The Red and the Black cover art

The Red and the Black

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Red and the Black

By: Stendhal
Narrated by: Bill Homewood
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £23.99

Buy Now for £23.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Young Julien Sorel, the son of a country timber merchant, carries a portrait of his hero, Napoleon Bonaparte, and dreams of military glory. A brilliant career in the Church leads him into Parisian high society, where, "mounted upon the finest horse in Alsace", he gains high military office and wins the heart of the aristocratic Mlle Mathilde de la Mole. Julien's cunning and ambition lead him into all sorts of scrapes, but it is the struggle between his passion for two beautiful women - the quixotic Mathilde and the loyal Mme de Rênal - which ultimately decides his destiny.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2010 Naxos Audiobooks
Classics Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Napoleon Bonaparte Military
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Decameron cover art
Sentimental Education cover art
Buddenbrooks cover art
Sodom and Gomorrah (Cities of the Plain), Part I cover art
The Belly of Paris cover art
Swann in Love cover art
The Count of Monte Cristo (Dramatized) cover art
The Three Musketeers (AmazonClassics Edition) cover art
Tristram Shandy cover art
Camille cover art
The Man Without Qualities cover art
The Mystified Magistrate cover art
Northanger Abbey & The History of England and Persuasion & Poems cover art
Gargantua and Pantagruel cover art
Les Misérables cover art
Don Quixote cover art

What listeners say about The Red and the Black

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    17
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Post-Napoleonic France unconverted

it's a major work of literature and fascinating for its unique understanding of religious culture in France, about which Stendhal is contemptuous, and aristocratic mores. Class war in his time was never so accurately depicted and satirised but its drawback is the unattractive main characters. The reading is superb.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Everyone is a hypocrite

It’s a classic and hugely influential so I am glad to have ‘read’ it; however, I couldn’t quite get into it. I think it’s because it’s rather of its time—very 1830s. Moreover, the insincerity of all the major characters makes it very difficult to empathise with them. Julien is too driven by self interest, Mathilde too capricious…”etc., etc.,etc.”. But read very well and engaging nonetheless.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Episodic story about love and ambition

This is a very good reading, and Homewood makes it easy to listen to this French classic, translated by C. K. Scott Moncrieff. I had started Stendhal’s ‘Charterhouse of Parma’ and had struggled to get into it, and found this more accessible. The story is fairly episodic, following Julien through various interesting situations regarding matters of the heart and the purse. I sometimes found the story a bit too meandering for my liking, but it was always good to listen to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Audiobook of a French Classic

A timeless classic whose themes continue to resonate in the XXI century. Wonderfully narrated by Bill Homewood. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful reading....

What made the experience of listening to The Red and the Black the most enjoyable?

Bill Homewood's reading....

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Red and the Black?

The protagonist's experience in the seminary.

Have you listened to any of Bill Homewood’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I listened to "The count of Monte Cristo". I just wish this one was as long so I could keep listening.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Please convince Mr. Homewood to do more readings of classics.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unique

Powerfully unique depiction of a character Julien Sorel, son of a carpenter (like Jesus) who rises and falls with alacrity.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Repetitive...

I thought I would enjoy this book as it is read by Bill Homewood who is one of the best around. Unfortunately the Leading character Julien did not live up to the review of this book and as far as I'm concerned did not get into any "scrapes" unless you count his two dalliances which became tedious in the extreme and was too long and far too verbose. By the end I didn't care what happened to him, the narrator alone kept me going until the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!