A well toned read

What made the experience of listening to The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby the most enjoyable?

The characterisation of this wide set of characters was excellent and the reading caught the measure of Dicken's superb irony without overdoing it. An amusing and also a shocking book with the unforgettable Wackford Squeers in the hideous Dotheboys Hall played perfectly.

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Dickens review

Excellent story.in which Dickens portrays the best and the worst in human nature. Typically excels in characatures and appropriate names.

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very good

This is a very good rendering of the book. At times though I wished I had chosen the abridged version.

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Classic Dickens

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

What can I say? This is Dickens at his best and the master certainly doesn't need MY recommendation! Suffice it to say that Simon Vance's narration does justice to the material making this an excellent choice for any audiobook reader with an ear for the classics.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

'Sex! Drugs! Rock 'n' Roll! None of them are in this film but watch it anyway!'

Any additional comments?

Apologies for the above 'joke'... I just can't help myself.

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excellent narration by simon vance

terrible cover, but don't be put off by it. this is a superlative reading by simon vance. as for the book itself, well, it's a classic for a reason. wonderful, wonderful characters, and, at moments, more so than in some of his other books, a sense that dickens is directly addressing you, the reader, down the years, quite as if time and death were non-existent.

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An earful of heaven!

This is one of my favourite books. Beautifully performed by Simon Vance, who really brings the characters to life. This is the reason audiobooks are becoming mainstream. What more can a body ask? A brilliant story, expertly enacted, allowing one to escape the drudgery of daily tasks into a poignant, comic, exciting Victorian world.

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Enthralling and captivating

Would you consider the audio edition of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby to be better than the print version?

Not having read a print version I can't really compare. However, I wouldn't have been able to get as much done if I'd had to hold a physical book and turn pages!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby?

The story is still fresh in my mind so there are several parts which could hold this distinction. When Nicholas reacted violently against Squeers; when John Browdie rescued Smike; when I realised the brothers Cheeryble were really as good as they seemed; when the neighbouring (mad) gentleman show his affection of Mrs Nickleby by throwing random vegetables over the garden wall...

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

While he didn't appear in the story very much at all, I particularly liked Vance's characterisation of the vain and feckless Mantalini. Brilliantly repugnant!

As forJohn Browdie, I'm really not sure what was going on with his accent! There were definite traces of Geordie in there and who knows what else! Being married to a Yorkshireman I can say that Yorkshire accent it ain't! Hilarious though, but probably not intentionally.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Poor young gent makes enemies, makes friends and makes good.(But what a random question, and I'm not a tag line writer...)

Any additional comments?

I love the hot-headedness of Nicholas; it makes him rather more human than the rest of his saintly demeanour would suggest. His sister is an angel and his mother is seriously irritating, but as always with Dickens the characters are magnified in their traits: the brothers Cheeryble are emphatically good and kind, and Ralph Nickleby, Sir Mulberry Hawk and Wackford Squeers are emphatically bad.Another a Dickens signature present throughout are the wonderfully onomatopoeic names, and of course the 'happy ever after' ending. This one is more saccharine than most, but none the less palatable for all that.I really enjoyed this novel and will be listening to it again. I find Dickens is one of those authors whose books one can consume multiple times without them losing their charm.

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Monty Python, who?

Would you listen to The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby again? Why?

Yes, life is short and oh so many good books but Dickens is always worth a second, third listen. It is so rich something new can always be found.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby?

Loved it all and laughed out loud many times. Rare for me. Such wonderful observation and irony.

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I didn't notice the narration, which is a very good thing He allowed CD to shine through.

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

No, Dickens needs to be favoured in small bites. I suspect that this was originally published as a periodical series.

Any additional comments?

The story is rather predictable but almost irrelevant as the strength lies in the observation of life and the characterization - saints and sinners and few in between. I return to Dickens every dozen or so books and am never disappointed. Without him I really do not think we would have had enjoyed the pleasure of Monty Python. I offer think, when listening, wow that was so Pythonesque Of course it should be - Python are so Dickensian.

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I couldn't switch this one off!

I suppose this must be my favourite Dickens story so far in as much as I'm surprised my earphones didn't need to be surgically removed by the end of the audio book. I just found the pace of the action more intense than David Copperfield, Great Expectations and The Pickwick Papers though I certainly loved them all. I think Dickens has created some of the nastiest and most irredeemable characters in Nicholas Nickleby, which really got my outraged juices flowing. I felt the relationship between Nicholas and Madeleine seemed to develop a bit quickly and perfunctorily, but I suppose there is only so much you can fit in without making the story too long. There were some great scenes and characters and I thought Simon Vance was a great narrator, his characterisations weren't quite up to the level of some of the most distinguished on Audible, but was still brilliant and I found his voice quality excellent, that could have been another reason for my not being able to switch him off. Thoroughly recommended

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So sad Ive only just found Dickens

I tried to read dickens when i was younger and couldn't handle it - im now on my fourth tour de force - i loved it i just loved it

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