb.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 31-10-20
Amazing
This is the perfect combination of narrator and book, it's absolutely brilliant. I highly recommend it whether you have read the book or not - I've read it multiple times and this is a whole new experience, probably because Hank is literally a 19th century Ron Swanson.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leona Merclova
- 26-11-23
Nick Offerman's narration- what a treat!
This is such a wonderful performance of a great book! Nick Offerman is an absolute legend! The sublime humour and irony, nobody can do that better...
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-03-21
A quirky story
A fun story, well read and with interesting ideas. It was very American, and the ending was a bit abrupt. A good listen and if you know bits of Arthurian legend it's fun to pick out a few references to some of that.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 18-04-20
A fantastic tale
A Fantasy of a time long ago.
Like a dream combining two worlds 1300 years apart.
Imaginative and creative unlike all the other stories of time travel you've ever heard. Lose yourself in the land of King Arthur and his knights with a twist of modern technology for added wonder.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book spoken in it's bygone tongue and utterly humourous insanity.
As it carries the listener to a land of make believe and fairytale landscapes, alongside the hardships and cruelty of the medieval realm.
It's a pleasure to be taken off in to a past that never really happened just and escape from the normality of every day life.
So allow the story to carry you far off to a world beyond this one and unlike any thing you've heard before.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephen
- 22-12-17
Brilliantly read
Nick Offerman is the perfect voice for Twain. He is a pleasure to listen to. The story itself is a pleasure too. Particularly if you are at all familiar with Thomas Malory's Morte D'Arthur or any of the King Arthur legends.
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